Tumaco

By Lorraine Caputo

San Andrés de Tumaco, Colombia’s second Pacific port, is 304 kilometers from Pasto. It is situated on three islands, all connected by bridge: Tumaco, Viciosa and El Morro. Isla Tumaco is the principle population center. Seen from the air, it seems a coast-to-coast blanket of human civilization. Isla El Morro hosts the city’s air and maritime ports, as well as a major military base.

Tumaco is called La Perla del Pacífico—The Pearl of the Pacific. But its luster is a bit dulled in spots. Upon arriving, what strikes you is the chaotic bustle, streets under repair and the smell of polluted sea. The growth it has sustained in the past decade—primarily due to internal refugees from Colombia’s civil war—has stretched this city beyond its already limited infrastructure. Street signs on Islas Tumaco are scarce and use the numbered calle-carrera system; locals use different names. Barrio Puentes and others in tsunami-risk areas are soon to be a thing of the past—they are being relocated to safer grounds.

Tumaco has been declared a Special Port, Ecotourism and Biodiversity District, thus allowing infrastructure improvement and tourism promotion. Tumaco's most distinctive feature is its mangroves: Parque Nacional Sanquianga is along the coast north. The clean beaches of Islas El Morro and Bocagrande provide welcomed escapes from the bedlam of Isla Tumaco. Afro-Colombian and Tuma indigenous cultures yet live along this coast

Besides its beach resorts, mangrove reserves and unique cultures, Tumaco has yet another attraction: an alternative crossing to Ecuador—by sea.

(Alt: 2 m; Pop: 150,000-200,000; City Code: 2)