Soaring Gold Prices Draw Illicit Miners—and Armed Gangs—to Colombia's Jungles

PUERTO CLAVER, Colombia—The lure of even a few specks of gold compels Elizabeth Mosquera awake before dawn to slog to a muddy pit, where she wades into waist-deep water and starts to pan.
Traces of the precious metal are enough to supplant the pedicures and dye jobs she used to provide for a pittance. 'What you earn in a month in a regular job, you can make here in an hour or two,' said Mosquera, 47 years old.

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Forbes

3 days ago

• Forbes

The Colombian Designer Who Turned Beach Waste Into Fashion Gold

Baobab's high summer collection 2025 features vibrant designs in candy hues The scene is vivid: a 22-year-old law student in Bogotá, Colombia, surrounded by legal textbooks, bra cups, stretchy fabrics, and scissors, working late not for her upcoming exams, but for her passion project. What came after was no surprise in hindsight — instead of pursuing a career in law and politics, Isabella Espinosa saved her lunch money to buy bikini materials and began building what seemed like an impossible dream. 'It started as an emotional decision rather than a logical one,' Espinosa speaks of the early days of her brand Baobab, a sustainable swimwear brand that has exploded from $250,000 in revenue in 2020 to over $9 million in 2024. Today, Espinosa's stylish and versatile range of resort- and swimwear has drawn a loyal fanbase — counting close to half a million followers on their Instagram account alone; her flagship stores span from Bogotá to New York's West Village, with her designs sold in boutiques in over 450 locations across 50 countries, all topped with a growing B2C strategy to ensure direct engagement with customers. Baobab's humble beginning started with what can be seen on Colombian beaches in abundance: waste coconuts falling from trees. 'What if we pack the bikinis into coconut shells?' Espinosa thought, before going on to create the distinctive packaging that would catch the attention of Victoria's Secret and launch her brand into the global spotlight. Working with artist Pilar Hernandez, she transformed these discarded shells into the now-iconic 'Coco Bag' — sustainable packaging in its most original form, which also doubles as a beach bag. Baobab's line of resort-inspired accessories also contributed to the brand's popularity The innovation was born from necessity — 'I couldn't afford the high minimum orders required for traditional packaging,' Espinosa explains, before adding: 'It was sustainable, reusable, and completely plastic-free.' A perfect solution that summarizes her brand's philosophy (in a nutshell, literally): turning limitations into opportunities, waste into luxury. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Baobab faced an existential crisis like many privately owned and funded fashion brands. Who needed swimsuits in a lockdown? 'I doubled down,' Espinosa says, and recalls how she spent her time during the pandemic to innovate with coral reef restoration programs, create versatile 'beach-to-bar' designs, and expand in wholesale by speaking to retailers. The strategy proved brilliant. Within a year of partnering with Intermix, one of the brand's first big account secured during this period, Baobab grew 2,250% within their stores. The 'Beach to Bar' philosophy subsequently became a crucial part to Baobab's DNA. To date, the brand's vibrant and joy-inducing pieces are created with versatility in mind, making them the perfect vacation picks allowing seamless transitions from swimwear to evening wear. 'It's not just about what we wear, but how we wear it,' Espinosa explains. As unconventional as its founder's journey, Baobab's marketing strategy is key in the brand's rise to stardom. Instead of reinvesting in seasonal trade shows, the brand focused on storytelling, launching stunning runways in iconic locations like the Seine River and the Amazon rainforest. These spectacular shows, including presentations in Madagascar's Baobab Tree Valley and Dubai's desert, have become signature events that spiked Baobab's brand awareness on a global scale with breathtaking content created for the brand's ever-growing online community, while ensuring the brand stay true to its nature-inspired ethos. Isabella Espinosa (center), founder of Baobab, with models at the brand's runway show at the Baobab Tree Valley in Madagascar Beyond fashion and vacation pieces, Baobab is working on a mission to better the planet. In 2023, the brand recycled three tons of waste through its Cascade program under the Baobab Foundation. Every piece is made from recycled ocean plastics and discarded fishing nets, while the dyeing process uses a steaming technique that generates zero water waste or chemical residues. Espinosa shows further commitment: for every swimsuit sold, a tree is planted, and proceeds go to supporting coral reef restoration in Colombia's San Andrés archipelago. Last year, Baobab made its debut at PARAISO Miami Swim Week and hosted its first Miami pop-up in the Design District, in addition to opening its first flagship boutique in New York. This year, the brand is showing no signs of slowing down, having launched on Moda Operandi and its high summer collection, 'Le Soleil', that continues to draw inspiration from Colombia's biodiversity. This week, Baobab announced its collaboration with New York It girl Leah McCarthy, unveiling a 30-piece range of swimwear, dresses and accessories that embodies a touch more playfulness on top of the brand's usual elevated aesthetics. Looking ahead, Espinosa's vision remains uncompromisingly ambitious. 'Growth should never come at the cost of our values,' she insists. With the Baobab Foundation pushing initiatives like the Latin American Cascade Challenge powered by LAFS, she's expanding her zero-waste mission across the region. 'For us, growth isn't just about revenue, it's about impact,' Espinosa reflects. 'We're not just building a brand; we're building a movement that can set fashion as a tool for change.'

Wall Street Journal

08-06-2025

• Wall Street Journal

Soaring Gold Prices Draw Illicit Miners—and Armed Gangs—to Colombia's Jungles

PUERTO CLAVER, Colombia—The lure of even a few specks of gold compels Elizabeth Mosquera awake before dawn to slog to a muddy pit, where she wades into waist-deep water and starts to pan. Traces of the precious metal are enough to supplant the pedicures and dye jobs she used to provide for a pittance. 'What you earn in a month in a regular job, you can make here in an hour or two,' said Mosquera, 47 years old.

Travel + Leisure

05-06-2025

• Travel + Leisure

More Married Women Are Traveling Alone Than Ever Before—Here's Why

According to research from multiple studies, more married women are choosing to travel by themselves than ever before. While older women are leading the charge, younger women are becoming more interested in solo travel as well. Best of all? Many are saying that it's actually been good for their marriages. There's a surprising shift happening in the world of travel: more married women are booking solo getaways than ever before. According to a 2024 study by online travel agency over 54 percent of women surveyed said they wanted to travel solo. And according to previous studies, such as one from 2023 by Boston-based tour operator Road Scholar, found that 60 percent of its solo travelers were married women traveling without their spouses. In that same year, another report from Australian travel agency Flight Centre found that women going it alone was the company's most common type of traveler. But don't be mistaken. While some are opting for quiet beach vacations or leisurely wine tastings. More and more, women are choosing bold, immersive adventures—think of destinations such as Morocco, Colombia, Egypt, and Cuba. Places that challenge and could potentially transform them. 'I think there are multiple reasons, including the fact that women are exhausted at being defined as mothers, wives, grandmothers, career women, etc, and they're facing the if not now, when' question head on,' Stacey Ray, owner of the female-founded travel company Sisterhood Travels, says. For many women in older generations (such as baby boomers and those in Generation X), travel may have once felt exclusively like something reserved for family vacations or something that you would do with a husband. But more and more women are taking the plunge and booking a ticket for one. 'Approximately 40 percent of our clients are married women traveling solo," Rays says. '[That's] up about 15 percent over the last couple of years. The median age range is between 58 and 68 for married women traveling solo, and I think this demographic will continue to rise as other married women share the wonderful experiences they're having.' A group in Havana. Stacey Ray/Sisterhood Travels For Kelly Lewis, founder of the boutique travel company Damesly, says many of her clients travel simply because their spouses can't or don't want to. 'Most of my guests have partners or are married, but choose to travel solo because their partners can't take time off work, or they don't have an interest in traveling,' Lewis says. For writer and blogger Megan Padilla, she and her husband have different traveling styles. Plus, she loves the freedom. 'It's incredible to travel exactly on your terms —to choose what matters most and how you want to spend your time and money without having to bend, cave, or compromise,' Padilla says. 'For example, I love lingering over a spritz at a tiny café in Rome. My husband doesn't drink and isn't interested in food, so if I were with him, I'd miss out on those little moments that make the trip truly mine.' However, for L.A.-based writer Carrie Bell, traveling alone became a necessity during a period of bereavement. And it ended up being exactly what she needed. 'After my dad died, I took a solo road trip to the high desert—Joshua Tree, and Palm Springs—for work. My husband couldn't travel with me because he didn't have the time off, so I had to go alone,' she said. 'It ended up being incredibly special. The desert, especially Joshua Tree, was a place my dad took me as a kid on camping trips, and being there felt like reconnecting with him. I spent my days walking, crying, soaking in hot springs, watching sunsets, and trying to figure out how to move forward without him. That trip became a turning point. Now, I return often to the desert for solo escapes, it's where I go to recenter, reflect, and remember.' Traveling alone, whether it's to it's a wellness retreat in Sedona or a bustling photography expedition in the Galapagos, offers many women an opportunity to reconnect with themselves, away from the demands of daily life. It's not about leaving their marriage behind, but rather, about leaning into rest and independence. For Bell, traveling alone is part of her formula for keeping a healthy marriage. Time apart reinforces her and her husband's time together. 'It's important for me to have these experiences on my own as a way to forge my own identity and feel like a whole person,' she says. Nancy Arehart, a retired photographer from the Raleigh–Durham metropolitan area of North Carolina, says that solo travel has only strengthened her marriage and was born out of necessity, as well as a love for the camera. Nancy Arehart while on a safari in South Africa. Stacey Ray/Sisterhood Travels 'At the time, my husband and I were caregiving for my elderly parents, and we found it pretty necessary to go on solo vacations because one of us needed to be home to care for my parents,' she says. 'I decided, at the encouragement of my husband, to do a photography-focused trip with a friend. I quickly discovered that I loved traveling.' Since then, solo travel has become a shared passion for both her and her husband, and Arehart has visited over 15 countries alone, including Antarctica, the Galapagos, Botswana, India, Africa, Brazil, Svalbard, and Peru. 'We don't always need to be physically next to each other to keep our marriage strong and thriving,' she says. 'Even though my parents are both deceased now, we still do our solo travel, but we make a point of scheduling a few vacations that we can do together each year as well.' Though older women are certainly leading the charge (in that Flight Centre study, the average age of a woman traveling alone was 52), younger women are also becoming more interested in traveling solo. According to travel public relations company ASA Luxury's Travel Trends Report 2025, 58 percent of Gen Z women expressed an interest in traveling abroad alone, and 83 percent said they were inspired to do so by social media influencers and celebrities. For some, however, it's as simple as considering the experiences of the women closest to them—and wanting more for themselves. 'My husband's grandmother did everything right for her generation,' Bell says. '[She] raised a family, kept a home, but never traveled because her husband didn't want to. After he passed, she realized she'd never seen anywhere beyond her hometown. That conversation made me realize: I'd rather dine alone and wonder if the maître d' pities me than miss out just because my husband can't come."