Cook to Conclude

We loved our cooking class!

On our last day in Cartagena and Colombia, it was all about the food. First up, the market and then cooking! Visiting Bazurto market was like having flashbacks of going to markets in Asia. It was a labyrith of narrow lanes, crowded, loud, and dirty! It was where the locals went. What started as a traditional food market had evolved to a more comprehensive market with clothes and other household goods. My favourite was the "restaurant" section where they cooked fresh seafood caught that morning with little regard to OH&S. Apparently Anthony Bourdain loved coming here. 

Cooking in the morning for lunch

There were pots everywhere like an obstacle course so had to be careful not to get burnt!

Looked AND tasted good. One of the vendors kindly let us try some

This was a relatively non-busy section with enough space for me to take a photo. Beware the crazy shopping trolleys!!

Nispero

Tasted like a mix between persimmon and pear

One of the sweetest dragonfruit we've had!

We were all perplexed as to how so many trucks managed to fit here and how they were going to get out

Fortunately for us, our cooking class was in more clean and comfortable surroundings close to our hotel. Most importantly the room was air-conditioned. Our teacher, Randy, was the chef at one of the local restaurants and he was great! We've been to a few cooking classes now and this was fully hands on! We did EVERYTHING. We were absolutely chumps in the kitchen, and Randy was amused at having to teach us how to peel cassava, peel plantains, chop onions and tomatoes, de-seed mini peppers and the list goes on. There were many things we did not know how to do! The menu was pretty extensive...cassava cake, mini peppers stuffed with cheese filling, patacones (fried squashed plantains), plantain chips, pico de gallo, hogau (traditional Colombian creole sauce), seabass wrapped in bijao leaves, coconut rice, a basic salad and a watermelon and lime drink! The class was fun, and lunch was super satisfying. It was also a fantastic way to end our time in Colombia. Sadly we also had to say goodbye to Elliot. Tomorrow we would part ways as he had to return home for work.

Grating cheese, coconut and cassava. Lucky there were 6 people doing the work!

Next up...shopping skills. Not chopped fine enough said Randy. Yes chef!

Making hochau

pico de gallo

Our sea bass ready to be cooked

Tadaa!

I seriously worried about his fingers

This one was pre-done for us otherwise we would never finish in time to have lunch

The finished product

This is what a plantain looks like

Cooked two ways. Chips. This beautifully thin crips were my handiwork

Then others were fried first

Then squished. Lucky we had someone with strong arms

Post squishing

Then fried again!

The meal put together

Cassava cake. We were not fans. Shshhh don't tell Randy!

Last meal as a family in Colombia

A few final thoughts in no particular order:

We've enjoyed our time in Colombia, particularly in the Andes. The heat and humidity of the Caribbean Coast did challenge us. We've also come to realise that our appreciation and enjoyment of a place can be enhanced by an excellent guide! Information presented well and in context can give so much more meaning to what we were seeing and experiencing. As mentioned, we booked our trip through South America Tourism Office. The local Colombian team that they've contracted to have been wonderful. They were responsive and fixed any issues that came up very quickly. We also have thank our patient and skilled drivers! Driving here was not for the faint of heart...often the car cleared spaces with barely centimetres to spare. Overtaking safely amongst crazy Colombian drivers was another thing that required a good balance of patience and zoom-zoom. 

The number one question that everyone asked us when we said that we were going to Colombia, was if we were worried about being kidnapped, killed or drugged. During our whole stay we have not felt unsafe. Other than the one rude receptionist (still haven't forgiven her), Colombians are generally warm and friendly, and keen to help even if they didn't speak any English. We were worried about our non-existent Spanish but it wasn't really an issue. 

The first question that ALL the Colombians asked us was why we chose to go to Colombia. They were aware of the poor image thrust upon them by guerillas and Pablo Escobar, and unfortunately they do get many tourists who come because of the Netflix series Narcos. They truly were happy that we would visit Colombia for any other reason than Pablo Escobar. Our reason was Disney's Encanto! 

https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/tv-movies/where-to-find-disneys-inspiration-for-encanto-in-colombia

What we've loved most was the incredible diversity and charm, how colourful and vibrant everything was, and the music everywhere! Other than the big cities of Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena, many places were still authentic and barely touched by tourism outside outside of Latin America. So if you were considering visiting Colombia, the time is now! Before everyone else discovers how wonderful it is.