Volunteer Teaching Trip in Colombia

Welcome to Colombia! Upon your arrival today, your local guide will be waiting for you to transfer you to your hotel or host family home.

The afternoon is yours to explore the area, rest after your flight, or chat with some locals. 

In the evening, you’ll meet with your group and guide for authentic local cuisine. Your guide will share details of your schedule as well as provide tips about local customs and safety.

Today you will make your way into the city center where you will be teaching your classes. Following a short orientation and training, you will meet the students you will be teaching. Classes will be every morning with free time every afternoon.

After enjoying lunch at a local restaurant, you will visit the fortress walls, including the clock tower entrance. The walls protected the city from pirates and storms. There are several bars and restaurants in the area — so maybe you’ll be thinking about your dinner plans.Next, you’ll visit the historic Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, which overlooks the city center. Construction started in the mid-1600s, but took over 150 years to complete. Explore the many underground passages and imagine hiding in the castle. The tunnels were specifically designed to allow the slightest of sounds to travel well so intruders could be easily detected and stopped.

As you get to know your students, and they get to know you, share stories about your lives — how they are different and how they are the same. 

Following a morning of teaching, you head to the beach, specifically Playa Blanca. Located on Baru Island, it is a short boat ride from the port. Beautiful clear waters surround the bright white sand beach. Relax on the beach, walk the shore, or partake of the fresh fish and coconut rice from one of the beachfront restaurants. 

After classes today, you will head to the Museo de Oro, or Gold Museum. Despite its size, the museum has an extensive collection of gold and pottery from the Zenu people, early inhabitants of the Cartagena area. 

After the quiet museum, you will visit the loud, busy, and sometimes crowded Mercado de Bazurto. Here you will find everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to cooked turtle and so much more. 

Tonight you will enjoy dinner at one of the best ceviche and fish restaurants in the city. There are numerous restaurants specializing in Peruvian-Colombian fusion food.

After another fun day of teaching, you will visit La Boquilla, a small fishing village on the outskirts of Cartagena. Take the opportunity to help the next generation by reading with the kids in LaBoquilla. The formal program happens every Saturday, but there are always kids wanting more.

Tonight you will experience a very Colombian activity, a night on a chiva (party bus). Expect live musicians, open bars, and lots of dancing. The party starts on the bus, but you can be dropped off at various bars around the city to dance, have a few drinks, and meet new people. Be ready to have some fun!

Today is your final day of teaching. After classes this morning, you will visit Islas del Rosario, a collection of 25 islands in the crystal Caribbean waters off the city coast. Snorkel to your heart’s content along the many coral reefs and see a diversity of aquatic life, swim in the warm Caribbean waters, or simply walk along the beach. 

Following your island visit, you will go to El Totumo, a small volcano with thick bubbling mud in which you can bathe. Once in the vat where you float in the mud, you can have a massage if you like. Once your soothing mud bath is complete, there are local ladies who will scrub you down in the lake, leaving you feeling pampered and relaxed.

Tonight you will go to Cafe Havana to dance or listen to salsa music. Enjoy some delicious cocktails and enjoy the music.

Today you have a free day to explore, relax, or shop before your return trip home tomorrow. Your guide will provide suggestions if needed, or you can do as you please.

Hopefully, you have had an educational and fun week. Enjoy a final breakfast with your group and guides while you share your favorite memories and what you have learned. It is time to head to the airport for your departure flight home.