Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena de Indias, on the northern coast of Colombia, was a great cultural & culinary experience. Within the walls of the Old City you find bustling plazas and squares and no shortage of fresh, delicious food.



My dwelling of choice was Hotel
Casa La Fe, a bed and breakfast in the Old City. Morning breakfasts included Colombian coffee, Empanadas and Arepa con Huevo. This Caribbean arepa is deep-fried with a single raw egg inside that is cooked by the frying process and is a classic example of "Fritanga", or fried food.

On my second day I took a tour boat to a small island called Isla del Pirata where I saw a fisherman catching and scaling some fish in the morning. By lunch time, I was enjoying a typical coastal dish called Pargo Rojo or Whole Red snapper served with coconut rice and fried plantains. This was fish at its freshest and tastiest.

Don't hesitate to venture out of the Old City and visit La Cocina de Socorro on Calle del Arsenal. This restaurant has a 25 year history and its ceilings are covered with empty wine bottles. But I mostly remember it because they served some of the best Ceviche I've ever had.

Although the beach side city of Bocagrande has some fine restaurants, I decided to pop into a small street side stall and was thoroughly satisfied with a bowl of piping hot, spicy Fish stew curry accompanied with cool fresh fruit juices.

This place is where Gabriel García Márquez dabbled in magic realism and truly with its warm food, climate and people, it's easy to understand why.