 In addition to traveling, making a positive impact is of course a very nice combination. This is no longer a utopia but has become a simple reality.  In collaboration with Positive Impact Tourims we have put together very special and impressive experiences. On these experiences, a more meaningful exchange takes place between you as a traveler and the location you are visiting. We do this in different ways with hands-on activities that are not only great fun to do, but also beneficial to your local hosts and the natural environment. |
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Your own Positive Impact Experiences? We have some unforgettable experiences for both Colombia and Ecuador. You can book this as a complete trip or as a (multi-day) day trip during your own trip. Back to the positive impact overview
COLOMBIAÂ
Cariben culture Experience – Colombia – 9 days 1035 euro pp
A journey that starts in colourful Cartagena where we use produce from the biggest market in the region to support a local family with a delicious meal. At the coast, you will visit the Mangroves and join a fisherman in nature preservation. You will also try your hand at catching fresh fish for our BBQ with locals. In Santa Maria and Palomino, the beach welcomes you for some relaxation. Going more inland, you will meet the Kogui and Arhuaco indigenous peoples and will help out on a coffee- and banana plantation. The journey ends in Medellin.
Day 1. Arrival in Cartagena
Today, you arrive in Cartagena, a colourful city where you cannot escape the Caribbean vibes. We will pick you up from the airport and take you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to explore the city and its various facets. You will be staying in a beautiful hotel with a central location.
Meals included: none
Day 2. Real city vibes
After breakfast, a local guide will pick you up at the hotel to explore a less-visited part of Cartagena and experience a different aspect of the city’s colourful reality. First, we will visit the largest market in this area, where you’ll be overwhelmed by a variety of new products to taste.
We’ll purchase some fresh ingredients, which we’ll then take to the Real Cartagena project supporting the less fortunate in the city. Together, we’ll transform the fresh ingredients into a delicious meal that we’ll share with the family or families we are supporting today. We’ll learn about their daily lives and the challenges they face living in the big city. You’ll get a glimpse of the lives of these local residents, hearing more about their family backgrounds. These families are struggling financially, each with their own stories, and the specific family you visit will be determined on the spot to ensure that all supported families get a turn.
After the day tour, the guide will take you back to the hotel. The evening is free for your own leisure.
Meals included: breakfast and lunch
Day 3. Coastal preservation Cartagena is located on the coast where it meets the mangrove. Your English-speaking guide for today will pick you up after breakfast to take you to the mangrove to explore this beautiful and interesting natural area. We begin with a visit to a fishing village where we learn about the lives of the fishermen and, if possible, lend a helping hand with their daily activities.
We will have lunch with a local family, along with the fisherman who will be our guide in the afternoon. After lunch, we will explore the mangrove with him in a canoe and assist in planting new plants and cleaning up threats such as plastic and other debris that have found their way into the mangrove.
In the afternoon, we will try our hand at fishing for our own dinner; with the catch, we will have a delightful BBQ at one of the fishermen’s homes. The more you catch, the more local guests from the village we can invite to our BBQ, so you’ll naturally want to do your best. After dinner, your guide will bring you back to your hotel in Cartagena.
Please note: You may be exploring today in a group with other international guests. This day can also be booked separately as a one-day excursion (85 euro pp).
Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner (if you catch something 😉)
Day 4. A public journey
This day is a travel day to Santa Marta using public transportation. Your travel guide provides instructions on how to travel to Santa Marta by train or minibus. There are comfortable buses that will drop you off in this coastal town in less than 5 hours. Along the way, you will witness a beautiful yet realistic image of Colombia where not everyone can benefit from economic progress, and waste disposal is not yet a priority…both issues to which you contribute positively by undertaking this experience.
You will spend this day in a charming hotel by the beach near the harbor of the local fishermen. Your travel guide includes enjoyable suggestions for where to grab a bite to eat tonight.
Meals included: breakfast
Day 5-6 Nature and farming
Over the next two days, you will explore the unique inland areas of this part of Colombia.
We begin with a visit to the Donama Stone, a mysterious rock adorned with engravings created by the Tayrona people. The journey continues by car to Pozo La Liza, where you can bathe and revel in nature. Following that, there’s lunch at Cruz Delina restaurant on the banks of the Piedra River. After lunch, you’ll head to Boquerón and embark on a walk through Kogui town, where all indigenous traditions are preserved. Finally, you’ll arrive at La Momposina Farm, where you can appreciate the natural beauty surrounding the farm and observe numerous birds. You’ll have dinner with the hosts, indulging in delicious, typical dishes, and share conversations about their lives in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
You’ll have breakfast on the farm with delightful coffee and specialties. Subsequently, they will introduce you to the processes of organic coffee cultivation, and you can participate in daily activities, such as planting or caring for coffee plants and/or harvesting coffee beans, depending on the season. In the village itself, you can contribute to a Minga activity if one is taking place during your visit – for instance, participating in a collective clean-up of litter. Additionally, you can swim in a well near the farm. Finally, there’s lunch, and you’ll return to Santa Marta.
Meals included: breakfast & lunch on both days, dinner on day 5
Day 7. Banana galore
This day you will take local public transportation to Palomino (bus ticket not included, but you will receive information on busses and prices), the coastal town of Colombia. Here, you will experience delightful holiday feelings for the next two days and participate in amazing activities together with the community living around your ecological lodge and the inland areas. The afternoon starts with a banana tour; the impressive landscapes and mountain trails are the sensation. Sowing and planting bananas and plantains on the Finca bring various charms together. You’ll receive an instant banana crash course, covering the many varieties, including applications and local gastronomic culture. In the evening, you are invited into the kitchen to help cook our dinner tonight.
Meals included: breakfast and Dinner
Day 8. Tayrona culture
Today, we visit the Arhuaco Indigenous. During this day, you will learn a lot about nature and indigenous culture. They will directly introduce you to the ancestral customs of the Tayrona and the elaboration of their backpacks, symbols, clothing, way of life, and much more. The tour departs from the accommodation and is about a 30-minute walk. The environment in which the Arhuacos live is surrounded by crops of avocado, mango, yucca, banana, and others. To thank your hosts, today you will prepare lunch and enjoy it together with them. Sometimes, a little extra is added by us to the grocery list of a villager who needs something from the store but can’t afford it.
Meals included: breakfast and lunch and dinner
Dag 9. Back to Medellin
Time to say goodbye to your lovely stay after these impressive days in the Caribbean part of Colombia. Using public transportation, you’ll return to Santa Marta, where you’ll depart by plane in the afternoon to Medellin. If you wish, you can extend your stay from Medellin.
Meals included: breakfast