Colombian Family Adventure

You will have a private transfer from your hotel to the airport in Bogotá. Following a flight and a transfer, you will be taken to your hotel.

Day 5 begins with a biking experience.

Bike Experience in Filandia & Area

Begin the day with an experience unparalleled in the “steel horses”, as they say here colloquially, this means of transport, by which the farmers travel daily to the fincas on which they work, will enable them to cross routes in the north of the department that connect the municipalities of Cherkassia and Filandia (about 28 km – in the mountain category). Once there, you will have time for a coffee snack and the “most beautiful city of Quindios”, which offers a representative selection of the traditional architecture of this department, with its Bejuco handicrafts, its viewpoints and the friendliness of its inhabitants making a wonderful visit.

In the afternoon you will have the opportunity to have lunch in Naxos “Helena Adentro”, a restaurant created by the union of three travellers who love the landscape and social responsibility, where every detail is important: the paintings of local artists hanging on the walls, the choice of suppliers – local farmers who guarantee the traceability of the products – the preparation of the dishes.

You will have an English speaking guide included.

Basketwork Workshop

This activity allows visitors to know, interact, participate and learn about the craft of basketry in vines, its processes and production techniques that for more than 100 years has existed as a great tradition and intangible heritage in the department of Quindío.

Day 6 takes you to Cafe La Morelia

Café La Morelia

It is a comfortable walk through coffee cultivation, through the processes of pulping, drying, threshing, de-stemming or grading, roasting, grinding and packaging of coffee for final distribution to customers and suppliers.

If this program is carried out, the tasting in La Morelia is obviated and once the activity is finished, the tour continues, with a stop in the restaurant zone with time to enjoy a rest and lunch (not included), then continuing towards the Coffee Shop Factory “La Tienda de los Mecatos”. The coffee tasting will take place there and you can perceive characteristics such as fragrance, aroma, flavor, residual flavor, acidity, body and balance. At the end of the tasting, there is an illustration and tasting of the elaboration of the different products of Coffee (sweets-biscuits etc.).

You will have an English speaking guide included.

A transfer and flight will take you to your hotel in Medellin where you will spend the next 3 nights.

Medellin – City of Eternal Spring

Medellín – the “City of Eternal Spring” – located in the Andean highlands of Antioquia, is nowadays the most innovative city of Latin America. Its recent past was strongly related to the life of Pablo Escobar and violent gang fights. During the last twenty years Medellín went through some drastic changes. An innovative program of urban development that combines modern means of public transport and the construction of public parks and areas of recreation for the local people turned Medellín from the most dangerous city in the world into a modern example of urban transformation.

Explore the Andean capital of Colombia on a full day tour. Get an insight of the history of city visiting the “Pueblito Paisa” and enjoy perfect views of the city. Explore the famous Botero Plaza downtown with an exhibition of the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, whose sculptures have become a landmark of the city. Take the Metro Cable up to Santo Domingo, which was once a notorious area of gang violence in Medellín. The cable car was constructed to make the inner city more accessible to people from the outskirts and allows visitors a glimpse into the lives of the marginalized population. At the Comuna 13 district with its unique escalators you observe another innovative project that improved the quality of life of the people of Medellín.

Guatape and Piedra Del Penol

The Peñol Boulder is one of the most spectacular destinations in the surrounding area of Medellín. The 200-meter-high monolith can be climbed through a staircase of 740 steps. Enjoy breath-taking views over the stunning surroundings full of green mountains and blue lakes. The village of Guatapé is famous for its church and its beautiful, colourful paintings that decorate the houses of the village.

On this day trip you will be taken on a scenic drive through the Eastern Highlands of Antioquia. You can climb the Peñol Boulder, enjoy a delicious typical Colombian lunch on the waterfront of the Guatapé reservoir, explore the lake on a boat ride and take time to stroll and relax.

Graffiti Tour Medellin

The City of Medellin offers a great variety of urban arts due to the city’s transformation of the last 20 years. Nowadays, the city is so full of countless artistic expressions of street art that the local authorities declared urban art a cultural landmark of Medellin.

Graffiti is not only about strong artistic and cultural elements, it is a way of political expression. See the graffiti of the Comuna 13 guided by some of the local artists themselves. This tour gives you an insight on history and daily life in this area and the importance of street art for social communication and identity.

The following day, you will explore Cartagena through a city tour.

City Tour Cartagena

Cartagena de Indias is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in America. Its historical centre, walled by fortifications built in the colonial era, retains its original architecture and is shown today in a myriad of colours that fill it with Caribbean life and joy. Its fascinating history as one of the pearls of that era, a place of collection of great treasures and the largest slave port in the colonies, gives immense importance to this World Heritage City. The stories about those pirate attacks of great magnitude are present in each of the fortifications that remain intact to this day.

The City-Tour begins with a visit to the Fort of San Felipe de Barajas, the largest fortification built by the Spanish in their colonies. In a one-hour tour you will be able to appreciate this masterpiece of military architecture in coral stone and you will learn about the defence strategy of the city in relation to its topography. Then you will go to the historical centre to visit the San Pedro Clavér Convent Museum, former Jesuit Cloister (1605) and home of the so-called “Slave of the Slaves”. To finish, you make a tour of approximately 2 hours through the main squares, churches and streets of the city. You will also walk over the city walls to have the best views of the city and to know the most important bastions.

The next day, Day 12, is spent taking in some local culinary delights.

Coconut-Workshop

Craft your own souvenir and support a good purpose. Coconuts are not only used for drinks but also to create accessories or decoration. The project DAMARTES (Damas y Madres del Arte – ‘Women and Mothers of Art’) began with the name Madres – Cabeza de Familia y sus Cocos (‘Mothers – head of the family and their coconuts’) and is an association composed of seven women. In 2008, they took part in a craft class sponsored by the foundation ProBoquilla. Nowadays, they produce jewellery, containers, vases, belts and accessories and are the frst women of La Boquilla that purchase their own income. Producing an object out of a coconut, requires above all enthusiasm and patience.

The life of the DAMARTES is very impressive. All of them are mothers and most of them already grandmothers with interesting life stories that they like to share with you. The association is a working group of great women that are able to craft amazing things out of simple objects.

You will go to La Boquilla, where the ladies will invite you to a very special workshop. Every participant can make his own souvenir out of coconut. It is possible to craft bracelets, keychains, earrings or necklaces. The workshop will take place in a nice rustic restaurant right on the beach of La Boquilla.  This workshop lasts around 3.5 hours.

You will have an English speaking guide included.

Chocolate Workshop – The Divine Drink

Chocolate is for many the greatest contribution of “the Indies” to the world’s gastronomy. The conqueror himself, Hernan Cortez, on his arrival in America, spoke of “the divine drink that increases resistance and fights fatigue, allows man to walk for a whole day without eating.” And no one can resist its enchantment; it’s synonymous with happiness and love. So what better way to get to know about the history and development of chocolate in Colombia’s culture, than in these hours of fun and playful learning.

You start this shared tour with a pick up at your hotel and transfer to the Chocolate Museum. Here, you can learn all the steps of the chocolate process, from the cocoa tree in the Colombian countryside to the delicious cup of hot chocolate and you are ready to put all hands-on, you will give life to your own chocolate sweets and will taste three chocolate drinks such as cocoa tea, the Mayan drink, and a traditional hot chocolate. Perfect for recharging our levels of endorphins. At the end of the tour, you return you to your hotel.

Rosario Island

The Rosario Islands are located approximately 40km (approx. 1 hour by boat), south-west of Cartagena. They consist of 27 islands with 20 hectares of coral reefs. Explore the impressive, beautiful landscapes of the Rosario Islands with their clear waters, gentle breezes, and maritime life such as dolphins. Today, the entire surrounding area, including the Islas de Barú and the Islas de San Bernardo, are officially protected sites

During this day trip on Majagua Island you will have enough time to explore the beautiful nature and relax on the beach. There you will also be served a typical lunch. In the afternoon you will return to Cartagena. You will be returned to the same hotel of choice.

On your final day, when ready, you will be taken to the airport via a private transfer to await your departing flight.