Stoff the beaten track: cultural places of San Carlos
After you have decided to come to Spanish Adventure and improve your Spanish in this amazing place in Colombia, you will quickly enough do the most amazing outdoor adventures, like canyoning, tubing or hiking. After the weekday classes, there are also some laid-back activities such as going to ‘charcos’ (natural pools of rivers) or doing small hikes in the beautiful ‘Andina’ surroundings.
Although these activities are amazing and will make the experience your best one yet in South America, I’m here to tell you more about some cultural places that San Carlos has to offer.
Casa de la cultura
As the name says, this is the house for culture. It is located two blocks from the main square, ‘Parque Principal’ and it offers a great diversity of arts. You could go to classes ranging from dance, theater, literature, singing and playing instruments. Furthermore, there is a library to borrow books, look around or maybe even study your Spanish homework after class ;).
Biblioteca municipal Juan XXIII, which is the official name of the library, was opened in 1965 and after that has changed its focus from the elite of San Carlos, to everyone wanting to grow and learn culturally. The classes are given daily and if you wander around the building, you’ll get a smile on your face from all the music coming out of the classrooms.
Biblioteca Solidaria
Another very inspiring place is Biblioteca Solidaria. Downstairs you can find a cafe with locally grown coffee, lovely staff and a great variety of books. Whether you are in for some reading time, or you want to practice the Spanish you’ve just learned, this is the perfect place for both. The staff can give you book recommendations, but they are also always up for a chat!
This cultural place, built on sponsors (and tourists! Please tip them), offers workplaces for artists on Saturdays, art classes for children every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. and everyone is welcome to borrow books or DVDs. Another way to put your Spanish to practice: join the Wednesday 6:00 p.m. movienight! They play movies according to a theme, and afterwards they discuss the movie.
Of course I cannot promise that these stated dates and times will still be accurate when you will be here, so the best way to find out is just to ask the lovely people of San Carlos. They are more than happy to tell you more or to just drink a cup of coffee with you.