Thursday Market in Antigua

As I mentioned in my earlier post today, Ruth was operator in charge of the diesel SUV that took us to the market. In all, we were six in the vehicle but one was discharged part way to the market place in order to complete some business. The rest of us arrived, paid the five Quetzales parking fee and wandered through the indoor and outdoor stalls. The aisles, like those of the chicken buses, are extremely narrow compared with North American standards and certainly would not fulfill the letter of the law regarding North American ADA standards. Nonetheless, all came...the quick and the almost dead, fit and lame, old and young. Cats, dogs, birds and a mass of humanity. Vending a la mano (five items or what could fit in the hand) or by dozen, money was exchanged and produce acquired. Ladies with large, heavy baskets atop their heads and laden with goods were passing by and demanding the right-of-way over men balancing loads on their shoulders and others wheeling push-carts.

My purpose in being there was to take some photos and to purchase some mandarin lemons. Ruth has made for us a heated drink and her recipe is simple: the juice of two mandarin lemons, freshly squeezed, mixed with water and heated. After the drink is sufficiently hot, add a touch of natural and wild honey. I will strongly recommend this to you (if you are fortunate enough to be able to purchase these items). Daisy, the maid of the Philippis, located my fruit and I negotiated a good deal. I decided to depart and meet John who had remained at home. But, on my way out of the expansive market, I espied some cascarones which I bought to surprise some unsuspecting person. They are the shells of eggs which have been filled with confetti and sealed. You already know the rest of the story. It is best by far to pick on somebody who is not already cross and crotchety.

Out of the market and no more dodging people and things. Called John and found that he had ventured out to Parque Central, the central meeting place in the heart of Antigua. It was only blocks from where I was and we met at a dandy little coffee shop known to us from many frequent and former visits. He had ordered coffee for himself with a croissant and I had a cinnamon roll. My thumbs are both up in judging these items. They had not spent the night on the shelves but had themselves been shaped and baked that very morning, just hours before consumption. Yummy! As we sat enjoying our petite breakfast, we viewed at least half a dozen sacks and bags filled to the brim with provisions from the produce and fruit market  where I had just been. These were borne by employees and were destined for the kitchen of the cafe where we were eating. Instead of having large and noisy trucks humming in the streets, these folks had carried and toiled with these items on their backs and heads to the El Vieja Cafe.

On our ten block return trek to our house, we stopped a handful of times to look and not to purchase. Jade, cedar items, gold, silver and coral all nice to view but very dear in price. Now we are back at the compound and soon will be joining the Philippis for a fish lunch. The lunch was absolutely great. The fish monger calls on the telephone the day before he is scheduled for delivery in their area. Then, according to the needs and orders, he delivers the fish to the front gate. How is that for service?

Sorry about the placement of the images in the blog. I am using a new format and program and will have to fiddle with it in order to have narrative that is meaningful with the images. Bear with me and I will change. The first several pictures are from the market area displaying the vivid colors and, in some, the native costume. A few snaps were taken within the courtyard of the Casa Santo Domingo and the two were in the yard of the Philippis.  You can easily view the volcano in one of the snaps taken in the garden of Phillipi.You will see the coffee cherries displayed in one image. Sadly, they have been cut and now only the green cherries are apparent and we await blossoming for the successive crop. One note about the images, in order to view them at a better size, one need only snap the mouse on an image and detail will become evident.

Tonight we are going to a restaurant and bar with our good friend Mary from Madison. We have connected with her now for about three years - two here in Antigua and the other in Peru. We are going to visit a restaurant owned and operated jointly by a North American couple and a man from Guatemala. It is called La Peña and provides nice music entertainment several nights weekly. The owners are friendly and know us so come by for a good chat when we appear.

All for now.