The Story of Finca Gualivá, Our Rainforest Finca

Learn more about the property and book here

One year ago, my wife, Anita Cottini Bleakney, and I bought nearly 20 acres of mid-altitude rainforest in Colombia.

It’s called Finca Gualivá.

The vision? Create a refuge for our family and a place where WhereNext DMC guests can breathe deeply and reset. Something that protects the land and supports the people who care for it.

No road signs. No cell signal. Just a gut feeling and a jungle property with rotted deck planks, rusted-out electrical gear, two rivers, and enough snakes, bats, lizards, and crazy cool bugs to keep things exciting.

We had no idea what we were doing.

Anita Cottini Bleakney, in a straw hat and gardening gloves, holds a rake on a stone path beside red flowering plants, with the veranda behind — Anita Cottini Bleakney, starting the clean-up work on the grounds

Aerial view of a forested mountain valley with the white house and pool small in the clearing — Nearly 20 acres of mid-altitude rainforest

We spent eight months remodeling in this remote jungle location. We sourced contractors. Changed those contractors. Waited entire weekends (sometimes weeks) for them to show up, and when they never did, changed them again. I learned how to rewire an ancient electrical grid, installed backup power, and witnessed firsthand how jungle storms don’t ask for permission before sweeping away lawn furniture.

A room under renovation: a man in a dark patterned shirt works on a scaffold by a white wall while a man in a cap and paint-stained trousers looks up, under a bamboo ceiling with log beams — Before: this room in April 2024, with the remodel under way

Living room seen from the sofas toward the stone wall, under a bamboo ceiling and log beam — The living room today, shared by one group at a time

We befriended the neighbors. Hired a new full-time team to live on-site and manage the property. Built trust. Replaced informal, underpaid jobs with lawful, meaningful employment. Legal contracts, fair wages, and dignity.

We also replanted 1,000 coffee plants on the property.

Two men carry a cardboard box along a muddy path between dense plants, with a forested hill behind — Moving materials along the path during the remodel

Two men lift Castillo coffee seedlings in a plastic crate at the back of a truck; one wears a dark sun hat, orange gloves and a pink striped shirt — Castillo coffee seedlings arriving at the finca

A man in a cap, a man in a straw hat and Anita Cottini Bleakney, in a sun hat, stand in boots on a grassy slope, talking, with Syrah the husky lying beside them — Anita Cottini Bleakney and Syrah the husky, supervising the coffee replanting

After five months of operation, Finca Gualivá is an Airbnb Guest Favorite, Superhost, and is ranked in the top 1% of Airbnb properties worldwide.

Guests from around the world have discovered our spot. And they’ve shown their love through 100% 5-star reviews.

A woman in a straw hat, white shirt and rubber boots stands in the Gualivá River among rocks, holding a walking stick — Walking the Gualivá River

The Gualivá River running down over rocks below a forested hillside — The Gualivá River, beside the property

For the past decade, my creative agency, WhereNext, has been involved in tourism storytelling. We sold travel dreams. Too often, I watched the execution fall short. I’ve frequently felt powerless to do something real.

This is just a small rural property in Colombia. Still, it feels so freakin’ good to build the thing, make the promises, and be responsible for delivering on those promises.

We’re still in the early days, but now I’m asking:

What can I learn from this?

Can the hard-won lessons learned from my hacienda become a model for other projects within our travel business, WhereNext DMC?

Perhaps our jungle agroturismo isn’t the end of the story. It might just be the beginning.

#FeelSomething

A freshly dug drainage trench runs across a grassy slope among scattered mounds of earth, with trees behind — Adding new drainage to the coffee plantation

Six people stand on a green lawn at sunset, two in sun hats in the foreground, looking toward forested hills — Enjoying the finca with our first group of guests

Syrah, a husky, sits beside a lichen-covered boulder in a green clearing under tall trees, with hills behind — Syrah, on the grounds of Finca Gualivá

The Story of Finca Gualivá

Plan this with us.

Keep Exploring