The farmers market
Wednesday, so it’s feria day in the part of town where I’m staying. The farmers market takes over the streets, starting about half a block from the house and extending 3 city blocks, both sides of the street.
Trucks and hand trolleys, crates and canopies. Setup is underway by 9 in the morning, though that’s pretty early for Uruguayans. But it wasn’t overly crowded then so I could explore.
Dozens and dozens of booths with vegetables and fruits, packaged foods, a few stalls with miscellaneous things – shoes and purses, spoons and jewelry. And food trucks of a sort, not where you’d get lunch, but meat, cheeses and seafood.
Prices are often chalked onto a slate – I saw a young woman rinsing off yesterday’s version with a sponge and writing in today’s prices. Most everything is sold by the kilo, so all the vendors have scales. I talked with a few of them and they were kind enough to answer my questions. Sí, this fish is local, from the river; salmon and shellfish are imported from Chile, mostly. I’m definitely intrigued by the calamari. Wonder if I can learn to cook it.
