King of the Jungle Nuqui Latin Pro Surfing Contest Held in Colombia

Story and pictures from official contest website at http://www.nuquilatinprocolombia.com/

In November 2008, The Nuqui LATIN PRO COLOMBIA "Surf the Jungle" event was held in Nuqui on the Pacific coast of Colombia.

The surfing was done on the "Pico de Loro" break, which is a left that was discovered a few years ago by the organizers of the event. The wave breaks over a rounded rock reef, and it works best in low tide, although it can be surfed in all tides, especially if the swell reaches heights of 5 feet or more. Swells from the southwest work best, and these predominate from December to April. Wave periods of 13 seconds are the most common, but sometimes they can last up to 22 seconds.

The "Surf the Jungle" event, was supported by "Colombia es Pasion" tourism campaign, sponsored by VANS, El Cantil Eco-Lodge, Tavarua Surf Shop and the Colombian Department of Tourism.

Important Latin Americans who are competing for the top rankings of the Latin American championship competed hard for first place and the $USD 17,500 in prizes.

Francisco Bellorin, Ernesto Nunes and Diego Cadena (who leads the ALAS ranking) fought a strong battle to get a lead over their direct rivals, but in the end the Peruvian Sebastián Alarcón and Puerto Rican Gabriel Escudero were in the final, where the Peruvian took the victory.

Both men fought for 25 minutes in spectacular waves of 3 to 5 feet. The Brazilian Ernesto Nunes got the third place and this is placed better for absolute Tour title. The final ranking ALAS is now a competitor in Costa Rica where they will be contesting the title of Latin American Surf Champion

In the Junior category, the leader of the Tour, Bellorín Francisco, took the victory for his native Venezuela. Dylan Southworth (MEX) took second place while the Venezuelans, Jesus Chacon and Rafael Pereira, were in the 3rd and 4th position.

Here are 2 videos of the event produced for Peruvian TV.

Part 1:


Part 2: