City view above Medellín with its lush surrounding hills.
The Application Form for the upcoming Colombia trip is at bottom of this page.
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Salsaville's first Music & Dance, Culture, and Nature Tour of Colombia:
August 19th - September 5th, 2022 |
Salsaville's epic two-week plus Tour of Colombia - Medellín, Jardín, Guatapé, and Cali
The plan is to first spend 7 nights taking in the jewel city of Colombia - Medellín. We will explore some of its numerous sights, and check out the salsa scene. (Dance schools, parties, local dance clubs, and more.)
Then, we will visit the small, isolated town of Jardín deep in the mountains, an architectural gem, full of local culture, and eye-popping surrounding scenery.
Next, we will visit Guatapé, the most visited small town in the region. We will climb up one of the most iconic landmarks in Colombia, "Piedra Del Peñol", explore this small, extremely attractive town, and enjoy a 2-3 hour tour on our own hired pontoon boat through the amazing giant resevoir which forms hundreds of small islands and inlets.
Finally, we will fly to Cali, well-known as the "salsa capital of Colombia" to some, and as the "world salsa capital" to others. Along with checking out a couple of sights in this city, we will focus on exploring the salsa scene in depth (big shows, salsa schools, a salsa museum, and more), and you can decide for yourself just how important Cali is as "the city of salsa."
Video of views from Comuna 13 in Medellín.
Here are the details of our travel plans:
Here are the testimonials from the members of Salsaville's first five trips to Cuba. Their heartfelt words explain much better than I can why these trips were such memorable experiences:
Testimonials from Salsaville's 1st Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2015
Testimonials from Salsaville's 2nd Music & Dance trip to Cuba - January 2016
Testimonials from Salsaville's 3rd Music & Dance trip to Cuba - March 2016
Testimonials from Salsaville's 4th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2016
Testimonials from Salsaville's 5th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - January 2017
And the trips just keep getting better and better each time! Here are some testimonials from more recent trips before the pandemic struck:
Testimonials from Salsaville's 11th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - January 2019
Testimonials from Salsaville's 12th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2019
City view above Medellín with its lush surrounding hills.
The Application Form for the upcoming Colombia trip is at bottom of this page.
The group size will be limited to 7 travelers for this first group trip to Colombia.
Please note that this will be run as a "boutique" tour, meaning that the group size will kept small, each member of the trip will receive individual attention,
and the tour can be somewhat customized to your desires & interests. In addition, we are staying in highly-upscale accommodations in Medellín (ha, you will see!), upscale accommodations in Cali, and very nice places in Jardín and Guatapé.
The group will be able to move around more efficiently and do more than a larger group could.
This way we can all achieve my goal of making sure that each person has an amazing experience.
Included in the package price is:
Basic Travel:
Music & Dance Activities:
Some of the more notable additional activities:
In Medellín:
Embalse del Peñol, Guatapé
Trip cost, which INCLUDES all airline travel starting and ending at your home airport:
The only expenses that are not included in the package price and for which you will spend additional money are:
The payment schedule is as follows:
If you need to cancel for whatever reason, I'm afraid none of the payments are refundable, except for a partial refund if we can find a replacement traveler and transfer the plane tickets into their name. Otherwise, at least you will have full credit with the airline to use on any flight for up to a year after ticket purchase.
COVID-19 policy for the trip:
We all acknowledge the inherent risk in getting COVID both before and while traveling (in addition to any other illnesses.)
Although COVID numbers are very low in Colombia at the moment, no one can make any guarantees.
Each person will assume their own risk, and although, in the case of falling ill and/or testing positive, I would assist you to the best of my ability, a trip refund
(for either the entire trip or the part of the trip remaining) would, at most, only be partially provided.
In addition, Salsaville, and Eric Freeman, cannot take any responsibility for any ill health effects incurred.
Why travel with Eric "El Cubanito" Freeman?
Eric has extensive experience in Cuba. He has been traveling to Cuba since 1995. He has traveled there 26 times, and spent a total of over 30 months on the island of Cuba.
He has studied dance there extensively and has developed numerous connections over the years.
Eric is getting more and more up to speed with Colombia as well. Between 2003 to 2005 he visited Colombia 4 times, having spent nearly a total of 3 months there. Now, in 2022, he recently spent nearly another 3 months there, specifically exploring and learning how to best run group trips there.
Café in hills above Jardín which we will be stopping at on the way down from our guided hike.
APPLICATION FORM:
Please copy & paste the below text into an email, fill in, and send to eric@salsaville.com.
(Please avoid printing out this form and writing in answers by hand.)
1. Would you like single or double occupancy?
If double occupancy, tell me the number of beds needed and the name of the person you are sharing a room with.
(Or, although tricky, let me know if you would like me to attempt to match you with another traveler to share a room with.)
Note: All rooms have AC and en-suite bathrooms (i.e. the bathroom is directly connected to your bedroom.)
2. Please indicate your preferred origin and return airports:
If you want to return to a different airport, or perhaps stay in Miami or elsewhere on your own for a few extra days on the way back, please indicate this.
Do you generally prefer window or aisle seats? (This could always be changed later on.)
Do you do overnight flights?
a. Not at all.
b. Yes, if it makes the connections work a bit better.
c. Makes no difference to me either way.
d. I actually prefer overnight flights.
Do you do very early flights (i.e. flights leaving between 5:30am and 7:00am)?
a. Not at all.
b. Yes, if it makes the connections work a bit better.
c. Makes no difference to me either way.
d. I actually prefer very early flights so I can get to my destination at an earlier hour.
3. Your email address:
Do you regularly check your email at least once every 24 hours?:
4. Your cell phone number with the ability to receive text messages:
5. Fill in the info below as it appears on your passport.
First name:
Middle name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Gender:
Passport #.:
Passport date of expiration:
6. Contact info for any emergency:
Name of person:
Relationship:
Phone number:
7. Your mailing address:
8. Attach a good quality scan of your passport. Taking a photo with a smartphone camera works fine.
9. Do you have any physical and/or psychological issues that could impede your ability to successfully participate in this trip?
10. This tour will involve walking a total of 1-3 miles per day, and optionally more at times. Are you able to do this while maintaining an average moderate pace? (If not, it does not mean you cannot come on the trip. I would just need to know this ahead of time in order to possibly make some adjustments.)
In addition, on about 6 days, we will be doing 2 to 3 hours a day of dance lessons in well-ventilated, but non-airconditioned rooms. Some evenings we will be going out dancing for 2-3 hours. All activities are optional. If you are tired at any point, you can always opt-out and go back to your room to relax, rest, etc.
11. You will need to sign a fairly standard liability waiver which will be delivered to you after acceptance of your application.
12. From time to time you will be asked for your input on some aspect of planning the trip. You will sometimes be asked to respond in as little as 24 hours. (Examples include RSVP'ing to a proposed group orientation meeting time, and getting your go ahead in purchasing specific airline flights.) I will need your timely response in order to help effectively plan the trip. Do you agree to do your best to respond in a timely manner?
13. What are your expectations for participating in this trip? (Two sentence minimum here please.)
14. Please list any dietary restrictions that could be relevant to this trip - like if you don't eat red meat, poultry, fish, dairy, etc. (There are several, easy to find vegan/vegetarian restaurants pretty much everywhere we are going.)
Eric "El Cubanito" Freeman
Owner, Salsaville Dance Studios
www.Salsaville.com
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