This morning we woke up bright and early to go to the markets. I have shopped at large markets in Thailand, and like most Sydneysiders, I have been to the fish market and Paddy's Markets. But let me tell you, nothing prepared me for the size of the Gran Mercado Mayorista de Lima. I was completely blown away! There were separate warehouses for garlic, potatoes, tomatoes and greens like broccoli, lettuce and celery. We had to get in the car and drive from one to the other because they went for miles. There was probably about a 2-minute walk between each market but given that it was warm and that the bags were heavy, it was easier just to drive.
 |
| Sacks of potatoes are stacked like Jenga blocks |
 |
| I think they were a bit short of garlic |
I found it interesting that you weren't able to buy just one garlic or two limes. For instance, if you want to buy avocados you have to buy a kilo. A kilo of limes costs S/.1 (less than 50c). You might be thinking, what on earth would you do with that many limes? Lime is a key ingredient in many Peruvian dishes (e.g. ceviche). They probably go through more limes than we do Vegemite! The limes here don't taste as sour as the ones that we have in Australia. And lemons are hardly anywhere to be seen! They're a bit more expensive and not commonly used in cooking.
 |
| Pineapple perfection! |
.jpg) |
| I have never seen so many limes! |
What amazed me about the market was the amount of produce that male workers were carrying in their wheelbarrows. You could see the sweat on their faces and it was evident that they were tired and sore. I didn't see any women carrying wheelbarrows. They were either cleaning up the vegetables and/or collecting money from customers. A lot of women even had their babies with them. It was an eye-opening experience and I recommend that tourists go and have a look at this farmer's market for themselves. I particularly admired the hard work of the workers in what was a very fast-paced environment.
0 comments:
Post a Comment