These Travelers Went To Market

Curtis and I love to go to markets whenever we travel.

The first market we ever went to together was in Athens, Greece, on our honeymoon. We had just spent several hours wandering around the Acropolis and surrounding area and happened upon a flea market. It was block after block of…well, stuff. Old shoes, kitchen gadgets, chess sets, tools, pictures, jewelry, pottery, and statues. The one thing we remember about this market, and it’s a vivid memory, is the gyro stand. Gyro stands in Europe are amazing…the meat (chicken, lamb, beef) is pressed into a huge “loaf” and then stuck on a vertical rotisserie stand. The rotisserie spins, allowing the outside of the “loaf” to be cooked evenly. The meat is then carved off the “loaf” and served in a pita with tomatoes, tzatziki sauce, and, in this case, French fries. It was absolutely delicious! It was so delicious that 3 weeks later when we returned to Athens to catch our flight home we went back to the same gyro stand. And the owner remembered us!

Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market

Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market

Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market

Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market

Of course, one of the most famous markets, at least in America, is the fish market in Seattle. The Pike Place Fish Market is famous for the way the fishmongers throw the fish that have just been purchased to the person responsible for wrapping them. We also enjoyed a delicious Philly Cheese Steak at Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. But let me tell you, these markets are nothing like markets in other countries.



Enjoying a banana empanada

Enjoying a banana empanada

The first time we were in Ecuador, we stayed in Cotacachi for a week. One day we took the bus from Cotacachi, which has a very small market, to Ibarra, which has a very large market. Curtis’ favorite part of the Ibarra market was the banana empanada, which cost 20 cents (they were a dime in Cotacachi).

Feria Libre Mercado (Free Fair Market) in Cuenca, Ecuador, is an indigenous market where you can find meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, live animals, and dry goods. Here you’ll see hundreds of fish laid out for sale. The fruits and vegetables are colorful and bountiful. There are literally thousands of potatoes and carrots waiting to be purchased. Sausages hang above meat counters. Beans and rice, stored in giant bags, wait to be measured and sold. There are sides of beef and whole chickens (whole, as in feet and heads included). Your choice of beef may be cut using a tree trunk cutting board and a hatchet. There are pig heads and pig intestines. There are baskets. And, of course, there are the live animals…guinea pigs, goats, cats, dogs, rabbits…

Fruit

Fruit

Pineapples

Pineapples

Baskets

Baskets

Big Fish

Big Fish

Little Fish

Little Fish

Fish

Fish

Onions

Onions

Bananas

Bananas

Limes

Limes

Carrots

Carrots

Meats

Meats

Chicken

Chicken

Hogs Head

Hog Heads and Intestines

Meats

Meats and Skins

Ham

Ham

Cuenca Market

Cuenca Market

Onions, Tomatoes, Corn and Cows Feet

Tonight’s Soup


Central Market Hall in Budapest, Hungary (http://budapestmarkethall.com/) is another of our favorites. Meats, vegetables (including beautiful peppers), and spices abound. We bought some Hungarian paprika to bring home.

Cabbages, peppers and cucumbers

Cabbages, peppers and cucumbers

Onions

Onions

Fresh Paprika Peppers

Fresh Paprika Peppers

Dried Paprika Peppers

Dried Paprika Peppers


But nothing beats the markets in Otavalo, the largest outdoor market in all of South America. Normally, the market is contained to the Plaza de los Panchos and the food market. Sunday through Friday, the entire plaza is filled with wares, mostly textiles, art, jewelry, hats and food. Booths are set up each morning starting around 8, and stay out all day, assuming no downpour of rain. I took Spanish classes less than a block from the Plaza, and every morning I walked through the plaza and watched the booths being set up. This is really hard work, especially for those people with no carts to haul their booths and goods around; they are literally bent over carrying heavy loads on their backs.

Otavalo Market

Otavalo Daily Market

Wheel-barrel Full

Wheel-barrel Full

Jewelry

Jewelry

Hammocks

Hammocks

Hammock Chairs

Hammock Chairs

Bags

Bags

Yarn

Yarn

Flutes

Musical Instruments

Peppers

Peppers


On Saturday the town simply explodes with goods being sold. The streets around the plaza, for many blocks, become pedestrian-only and are filled to overflowing with booths, taking up 1/3 of the town. Thousands of people flock to Otavalo on Saturdays and the town has an almost festival-like atmosphere. The vegetable market erupts into a cornucopia of color. There are wheelbarrows full of cherries, bananas (so many together that it takes two people to carry them), cabbages as big as basketballs, watermelon, pineapples, spices, plump juicy grapes. There are “fast food” booths with tilapia, roasted pig, soups, empanadas, and juices.

Busy Market Day

Saturday Market Day

Busy Market Day

Saturday Market Day

2ft Long Bean Pods

2ft Long Guava

Shoes

Shoes

Spices

Spices

Grains

Grains

Corn

Buffet Line

Plantain Stalk

Plantain Stalk

Cabbages

Cabbages

Fried Talapia

Fried Talapia

Onions

Onions

Cherries

Cherries


Otavalo Animal Market

Otavalo Animal Market

The Otavalo animal market also opens on Saturday, although it can be difficult to find if you don’t know your way around. The first time we were in Otavalo we never did find the animal market. It’s located to the west of the Plaza de los Panchos, on the other side of the Pan-American Highway. The animal market is bare-bones simple; it’s basically a large empty lot with a fence around it. On Saturday mornings the lot is filled with hundreds of animals for sale. Get there early; by noon people are “closing up shop” and taking the unsold animals home. For a few hours each week you’ll find cattle, pigs, llamas, and sheep tethered to stakes in the ground and chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs in cages on the ground. On the outskirts are vendors selling fruit and juices.

The first few times we visited the Otavalo market, we walked around the outside of the market building to see all the vegetables. But we never went inside the market building. By far my favorite market of all (so far, anyway) is the inside of that building in Otavalo. I visited for the first time last year when I spent two months in Ecuador taking an immersion Spanish course (http://www.instituto-superior.net/our-spanish-schools/otavalo). It was my third time to travel to Otavalo, and in the last week of my two-month stay I wandered into the indoor market. Why, oh why, did it take me so long to find this place? I was expecting to see vegetables and dry goods. Instead, I found an amazing series of aisles with stalls of all kinds. No refrigeration, no cases, just food laid out on the counters. There were huge cow’s hearts, tripe, intestines, eyeballs, tubs of fat (I guess you just scooped out the amount you needed), buffet lines, chicken feet, flowers, chicken heads, lunch spots, pigs feet, pig heads, giant slabs of pork rinds, unborn calves. You’ll notice “buffet lines” and “lunch spots” are thrown in there with everything else…the stalls were side-by-side. You can see what you’re eating, that’s for sure. I was absolutely fascinated. This is where the locals shop for food. This is where the restaurant owners come to buy food for the day. I could have stayed there forever, but since I wasn’t buying anything I felt I should move on.

I would like to say I was brave enough to eat there. But I wasn’t. Maybe next time. Because there will definitely be a next time at this market. I have to show Curtis; I know he’ll love it as much as I did!

Chicken Parts

Chicken Parts

Corn

Buffet

Lard

Lard

I'm just not sure...

I’m just not sure…

Intestines

Intestines

I'm not sure what this is

I’m not sure what this is

Heart

Heart

Otavalo Food Market

Otavalo Food Market

Veal

Veal

Hogs Head

Hogs Head

Lunch time

Lunch time

Chicken and Pork

Chicken and Pork

Otavalo Food market

Otavalo Food market