BACK IN ECUADOR

Jim and I decided to get out of the Arizona desert heat and hang out  in Cuenca, Ecuador where it is winter.  A typical winter day here is like today was - overnight low was about 50 and this morning it looked cloudy and cold, yet once we walked outside the sun was brilliant and a hot 66 (the sun is much more intense here near the equator).  When I walked into the shade without my coat it was chilly.  Not bad for winter!

Park along the Tomebamba River

We decided to walk to the large farmer's market about 1/2 mile from where we are staying.  Saturday is a huge market day at Feria Libre and I had forgotten about the sheer crush of humanity there.

You can buy pretty much anything you might need at this market

Giant squash

Tree Tomatoes and Bananas

Chicks, anyone?

And if you didn't want to bother squeezing your own OJ, there was this vendor as well

We didn'the even cover a fraction of the market - you can buy clothing, hardware, whole fish, fresh goat milk straight from the teat, plants, furniture....you get the idea.

Many of the merchants carry their goods in this manner

although some use wheelbarrows.

We inadvertently wound up in the wholesale potato market.

But after back tracking picked our way through the hoards of vegetable stalls

Giant squash

until we finally arrived at our destination - the flower vendors.

Here's what $2 bought

So heavily laden (whole pineapple, big bag of mangoes, 8 apricots, big bag of tree tomatoes, bag of ground cinnamon, night light bulb and two big bunches of flowers for a grand total of $7.50) but happy, we ventured back across the river where the locals were doing laundry.

It was a perfect time first market day.

Audrey