Web Exclusive: Cartagena’s Bazurto Market

Adventurous gourmets should consider spending a few hours with chef Jorge Escandón, owner of La Cevicheria, a casual seafood restaurant near the Plaza de San Diego. Escandón leads groups through Cartagena’s colorful Bazurto Market, and once guided celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. First, we browsed the seafood stalls, where he selected fresh tuna for our lunch along with some live shrimp to accompany it. Past the gory butcher stalls — be aware that the market is not sanitized for tourists — we emerged into a sea of colorful fruit stands. Escandón introduced us to 11 fruits rarely found outside Colombia, including the sweet potato-like níspero, aromatic guanabana, citrusy granadilla and perfumed mamey. From there, we headed to Escandón’s charming beach house to make tuna and shrimp risotto, which felt less like a lesson and more like cooking with a friend. The personable Escandón could not have been a better guide, and the experience became one of my favorite memories of Colombia. The Andrew Harper Travel Office can help arrange this excursion.