Cartagena's Bazurto Market (Colombia)

The Bazurto Market in Cartagena is a sight to see (and smell).

The market

This market began its existence in the now-trendy Getsemani area. But was moved about a mile out of what is now the tourist area about 50 years ago. The original building from back then is currently surrounded by thousands of other stalls The market takes up many square blocks around the original site. You can take a short (clean and air-conditioned) bus ride there, or hire a taxi. We took the bus with our guide.

The tour guide

If you want to go, I highly recommend having a tour guide. I went with @eldannystark, and I highly recommend him for the trip. He speaks fluent English (which is not common in Cartegena) and is quite knowledgeable about the history and culture of Cartegena and specifically of the market which is near where he grew up.

He’s been going to this market for his whole life and has seen many of the changes. He also is friends with many of the vendors at this point. Danny knows the music sellers, smoothie makers, and artists, to the restaurant owners. He also just seems like an all-around nice guy, who is working hard to make a good life for his family. He was lucky enough to get a leg-up by his grandmother. She gave him access to learning English at a young age, which is how he is able to do such good tours now.

The experience

If you’ve looked at reviews, you’ve seen everything from 5-star reviews to 1-star reviews for this market. If you have been to public markets in other less affluent parts of the world, this is not much different. Yes, some areas (particularly by the seafood vendors) don’t smell nice. Other areas smell great (like by Cecilia’s kitchen – which I also recommend). Much of it doesn’t smell of anything.

There clearly isn’t good trash pickup as there are lots of pieces of cardboard in the street. Also, probably millions of beer caps crushed into the ground in the bar areas. And possibly trillions of fish scales in the fish vendor areas. None of that is any reason not to go if you want to see where the locals shop for all manner of foods as well as cleaning supplies, sneakers, and dresses for example. Just don’t wear sandals. 🙂

Pro-tip: If you have mobility issues, visiting the market is probably not a good idea. The ground is quite uneven and there are curbs and potholes in many places.

Ambiance

We saw people walking around with pet birds in cages, a guy ride by on a motorized cart with his dog on the back. Many motorbikes. Hand carts galore. Adapted shopping carts with bigger wheels to better navigate the potholed streets. All manners of conveyance navigating the same crowded corridors as thousands of people.

There are herbal medicine shops, religious item shops, dress rentals, plastic ware, hats, shoes, candles, an overwhelming assortment of everything. Parts are indoors, parts are sheltered, parts are exposed other than the umbrellas or sheeting they put up.

Food at the market

One famous cook in the market is Cecelia. We went to her food area. There, I got my first taste of capybara, turtle and “baby shark”, and also had some conch as well as some really great shrimp. My faves were the shrimp, capybara, and the baby shark dishes, but everything was good. Turtle, to me, was sort of like frog. Capybara reminded me of pulled pork or chicken.

Plan to spend an hour or two just wandering around and use your GPS to get back to the bus when you are done (if you don’t have a guide).

Happy travels.