{"id":424,"date":"2015-02-09T11:20:36","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T16:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ustoa.com\/blog\/?p=424"},"modified":"2024-02-22T11:06:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T16:06:39","slug":"cartagena-bazurto-market-to-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustoa.com\/blog\/cartagena-bazurto-market-to-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Bazurto Market to Table"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sherry Ott, AFAR Ambassador<\/em><\/p>\n

The ground was soft and wet with little puddles of muddy water mixed with fish guts, scales, blood and who knows what else.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t a good day to be wearing flip-flops.\u00a0 All of my senses were on high alert while traversing Bazurto Market. It was sensory overload and I felt like a kid in a candy store \u2013 bursting with excitement and attention deficit disorder every place I looked.\u00a0 However, instead of being excited about pixie sticks and gumballs, in a twisted way I was excited about piles of intestines and pig heads.\u00a0 It was a serious market, the kind where you get a glimpse into local food, eating culture, work habits, and traditions in an extremely \u2018Bourdain Parts Unknown\u2019 sort of way.\u00a0 This is the stuff that\u2019s normally kept far away from most American\u2019s eyesight, the stuff that happens before that lovely piece of prime rib or fish fillet ends up behind the glass in the grocery market case.\u00a0 And I absolutely loved it.<\/p>\n

Crashing through the din of background salsa music was a loud pounding noise.\u00a0 I panned around until I found the source; a middle age woman with a hair bonnet had her arm raised in the air holding a wooden club ready for her downward motion.\u00a0 Bam! The club slams down onto the top of a knife driving it into the belly of a large fish.\u00a0 This motion was repeated over and over until the fish was scored into 1 inch strips.\u00a0 She suddenly put down the club and reached her arm, plastered in fish scales, across her body and grabbed a \u00bd bottle of open beer.\u00a0 In one swift fluid motion she picked up the beer and chugged the remainder of the bottle slamming the empty down on the table with the same force she used with the wooden club.\u00a0 She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, picked up her instruments again and moved on to the next fish.<\/p>\n

\"Fish<\/a>
Fish Monger in Bazurto Market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I stood there speechless and giddy.\u00a0 This was the real Cartagena <\/a>in front of me.<\/p>\n

When I told Ruth, a local friend, that we were going to Bazurto Market she was immediately worried.\u00a0 She went through all of the normal warnings; watch out for pick pockets, don\u2019t flash around your camera or cell phone, and be careful.\u00a0 However, I knew what this really meant was the market was a place where few tourists go, which actually made me more excited than fearful.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t too worried as we were going with locals, our guide Eduardo as well as Chef Javier as part of an experience offered by Avanti Destinations.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bazurto<\/a><\/p>\n

Chef Javier led us through the market greeting and hugging old friends, inspecting vegetables, talking to vendors, and pointing out various items that were new to us.\u00a0 The market was partially outdoor and partially enclosed.\u00a0 It was a maze of little alleys and tables.\u00a0 As you walked around and observed the people working there, you could tell the relationships ran deep.\u00a0 Vendors joked among their neighbors, and it was often a family affair as kids helped their fathers butcher and sell.<\/p>\n

We started in the fish areas, but then moved further back into the main part of the market where the meat butchers were located.\u00a0 Men with giant bellies and even bigger smiles were outfitted in plastic aprons covered in blood, happily carving away on big wooden stumps.\u00a0 \u00a0Warning: this section of the market isn\u2019t for everyone but if you decide to wander through be prepared to see extremely raw visuals of animal parts. It was super to have Eduardo and Chef Javier with us to answer the inevitable questions of, \u201cWhat is THAT? And what is it used for?\u201d\u00a0 We learned of soups, and various other dishes I had never heard of before, nor did I know if I\u2019d be brave enough to try them myself.<\/p>\n

\"Bazurto<\/a><\/p>\n

Next we found ourselves in the vegetable section of the market.\u00a0 You could tell the avocados were in season as there were carts and carts of them in various sizes.\u00a0\u00a0 Chef Javier sorted through the stack to find the perfect one for our ceviche he was planning for us.\u00a0 After all of this walking around I was starting to get hungry.<\/p>\n

Luckily for my stomach we finished up in the prepared food section of the market where large metal pots balanced on stands precariously filled to the brim with soup, rice, and seafood.\u00a0 Tables lined with newspaper had stacks of freshly fried fish on them. \u00a0\u00a0Eduardo saw me looking inquisitively at the various fried foods and soon he was handing me a piece of oily newspaper with a freshly fried ball of something, a lime wedge, and cooked yucca. I eagerly bit into the fried food.\u00a0 It was salty and crispy and had a fishy taste \u2013 delicious.\u00a0 However I decided it best I inquire about what I was eating once I was actually done eating it.\u00a0 I had spent too much time in the market that morning seeing every (and I mean every) part of an animal that I decided sometimes it\u2019s best to not know what you are eating.<\/p>\n

\"Prepared<\/a>
Prepared Food in the Market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mystery<\/a>
Mystery fried food<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We left the sounds of the market behind and headed out of town towards the tiny beach community of Manzanillo.\u00a0 Perched right on the beach is Khosamui Hotel, where Chef Javier works his seafood culinary magic.\u00a0 The vibe was completely different from the bustling market. A big open-air lobby was filled with colorful flowers and throw pillows. The upstairs patio overlooked the beach and came with a fabulous and constant sea breeze to gently rock your hammock back and forth; providing the perfect place for a lazy nap while lunch was prepared.<\/p>\n

\"Kohsamui<\/a>
Kohsamui Hotel \u2013 a perfect place to relax<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was awoken from my nap with the sounds of salsa music and someone offering me a cold beer.\u00a0 Eduardo beckoned me downstairs where lunch was ready.\u00a0 Chef Javier paraded out fresh colorful plates of seafood.\u00a0 It was hard to reconcile that these lovely culinary creations came from the gritty market environment we were in a few hours ago.\u00a0 Proving that it\u2019s not how it starts, but how it ends on your plate that is important.\u00a0\u00a0 Some tourists might think the Bazurto market is a bit too much local insight, but it\u2019s real, and it\u2019s where the food in Cartagena comes from.\u00a0 \u00a0I adored my opportunity to see past the tourist veneer; it may not be pretty, but it\u2019s a real local experience.<\/p>\n

\"Lobster<\/a>
Lobster Ceviche<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And if you don\u2019t think you can take the \u2018real-ness\u2019 of it, then no problem, simply enjoy what\u2019s on your plate.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s easier to just enjoy the food and not know all the gory details.<\/p>\n

Oh yes, and the fried food Eduardo gave me to try in the market?\u00a0 Well, I learned later it was fish testicles.\u00a0 Details, details.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sherry Ott, AFAR Ambassador The ground was soft and wet with little puddles of muddy water mixed with fish guts, scales, blood and who knows what else.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t a good day to be wearing flip-flops.\u00a0 All of my senses were on high alert while traversing Bazurto Market. 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