Colombia: Anthropology

15 days

Bogota, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Ciudad Antigua & Medellin

Itinerary

Depart Home for Bogota, Colombia
Arrival in Bogota, Colombia – Airport Transfer
Orientation Walking Tour & Program Introduction
Welcome Dinner – The group will be taken for an authentic dinner with a variety of menu options to cater all diets

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Gold Museum – Displays one of the most dazzling collection in South America. It brings together around 34.000 pieces of goldsmith work, considered as the world’s largest pre-Columbian collection of its kind. Those artifacts come from different civilizations : Quimbayas, Taironas, Muiscas or Tolimas.
Lunch Break
Monserrate & Botero Museum – It houses one of Latin America’s most important international art collections
Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

Breakfast & Day Briefing
National Museum of Colombia – Collections on its history, art, culture. Located in Bogotá downtown, is the biggest and oldest museum in Colombia.
Internal Flight to Cartagena
Walking Tour of the Old Town followed by a Fish Dinner – Vegetarian/vegan options available

Breakfast – Day Briefing
Afro-Colombia tour & Experience with Social Drum Workshop on the Caribbean Beach – We head to a fishing village where locals are resisting cultural change to preserve their ancestral traditions. One of these is traditional music.
During this tour, students observe, learn and play huge Afro-Colombian wild drums and dance the traditional dances such as Cumbia, Mapalé, and Champeta. The drum project is led by a group committed to human and economic development that is aimed at rescuing and preserving the cultural traditions of the African heritage.
Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Santa Marta Walking Tour
Weaving Workshop & Anthropology Activity with Local Partners in the Native Arhuaco Community – Led by a prominent leader of the Arhuaco community, students learn the art of bag weaving using traditional methods and techniques. Each shape, symbol, and color has a sacred meaning for the Arhuaco community and plays a huge part in the woman’s role in everyday life. As well as using the weaving tools, students will attempt to make their own bracelets too.

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Students arrive to their Jungle-Embedded Eco Hotel & Enjoy a Tubing Journey Down the River to a Beach Cacao Plantation Visit- Learn about ward-winning rare species of cacao.

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Archaeological Ruins – Enjoy an exclusive experience at one of the region’s undiscovered archaeological ruins
Lunch Break
Students will stay overnight in a Reconstructed Indigenous House getting the ultimate experience

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Archaeological Site Tour – Our local expert leads a tour around the archaeological site, explaining the extraordinary customs that the indigenous peoples used to practice in the 7th century
Lunch Break
Organic Cotton Plantation Tour
Structured Free Time & Cultural Immersion

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Enjoy a short walk into Tayrona National Park – Is a large protected area covering the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta as they meet the Caribbean coast. It’s known for its palm-shaded coves, coastal lagoons, rainforest and rich biodiversity. At its heart, the Pueblito ruins are an archaeological site accessed via forest trails, with terraces and structures built by the Tayrona civilization
End the day with a reflection session on the impact of globalization on native communities
Free time in the Beautiful Centre of Santa Marta

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Flight to Medellin ( approx. 1 hour)
Lunch Break
Guided visit to the Memory Museum & Graffiti – Discovering from locals how this city has transformed from one of the most dangerous on earth to a must visit
Evening Visit to a Street of Local Boutiques

Breakfast & Day Briefing
EAFIT University Visit – Students enjoy a cross-cultural learning experience and workshops on mathematics with EAFIT University students. All the students dine together in the city’s most iconic & socially responsible restaurant
Group Dinner with Local Students

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Bus Transfer to Guatapè – It’s known for its houses decorated with colorful bas-reliefs. It sits by the vast, man-made Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir, a busy water-sports center. Piedra del Peñol, a giant granite rock southwest of town, has hundreds of steps to the top, where there are sweeping views. The nearby Marial Stone is giant rock with an overhang.
Take part in our unique Guatapé challenge – We have designed a questionnaire for students to complete while they are exploring Guatape. This specially-designed activity challenges students to interact with locals and discover the native beginnings of the land and understand how tourism has impacted both positively and negatively the area. Note: this can be adapted to the needs of the student program and especially to include a more mathematical focus
Enjoy Lunch and Free Time in the Town
Evening Soccer Game Back in Medellin – Depending on the timing of the fixtures, we invite students to join us in Estadio in Medellin for a live soccer game featuring Atletico Nacional or Independiente Medellin. Students will feel the pulsating passion of supporters for whom soccer is like a religion.

Breakfast & Day Briefing
Visit to a Flower Farm – Students get hands-on experience making a flower wreath – Students head to Santa Elena and to one of the traditional fincas (or country farms) to discover the traditions of the Antioquia flower maker. After an introductory talk into the history and culture of the flower makers, students get to make their own beautiful wreath and practice carrying the load on their backs, just as the flower makers do during the world-famous flower festival in August
Salsa Show & Dance Class
Farewell Dinner & Program Closing – The group will be taken for an authentic dinner with a wide variety of menu options to cater all diets.

Is there an experience you would like to provide that isn’t included in our itineraries?
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Are there sites that better fit your subject than the ones provided?
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Is there an experience you would like to provide that isn’t included in our itineraries?
Let’s add it!

Are there sites that better fit your subject than the ones provided?
Let’s swap them!