By: Sarah MacCarthy
It has been two weeks since I left Turbaco, Colombia, but I am eager to share the story about our field trip to Cartagena with sixty-five children and twelve adults. Saturday morning, March 15th, we all woke up early and prepared ourselves for a fun-filled day in Cartagena. We put on our Colombian soccer jerseys and headed to the corner where the bus was going to collect us. We loaded up and the adventure began! The children were so incredibly excited, as many of them had never been to the city before, let alone seen the ocean. Eager eyes stared outside the bus as we rolled through the busy, traffic-filled streets en route to the city. Music was playing, and the kids were singing loudly.
The bus came to a stop outside the ancient-walled city, and the kids unloaded into the park. We carefully escorted the children through the streets and arrived at "La Universidad de Cartagena". This was the first and probably most important stop on the tour. We attended a presentation, interacted with the staff, watched two short videos and explored the library. The kids were engaged and interested the entire time. At the end, everyone snacked on hot dogs and soda in the beautiful university plaza.
The tour continued as we split the group into two smaller groups. This allowed us to take half of the group to the gold museum and and the other half to the Palacio de la Inquisición, a common tourist stop in Cartagena. We toured both facilities, and the kids enjoyed both experiences. After well-guided tours and several short videos, we headed outside to Bolivar Park. The kids were able to run around and burn some energy before the pizza arrived. We ended the field trip with pizza in the park.
As you can see from the pictures, there were many smiles, many firsts and overall the trip was a success. The trip to the university gave these young, impressionable minds a look into the opportunities ahead. The trip was invaluable, and I was glad to be a part of the experience.
Thank you to Eagle Condor for making this trip possible.
