Market Time

We have a pretty normal routine around here on work days.  First, we get up and drink our coca tea and eat some breakfast.  Lately we have been experimenting with hot quinoa and hot maca cereal...pretty tasty.  At some point we leave the compound to get ready for the school day. Here is how it went today.  First, we stopped at Kinkos.  OK it is actually someone's house who happens to have a copy machine.  Here is GeGe dropping of the sheets that we needed copied for classes today.

Then, we walked down the hill passing dogs, shops, and kiosks selling all sorts of stuff.

One must watch out for cars, buses, motorcycles, and always more dogs.

Next, we stopped at the bakery to see if they had our favorite sweet bread.  The door gates were closed but the door was still open so we just rattled the gate a bit.  Sadly no sweet bread today but she said tomorrow there would be some.

Then, we went to the market.  It is housed in a large warehouse type building with cement floors.  There are people selling all sorts of things.  We go here most days to get whatever is going inside the kid's sandwiches that day.  Here is the entrance where many people sit selling things.

Today GeGe treated us to Chunyo.  It is made with dried (re hydrated) potatoes and tastes like scalloped potatoes.  Here we are sampling and below is a picture of the potatoes that are used.

Here are some views from within the market.

Lots of grains and legumes for sale.

Here they sell school supplies and art materials.

Eggs, jam, plastic tablecloths, spices, etc.

Chickens

Lots of different types of potatoes.

Alfalfa to feed the guinea pigs.  I still have not tried cuy (to the best of my knowledge.

GeGe seems to know everyone around here.  This woman had twin baby girls.  Her son is in the program.  Of course we had to get some baby love.  The older (but still little) girls were playing school and liked getting their pictures taken.

Fruit, vegetables, or you can have fresh juice or lunch made for you.

 On the way home we had to detour around the road being redone.  So much of it is done by hand, such hard work.

Here in Carmen Alto there are many outdoor clubs.  They all blast music Sunday afternoons and early into Monday mornings.

These two cuties live across the street from us. They are cousins.  Marcia is four and Mayumi is two.  Marcia's parents run a little store where GeGe gets the fruit for the program.  GeGe is like family to them all.  The girls help us carry the fruit home each day and then we get to play for awhile.

Here is Maya and the girls.  Maya is also holding about 50 eggs in that plastic bag.

My turn to snuggle.

After we play for awhile we walk the girls back across the street to their house.
Hope you enjoyed our market adventure.  That's it for now.  Fireworks are going off outside although we don't know what for.  Hope this finds you all well. Much love,  C