Meet Maria Jose
While Maria Jose was traveling the world, the seed of a powerful idea was planted in her mind: to find a way to introduce her fellow travelers to modern Colombia through the country’s culinary richness. Driven by the desire to shake off Colombia’s reputation as a troubled nation and replace it with a new respect for the country’s breathtaking biodiversity, she offers tours at the Paloquemao Market in Bogota to educate guests about local ingredients. Join Maria Jose for a deep-dive into the exotic world of Colombian fruits and vegetables. She is a passionate advocate for her country’s gastronomy and hopes that through her work she can increase travelers’ understanding of Colombia’s past, present and future. Her goal is to help create local jobs, support good agricultural practices, and help make her country a better place in this new age of peace building.

What to Expect
Market visit: (1-7 guests) Meet your host, Maria Jose, at the spectacular Paloquemao Market for an exploration of Colombia’s extensive variety of fruits and vegetables. Maria Jose will lead you through the marketplace and introduce you to more than 15 varieties of exotic fruit. From granadilla, to lulo, to mangostino, to gulupa, you will walk from stall to stall tasting the fruits and fruit juices, while learning about local cooking, agriculture and importance of farmers to the Colombian economy. In addition to sampling fruits, you will also taste savory foods sold at the small stalls in the market. Maria Jose might take you to snack on almojábana (Colombian cheese bread), empanadas, sausages, and other local foods for sale. She will also introduce you to local herbs, tropical flowers, and handicrafts.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the different geographical regions in Colombia and the wide variety of foods eaten throughout the country. While you will not sit down to eat an entire meal all at once, you will leave the experience with a full stomach having sampled many different fruits and snacks, and you will have a new appreciation of Colombia’s wide varied gastronomy.
Maria Jose can also help you do a bit of shopping and can assist with bargaining if there is something you might like to buy at the market. 

Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish