Samuel Rojo Gil
I was born in Madrid, however, my heart belongs to the South. My passion for hiking and biking has taken me to different mountain ranges around the world.
I studied Law in Madrid and after university, I completed my Masters at an International Business School in Madrid.
I started working as a lawyer at a construction company but later on, I moved to bank services, where I spent 12 years. But it was during my years at University when I started a mountaineering club. I planned trips to many different places for the group and that is how I realized that my passion was the travel business.
In 2011 I decided to quit the bank I was working at and start my own travel agency with one purpose, share my passion for traveling with other travelers of the world!
Proud father, I am raising two little travelers…
What places and activities do you specialize in?
"Experiences all around Spain, Portugal.
Food Tours and local gastronomy experiences
Off the beaten track destinations
100% hand-made itineraries
Unique experiences and outdoors activities"
How did you get involved in travel?
"When I was studying at university, a group of friends and I started a Mountaineering club and I ran this club for over 18 years. During this time, I planned and enjoyed trips to dozens of places coming to realize my real passion was travelling.
Little by little I found myself enjoying the planning process as much as the trip itself, and from that moment on, I started dreaming about running my own travel company one day.
I wanted to help other travelers, like me to discover the essence of Spain, my country. I wanted them to enjoy the enriching experiences I went through.
Great adventures I had lived thanks to a small bag of sweets, “caramels” as we call them in Spanish, that I had carried with me in all of my travels. I've name my company after these caramels as I feel they represent Carameltrail’s most important trait, being a unique way to discover the essence of traveling.
These sweets were always the best way to make a first contact with the local people, to get to know them and to learn about their stories and traditions.
My bag of “caramels” gave me the opportunity to live unique experiences, to enjoy wonderful local meals and to discover the essence of people in each country I visited.
As the years went by, I kept on traveling and reminiscing about my travels, and realized the trails I had taken through the years were unique. My bag of caramels and the unique trails I had taken had given me the opportunity to discover the hidden secrets of many cultures and I wanted to share the traditions and hidden secrets of my country with other travelers."
Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.
"My travel experience that I will never forget was not far from Spain, it was in Morocco during a road trip I took in 1999. At that time the country was very different and in the Atlas Mountains, you could (and still can) find lonely valleys where travelers have not explored.
In February of that year, we were driving along this mountain valley and we were stopping in many small villages on the way. My bag of caramels was the perfect excuse to connect not only with the kids who came to meet the strangers, but also the older men of the villages who came to meet us. They asked for a caramel, but they wanted to see us, the car, the clothes, and try to communicate with us.
In February, days are short and suddenly the evening came. We were in the middle of nowhere and it was dark. We were getting ready to set up our tent camp when out of the dark one old man invited my friend and I into his home. His wife prepared a wonderful Moroccan meal and we shared a unique evening with the family. We didn't speak Berber, they didn't speak Spanish or English, but there was no need. We all shared a great evening.
The next morning the first lights of the day showed us one of the most beautiful mountain valleys I remember. "