Market Day

Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays are market days in La Antigua. The market is still there on the other days...just not so crammed.

V has a fairly strong antipathy towards shopping on the days of maximum bulla.

When forced her preference is to the trail up and down the uncovered area at the rear where, in spite of the best efforts of the current municipal authorities to control who can sell which produce in which area, a good cross-section of local fruit and veg can be purchased from women either seated on the ground, or themselves strolling amongst the throng.

I'm expected to keep a safe distance...for it's a given that my mere presence in the haggling zone will result in my wife being destripada — in the financial sense!

We were apart yesterday for just a few minutes and she returned gleefully clutching a set of black bags containing 20 lemons, 2 cucumbers, 1 bunch of radishes, 3 guicoys, 10 guicoyitos, 3 bags of carrots, a dozen bananas (criollos), 4 broccoli, a large stalk of celery and a manojote of coriander...all for just Q28.50. (£2 / $3.4)

Over at the Bodegona a pair of wrapped aubergines alone would set you back roughly half that.

For avocados however, one really does have to venture indoors to the large covered hall where the reggatonas sit surrounded by their wares. V's a native panza verde and has known some of these women since she was little, but rarely manages to do better than I can: Q2 per aguacate.