Barranquilla in two days
”En Barranquilla me quedo” (In Barranquilla I’m staying), says the chorus of the most popular song in the Colombian Caribbean. And it certainly makes you want to stay. Barranquilla is the friendliest smile, the catchiest melody. This city between the river and the sea is a city of joy: if they are not in carnival, they are in pre-carnival.
By Juanjo Hernández
Photos: Carlos Parra Díaz
First Day
07:00 a.m. – Breathe fresh air near the city
The Ciénaga de Mallorquín has 650 hectares of shallow water, one meter on average. An eco-park has just been built in this coastal ecosystem, where the fresh water of the Magdalena River and the salt water of the Caribbean Sea mix amidst an infinite number of mangroves. There are hiking and biking trails, water sports and bird watching tours. The ecopark has won several awards for its environmental architecture and is one of the new pride of the people of Barranquilla.
08:30 a.m. – Narcobollo, a 100% coastal breakfast
The place is self-service and has the best fried food in town. The line that stretches all the way to the street attests to this. Be sure to try the chicharrón with yucca, the arepa de huevo and the cayeye. Don’t forget the ice cream flavors of the coast: curuba, zapote or yucca encocado. The name is meaningful: many years ago, the police raided the bakery of Carolina’s grandmother, the owner of today’s Narcobollo. They raided his small bakery with snipers, riot police and a whole police operation. They only found “bollos”. So many jokes were made in the neighborhood that the grandmother’s business began to be called the narcobollo.
11:00 a.m. – Museo del Carnaval (Carnival Museum), the memory of the dance
Colombia’s largest river, the Magdalena, flows into Barranquilla; the largest and most abundant carnival, too. Barranquilla is the queen of Carnival, no doubt about it. This museum is a space dedicated to his memory:
42 dresses of various queens (from 1918 to 2022) and lots of information about the origins and functioning of the most famous party of the Colombian Caribbean can be seen.
02:00 p.m. – Manuel, the best snack of Barranquilla
Traveling and eating are our guilty pleasures. And at Manuel, ranked 77th among the best restaurants in Latin America, the finest and most elaborate gluttony finds its channel. The tasting menu deserves long dissertations, but I will only say that the yellowfin tuna breaded in bread crumbs and accompanied by mashed yucca, paipa cheese and tuna bone broth is a haven of good living and the best taste of the Caribbean Sea. Besides, they tell me as they serve it to me, “it’s good for bad love”. Good wines, good artisanal viche and very good desserts: a sour guava and white chocolate sorbet that must be tasted.
08:00 p.m. – La Troja, the most rumbera corner of Barranquilla
On the corner of Carrera 44 and Calle 74, salsa, pure salsa, has its pantheon. La Troja is the most famous dance hall in the city. A wall full of vinyls serves as an altar. The tables accumulate beers, the aguardiente heats up the engines and the first dances begin to find their way. Until four o’clock in the morning you dance, with the volume up to the end of the eardrum and dizzying feet. La Troja is Cultural and Musical Heritage of Barranquilla and stepping on this soil is a mandate for those who want to embrace and understand the Caribbean culture.
08:00 p.m. – Deliasia, fusion of the Caribbean and the Philippines
After the dances at La Troja, the stomach demands attention: “Rule number one: don’t ask me for silverware,” says the chef of Deliasia, a fusion place of coastal and Filipino cuisine. “With the nimble hand we are going to eat, with the other we are going to grab the food and place it in our banana leaf area. We eat with our hand, but tidy and clean.” In front of us five banana leaves cover the table, on them white rice, soybean paste (salty and sweet), eggplant battered in egg, chicharrón, samosas, marinated pork, pork knuckle and crab. The feast fulfills expectations and eating with our hands, as if we were children again, is extremely gratifying. To top it off: fried breaded ice cream.
10:00 p.m. – A drink and rest at Marriott Barranquilla
Returning to the hotel is one of the best moments of the day. Everything seen, everything lived is distilled in the rest of a room with large windows and fine linens. Those who have not had enough movement can still have a drink at the hotel bar. Early risers, on the other hand, will be able to enjoy the swimming pool and gym before heading back to the city. The breakfast buffet served at Marriott is colossal and delicate, extremely tasty. And the brunch served on Sundays has become a must in Barranquilla.
Second Day
09:00 a.m. – Fiordi, local and international breakfast
At Fiordi you can eat the coastal breakfast: fritos, fritos, fritos. There is, in my opinion, no better breakfast. But, in addition to the classic breakfast of these latitudes, they also have other options: eggs, eggs for breakfast, eggs for lunch, eggs for dinner, and eggs for dinner.
toast, pancakes, fruit bowls, yogurt, seeds and a variety of juices and coffees. If the group is heterogeneous and we have varied tastes, Fiordi is the place. By the way, you can also come here for lunch and dinner, for those who want more.
10:00 a.m. – Discovering the city: cultural tours with City Lovers
Passionate people find passions, spread passions and encourage others. Guide and entrepreneur Johnny Insignares is one of them. His idea is to recover the city for the people of Barranquilla, so that they value their heritage, and thus be able to attract tourists. Barranquilla was a very prosperous city in the early and mid-twentieth century. “There were theaters in every neighborhood and a lot of cultural life,” says Insignares, “today walking through downtown Barranquilla is walking nostalgia.” City Lovers also offers tours in the El Prado neighborhood, one of the most important urban developments in Barranquilla, and paranormal tours at sunset. Come on in!
02:00 p.m – Devoto, cult to the kitchen
One travels and wants to try local food; however, some exceptions are well worth a detour. At Devoto, an Italian-American restaurant, I had the best pizza of my recent years: fresh stracciatella burrata, buffalo mozzarella, truffle oil and basil. Impossible not to eat every last edge. In addition, slow-cooked meats that can be spooned, thrice-melted risottos and tenderloin carpaccios with grapefruit vinaigrette, gorgonzola sauce and Creole potato chips. In Devoto you come out convinced in the style of C. Tangana: “I was an atheist, but now I believe”.
05:00 p.m. – Sunset boat ride on the Magdalena River
The city looks different from the waters of the Magdalena River, the longest river in Colombia. On the back of one of the boats of La Mita, the company that offers these tours, you can see the skyscrapers of Barranquilla, the famous malecon of the river, the birds that nest on the shores and an orange, orange and disconcerting sunset. As disconcerting as that of Paul Éluard: “The earth is as blue as an orange”. The noise of the city recedes, the river remains, the calm remains.
08:00 p.m. – La Cueva: where Gabo ate, drank, and thought.
La Cueva is now a restaurant, bar and foundation. A cultural oasis where books are presented, music is played and drinks are enjoyed. In the past, it was a meeting place for the Barranquilla Group: Gabriel García Márquez, Ramón Vinyes (the wise Catalan), Álvaro Cepeda Samudio and a handful of other intellectuals. Many nights of abundant food and drink, many nights of political discussions, philosophy and art. When García Márquez received the Nobel Prize he told his friends: “I was always certain that I was going to be a writer, but without you and without Barranquilla I would not have won the Nobel Prize”.
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