BJJ in Cartagena
November, 2022Carnival and back yard BJJ
Duration: 5 days, 4 nights
Location: Cartagena, COL
Costs: Boats+Bus 550$, Hotel 180$
Taking the long way to transfer and having a 5 day`s adventure.
Training with the locals in the back yard.
Enjoying the independence day carnival.
Getting here
There are only two ways to enter Colombia from Panama, airplane or boat. Because of the dangerous Darién Gap the land way is not possible.
This time I took the long way and booked a San Blas island hooping tour with San Blas Adventures.
The tour starts with a pick up at the hotel. A jeep brought us in around 4 hours to the docks. We jumped on a motorboat and transferred who transferred us. During day time we always spent our time on a beautiful island and during the night we went to a Kuna community to sleep. After 3 nights we passed the border an arrived in Capurgana were we spent 2 nights and did the immigration before transferring to Cartagena.
BJJ
Cartagena has a BJJ community but at the moment they don’t have any gyms. Due to the COVID pandemic all gyms closed.
Thanks to guys like Elkin and Jairo, who try to keep people in training and organizing places to train, Cartagena has Jiu Jitsu available.
I had the pleasure to train at the garage entry of Jairo where they placed some mats on the floor to roll.
Jairo and his son Manuel asked me to share some techniques and let me teach the training.
At the end we all rolled and did some stress test with Manuel who was competing 2 weeks after.
I`m very thankful for this opportunity and it showed me that you don`t need a super nice gym to train.
Food and drinks
Also in Colombia you will find a lot of things you will find everywhere in Latin America, like Empanadas or Tacos.
What I defiantly enjoyed were the sellers on the street with the fresh cuted fruits.
Another thing that really surprised me was the street food, especially in Gesemani you will find a lot of street food. Not all of it is healthy. I took one day an Asado and was a bit worried because of the meat, but they I was positively surprised by the taste of it.
Nightlife
Haha yeah the nightlife… Cartagena is crazy for sure. Getsemani and the old town turn in to party hot spots as soon it gets dark.
Getsemani has a lot of small streets with music and bars. On the main square you will find people mixing drinks, doing shows and sometimes they have a speaker there and people start dancing.
The old town its full of bars, some of them are turning in to night clubs in the night. Definitely the place to be for clubbing.
Good to know
You need to show a proof how you leave the country when you enter.
They can also ask for a proof of a yellow fiver vaccination.
The currency is Colombian Peso (COP).
Past Travels
Read more about my past trips
Get In Touch
Feel free to write me if you have questions, recommendations or you want to invite me.