5 minute read
River Magdalena, Columbia
Cruising to make a comeback
In Europe, the Rhine and Danube – not to mention the Maas, Seine and the Douro – are crazily full of sleek river cruise vessels, or at least they were until coronavirus struck in March 2020. The same is equally true for the less busy Mississippi, Columbia and Snake Rivers in the US.
The upside of river cruising is clear to see: no chance of rough seas, no dreary at-sea days, an ever-changing view as the world slides by (both port and starboard) and calls where passengers can enjoy an evening ashore before departing overnight to the next picture-postcard destination.
Pictured, another AmaWaterways vessel, the AmaMagna
And now river cruising is coming to the Caribbean rim. This follows an announcement by California’s AmaWaterways, which will launch operations in late 2023 to explore Colombia's mighty Magdalena River. And explore does seem to be the right word in what will be an exciting and dramatically new destination for river cruise aficionados.
The project represents a significant investment by river cruise specialists AmaWaterways – a top brand that also sells journeys on waterways throughout mainland Europe and decidedly more exotic trips on the Mekong, Chobe and Nile.
The centrepiece of the ambitious program is the construction in Colombia of the five-star, allsuite, river cruise vessel AmaMagdalena, which will accommodate between 80-100 passengers and feature three restaurants. The design of the vessel will broadly resemble those already in service in Europe.
One of the great commercial rivers of South America, the Magdalena is Colombia’s longest and busiest, flowing northwards for about 1,528 kilometers from its source in the Andes to its outlet to the sea at Barranquilla. In theory it is navigable through much of its lower reaches and as far as upstream as Honda, but it’s also one that has traditionally suffered from sedimentation; unfortunately resulting in draft restrictions.
As such, the Magdalena River only a guarantees two meters water depth for 145 km inland from Barranquilla and hence El Banco will be the furthest point upriver navigated by the AmaMagdalena. Even this is only possible thanks to a US$24 million dredging program that will take place during the latter part of 2021.
Itinerary
Seven-night itineraries will be scheduled year-round with cruises departing from either Cartagena’s Muelle de las pegasos (currently used for party boats and large sailing vessels) and Barranquilla’s attractive Malecón turistico on the Magdalena’s west bank. Probable calls on the Magdalena River en route to El Banco will include Salamina, Cerro de San Antonio, Pedraza, Zapayán, El Plato, Guamal and Mompox.
AmaWaterways will operate the vessel in association with specialist South American firm Metropolitan Touring (MT), which will handle shoreside excursions. MT is not new to cruising and has decades-long experience of the Galápagos Islands expedition sector.
Both companies are very excited about the new venture. “Not since my early university days exploring the Amazon River have I felt the excitement of discovering a new destination that is so rich in biodiversity and culture, as I found on the Magdalena River in Colombia,” said Rudi Schreiner, president and co-founder of AmaWaterways. “I’m absolutely captivated by the rich history, wildlife and friendly welcome that awaits our guests.”
Hopefully two years will be enough time for the river cruise sector to have fully recovered from the global pandemic and the seemingly bold decision made now by AmaWaterways to launch on the Magdalena River will seem perfectly timed.
Meanwhile, similar plans to launch cruises in Guyana on the Demerara, Essequibo River, Berbice rivers have so far failed to materialise.
The AmaPrima
PIONEERING
The launch of the AmaWaterways river cruise operation may appear pioneering, but the Magdalena River has a long and somewhat checkered history as a passenger carrying waterway emulating, in some small way, the colorful past of the Mississippi with its distinctive steamboats and as an irresistible magnet for adventurers, authors and drifters.
It was also a river much loved by Colombia’s greatest writer Gabriel García Márquez. He spent much of his youth journeying the Magdalena River and, in particular, chronicled his many trips on the luxury 120-passenger capacity steamboat David Arango. The 1940s were an age when passengers dressed impeccably for dinner, larger-than-life captains brightened every voyage and where vague timetables and unexpected groundings were all part of the experience. Unfortunately, García Márquez lamented the decline of the river during the 1950s and 1960s which he said had, at that time, become beyond redemption with its increased pollution and the denuding of its evocative jungle banks.
And he felt that the burning in 1961 in Magangué of the ill-fated David Arango was a highly symbolic end to the era of passenger transport along the river. He said that the vessel’s sad demise coincided with a period of growing violence that briefly turned the river into what he considered was “the most dangerous part of the world”.
Luckily for AmaWaterways, the Magdalena River, like Colombia itself, has seen a pleasing and dramatic revival since those dark days of the past and this eyecatching new cruise will be one of which García Márquez would be justly proud.
WATERWAY IMPROVEMENTS
The success of the AmaWaterways project is heavily dependent on major improvements being made to the long-neglected Magdalena River – historically one of Colombia's most important transportation arteries.
Corporación Autónoma Regional del Río Grande de la Magdalena (Cormagdalena), the autonomous corporation charged with overseeing the Magdalena River Waterway, originally awarded in 2014 a 13-year concession to the Navelina consortium to dredge and make navigable a 908 km long stretch between Puerto Salgar in Cundinamarca province and the mouth at Barranquilla. But this contract was pulled in 2017 and had to be re-tendered as a public private partnership (PPP) and one now technically endorsed by the InterAmerican Development Bank. Due to past problems with the original contract, work is only getting underway in the second half of 2021.
The Colombian government has for some time been keen to make greater use of the Magdalena inland waterway as a costeffective alternative for the transport of cargo (via pusher craft and barges) and for passengers while upgrading riverine connections between Bogotá, Medellín and Cali and the coast.
Even so and ahead of the dredging work, freight movements on the river are already on the increase and were up over 21% in June compared the same month in 2020 while the Port of Barranquilla also recorded its highest-ever first half figures this year. Once dredging and other work is complete, cargo transported on the river is expected to grow from around 1.5 million to 6 million tons per year and up to 10 million tons by the end of the decade.
