Bazurto Market

Bazurto is where Cartagena actually buys its food. It is a sprawl of stalls, corridors and lean-tos around a covered core, with fish landed and gutted on the spot, mountains of plantain, yam and cassava, butchers working in the open, spice sellers, and cooked-food stalls turning out coconut rice, fried fish, mote de queso and sancocho for a few thousand pesos. Guided food walks come here in the morning and are how most visitors see it. It is loud, wet underfoot and smells strongly of fish, ripe fruit and diesel, which is the honest condition of a tropical wholesale market rather than a failing.

What you actually see

• The fish rows - snapper, mojarra and shrimp cleaned in front of you.
• Fruit stalls - zapote, nispero, corozo and other fruit rarely seen elsewhere.
• Cooked-food stalls - fried fish with coconut rice and patacon, eaten standing.
• Juice counters - corozo, tamarind and guanabana pressed to order.

When to go

Early morning, from about six, is when the market works properly and when the fish is fresh; by early afternoon much of it is winding down and the smell in the heat is considerably worse. It runs every day. Organised food walks start early for the same reason. Wear shoes you do not mind ruining, because the floors are permanently wet.

Honest expectations

This is not a tidy food hall and makes no attempt to be one. It is crowded, chaotic, hot and noisy, the ground is wet and slippery, and the smell defeats some visitors within minutes. Vehicles push down the same lanes as pedestrians. Going with someone who knows the place, or on an organised walk, makes it far more comfortable and far more interesting.

Nearby

The walled city and Castillo San Felipe are fifteen minutes west.