Day 1: Bogota
Upon arrival at Bogota airport you’ll be welcomed by you guide who will provide a private transfer to your selected hotel in the city for check-in and overnight.
Day 2: Bogota (Fruit Market)
Today you will be visiting one of the most authentic and diverse places of Colombian culture and one of the most important markets in Bogotá where you can explore the magic of local produce and exotic fruits. It’s a complete cultural immersion where you can get to know the agricultural market dynamics where thousands of products from the country side arrive daily to be sold in Bogota. In lieu of breakfast or lunch, you may taste exotic fruits and other goods. The afternoon is free. [B]
Day 3: Bogota (Regional Cuisine workshop & Breweries)
Colombia is the second most bio-diverse country in the world and this diversity is also expressed in their cuisine that uses thousands of varieties of vegetables, fruits, tubers, meats, and flavors. In this afternoon tour, you will experience the tastes and flavors of Colombia through 8 different foods from the 5 different Colombian regions: Amazon, Andes, Caribbean Coast, Pacific Coast, and Orinoquia. During this delicious and cultural experience learn about the gourmet background of each region in local restaurants located in the Candelaria District (walking tour) and a family house where you’ll learn how to cook tasty empanadas. Complete your gastronomic knowledge with a brewery tour to learn about the most relevant of more than 100 artisanal Colombian brands. In this tour, you may taste 4 or 5 of the most authentic ones. Starting at the square where Bogotá was founded by the Spaniards, we will begin our beer adventure with “chichi”, a drink originated in the 15th century, fermented by the indigenous people. Hen, you may taste ales, stouts, ambers, and lagers to get the gist of local flavors. Return to the hotel for overnight. [B/L/T]
Day 4: Bogota (Local “arepas”)
You will be met by your guide, who will take you on a private walking tour of downtown Bogotá. Start at Bogota's historical center called "La Candelaria" with its impressive churches, Governmental palace and "Plaza de Bolívar". Also, we’ll try some local snacks (arepas) made with corn and end up our tour playing the gunpowder game, better known as Tejo, a Colombia national sport already played in the pre-Hispanic times. Then, you have the option to visit different museums, depending on the weekday, like the world-famous "Museo del Oro" (museum of gold), Emerald Museum and the gallery of the famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Return to the hotel for overnight. [B/S]
Day 5: Bogota, Armenia, Salento
At the appointed time you’ll be picked-up and driven to Bogota’s airport to board your flight to Armenia. On arrival, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel in Salento for overnight. [B]
Day 6: Salento (Cocora Valley)
Salento is the oldest municipality in the department of Quindío, therefore its traditional architecture and craft workshops make it an unforgettable place. There you can see colonial houses painted in bright colors, balconies full of flowers and even better, you will enjoy the warmth of its people that will make your visit a great experience. We will also enjoy a hike in the Cocora Valley, where the national tree of Colombia, the Wax Palm, is located. Surely the palms will attract your attention, since their height is up to 230 feet, being one of the tallest palms in the world. Let yourself be amazed by all the beauty of the landscape in the walk through the trails of the valley. The hike in the valley lasts around 2 hours. Then, enjoy a delicious lunch followed by traditional games such as the "Tejo" or the "Rana". Return to Salento for a brief introduction to the coffee experience with a general immersion into the coffee activity, production process, traditions around the coffee culture as well as the importance of coffee in the economy of the region. Continue to the hotel for overnight. [B/L]
Day 7: Salento (Cooking workshop)
Among a wonderful coffee landscape, you will live an experience with a local family, sharing their customs and learning everything related to the coffee process. You’ll participate, in the "aunt’s" company, in the preparation of the lunch from the harvest in the orchard and while the food is cooking you will make a garden tour including heliconia and fruit trees. On the return you’ll finish preparing the lunch that you’ll share with the family. Your tour ends with a delicious cup of coffee at the farm or in the family’s village shop. [B/L]
Note: the culinary lesson requires a minimum of 2 people.
Day 8: Salento (Circacia, Filandia)
To begin the day with an experience riding your bike through the coffee landscape connecting the towns of and Filandia, or approximately 11 miles on an easy route with a mild elevation. The experience takes you through the most traditional landscapes and villages of the region, doing it the traditional way the farmers colloquially call on “steel horses”. Once there, we have time for a coffee snack and the "most beautiful city of Quindios", which offers a representative selection of the traditional architecture of our 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 travelers 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. Overnight in Salento. [B/L]
Day 9: Salento, Pereira, Cartagena
At the appointed time you’ll be picked-up and driven to Pereira’s airport to board your flight to Cartagena. On arrival, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel for overnight. [B]
Day 10: Cartagena (Fish cooking workshop)
Every morning, 365 days a year, the people of the village La Boquilla, get up to go fishing. La Boquilla is the home to many families with African origins whose principal source of income is fishing. There are two big lagoons: the Cienaga de Juan Polo and the Cienaga de la Virgen. Different species of fish can be caught in these lagoons and the fishermen use their own traditional technique of fishing. They catch sea bass (róbalo), shad (sábalo), common two-banded sea bream (mojarra), ocean-bass (pargo negro), mullet (lebranche), as well as sea snails, clams, shrimp, crawfish and lobster. Three common techniques are generally used: fishing line, nets and traps. The fishermen will wait for us in La Boquilla, early morning, to take us to the lagoon in their canoes. The tour guide will help us communicate with the fishermen. For about 2-3 hours, we will fish in the lagoon (don’t forget to bring a hat, sunscreen and mosquito repellent!). The fishermen will explain how to use the fishing line, how to throw the fishing net and how to position the traps in order to catch shrimp and crawfish. If you wish to eat the fish and crabs you have caught, keep your catch because we go to one of the fishermen’s houses to cook and have lunch together! Our walking “Plazas Tour” covers Plaza de San Diego, Plaza Fernandez of Madrid, Park Bolivar, Plaza de los Coches and Plaza Santo Domingo. We also get to walk on the walls and visit the bastions of Santo Domingo and San Francisco Javier, where we will learn all about the city’s history and defense strategy. We get to see the most illustrative streets and their legends, and visit the most important churches such as the cathedrals San Pedro Claver and Santo Domingo. Retutn to the hotel for overnight. [B/L]
Day 11: Cartagena (Caribbean Cooking Class)
The Bazurto market is a traditional market offering fish, meat, fruit and clothing and is as important as La Popa Convent or San Felipe Castle. It is a very traditional market, barely visited by tourists. We can buy food and traditionally prepared Colombian dishes or just enjoy the market in the early hours. Let this “underground” part of Cartagena enchant you! Walk through a maze of alleys, where the tour guide will introduce you to all kind of fruit, herbs, vegetables, fish, seafood and meat before visiting a spice market and natural healing pharmaceuticals. Gastronomy being an important part of the local culture, the Cartageneros are proud of their Caribbean cuisine. Apart from tasting it, what would be better than learning how to prepare seafood, coconut rice and other local specialties? The cooking class takes place in a colonial house in the city center or in Getsemaní. The Chef will give a presentation about the ingredients used before showing us how to prepare typical dishes that we’ll eat together. The class and lunch take about three hours. Return to the hotel for overnight. [B/L]
Day 12: Cartagena, USA
At the appointed time you’ll be picked up for your transfer to the airport to board your connecting flight back home. [B]
[B] = Breakfast | [B/L] = Breakfast and Lunch | [B/L/S] = Breakfast, Lunch and Snack
