To market, To market

One of my favorite things to do in Cusco (or at least it was before I hit the mother-lode of burn out effect and decided I couldn't be bothered to do such a thing) is to do my shopping at the central market. I hit up the Mega (Peru's version of Kroger, or Pathmark, or whatever your regional grocery store chain is) for things like cereal and milk, but for everything fresh, the only place to go is San Pedro Market. The place is huge, with aisles and aisles of vendors selling every kind of food you can possibly imagine. Well, every kind of food available in Peru. Peter Pan peanut butter remains elusive.

The produce is so much fresher there than at the grocery store, where it's clear that it's been sitting out for far too long. I spend a good bit of time in one of the fruit aisles, buying strawberries, kiwi, apples, bananas, and plantains to fry up. It's the only place I can buy peanuts and raisins that cost a bit less than an arm and a leg, so that I can make my own trail mix. Before hiking the Inca Trail, my regular nut lady wasn't working, so I switched nut ladies. The new nut lady can see me coming from a mile away. I buy fresh cheese and avocado and tomatoes for my cheese, avocado, and tomato sandwiches, fresh flowers for my apartment, and every kind of fruit juice you can imagine, made right there for you. (sin agua, of course, for us gringos.)

Beyond the fresh produce is a huge room of the Peruvian version of lunch counters. Old timers climb up onto rickety stools for their daily portions of soup, ceviche, or rice and potatoes.

As great as the market is for fruits and flowers, it is vitally important for those of us raised in a culture of refrigerated meat that we never EVER buy meat there. Why? Because it is sitting on a table, sans refrigeration, simply collecting flies. The meat ladies stand behind their counters, slicing up various dead animals, while occasionally swatting at insects swarming around their meat. If I'm lucky, there will be a nice big pig's head to greet me as I walk into the market. I'm not sure what one is supposed to do with an entire pig's head, and I'm not sure that I want to know.