Saturday, March 16, 2013

The Open Market

Tiny peppers

 One of the more interesting, and, perhaps, overwhelming, sections of Santiago (for me, anyway) is the Hospedaje (the open markets).  My brave mother wanted to go see it when she and my dad were here a few weeks ago, though it is not a place frequented by tourists.  I just discovered the pictures on my camera.

Lots of varieties of peppers, okra (back right), carrots and eggplant (top center), chayote squash (the green pear-shaped squash top right), cabbage, cilantro and other fresh herbs

You can get fresh coconut milk on the street, you even get a straw.  My kids like it, I might if I added a bunch of sugar or something.

Parts of it are out on the sidewalks, for blocks and blocks.  And then parts of it are in storefronts or tucked away into small alleyways.  Spices and grains, for example, are often off of the street a little and sometimes down an alley.



Cinnamon sticks (front bottom), slingshots (top middle)--I bought the kids slingshots for Christmas but they were confiscated at the airport when an x-ray machine started beeping: "This woman has plastic slingshots in her bag."  "Um, actually, they're metal."  "You have metal slingshots in here?!" . . .  I bought them another one before I took this picture.


We had such a nice adventure, I'm glad my parents are so fun!

No comments:

Post a Comment