Walking along next to us here are a couple of folks trying to sell their rooster... by holding them by their feet. Egad!
And here are some equally unlucky birds.... all crammed together in a cage, for sale.
This man was selling all sorts of natural potions and stuff... even the woman watching him doesn't seem quite sure whether to believe his snake oil stories or not.
Beans are very popular in Ecuador, and sold widely in this market. But, I never knew all the work that went into preparing them for the market. These two old ladies for instance sat there all day, taking the beans out the pea shells.
There's quite a variety of fruits and vegetables sold in the food market, as you can see here. Cabbage in Ecuador is twice the size of that in Canada (I just don't know what you would do with all that cabbage).
And here are grains and spices. I like the effect of all the colourful bags in this picture.
In the meat market, all sort of meat cuts were hanging from kiosks or stacked on tables.
Dave was in shock when he saw this huge pile of chicken feet and heads.
But Ecudarians are entrepreneurs... and a lack of kiosks or tables does not keep them from selling their wares. Here you can see are a few folks carrying (and calling out) all sorts of things for sale.
A popular - but often known as a brutal - latin american sport is watching cock-fights, where competitive roosters armed battle to their death, with the help of a very unnatural piece of glass or a nail afixed to their feet. Did not see the show, but have seen pictures. It gets ugly.
Otavalo also has some beautiful churches just outside of the market area that ought not to be missed.
In Otavalo's main square lies another impressive church.
Quito - Beautiful and brightly coloured murals are painted along several main streets. These, as an example, display some of Ecuador's most famous people. Sorry, I don't know yet who or what the cartoon on the end represents yet. :cD
Here is a view of Quito's streets and public transportation, near the University. Trolleys and buses are Quito's main mediums of public transportation (though taking a taxi is aso a relatively cheap way and much safer to get across town - only US$1-$2 per trip!)
Throughout Quito's streets, half a dozen people at a time are selling products (from fruit, to lottery tickets, to brooms, to the daily news, to gifts and trinkets) to drivers while they wait for the red light to turn to green. It is interesting because Quito drivers actually often shop this way because they can get great deals. Now that's convenience!!
The sad part though is that you often find children as young as four selling products too... and on top of that the pollution is really horrendous here as well (just think of Thailand, Bangkok, for those who have been).
What really impressed me about the food here is the variety of some of the foods that are familiar to me - corn, for exampe (as seen on the plate above) can be just absolutely huge (this is medium sized corn, I have seen bigger). Also, there are all sorts of bananas here (Ecuador's largest imports) - salty plantanos, sweet plantanos (my favourite), guinea bananas (the one we all know in Canada), and tiny little bananas too.
And here's something that even took us by surprise in the supermarket. Pig heads for sale... vacuumed-sealed and all!!
