And This Little Piggy Went to Market

Cusco is full of small stands selling everything from food to toys… its kinda an open air Wal-mart, but today we went to the San Pedro Market. Cuscos most historical and authentic market. A collection of stalls overflowing a huge open air building. You would be hard pressed not to find what youre looking for here. We wandered through the hundreds of small shops looking for elusive gifts for friends and family. We began our quest with nourishment. While not exactly a healthy snack the Churros were delicious. We made our way into the market via the side entrance and directly into the the area allocated to flowers. Flowers of every color, shape and size.  We moved from there to the area of chocolate and coffee…. really, what a great start, flowers and chocolate. The San Pedro market is primarily a local market, not exactly for tourists but it does have some stalls around the outer edges that have that lovely brightly colored toboggan with Cusco across the brim if thats what your looking for. Moving through the rows of fruits and vegetables from all over Peru,  we find ourselves in a complete row of fresh juice vendors. I walk through while the vendors yell in Spanglish for me to try their delicious drinks. While the smell of fresh squeezed fruit and  infectious smiles were a draw, I was able to pass for now, my companion wasnt. She stopped for a bit while I moved on to another area of the market. I quickly learn there is nothing that cant be bargained for in the Market. I hear the back and fourth between vendors and buyers until one or the other gives in to the price. When an agreement is met both are wearing smiles.. it seems to be a fun game for everyone. Who knows maybe Ill do a little bargaining myself? I head deeper into the market to find the butcher area. There is every type of meat known to man. Peruvians use all parts of the animal so I dont know why it was a surprise to see a whole pigs head staring back at me but it nearly caused me to pee my pants.I quickly moved through this area of the market…lol and on to one of may many vices. The cheese isle. I dont want to say that Im addicted to cheese but really can there be life without it? I would never make it being lactose intolerant. The cheese isle is filled with hundreds of different cheeses and the ladies behind the counter call to you to stop and taste there wares. YES … free samples… Let me just say this is better than COSTCO on Sunday… all cheese all the time Wandering through the maze of stalls you get a feeling of the real Cusco and how its so different from the states. Shopping daily is the norm here. People head to this market for fresh fruits and vegetables every day. I go once a week …. maybe and a lot my veggies sit in the crisper till …lets just say theyre past ripe. While many would consider Peru a poor country.. and in many financial ways it is , they seem to have a sense of whats import…. good food and family and earning an honest living. With my bags full of goodies and my mind spinning from what Ive seen , we hail a taxi for home. Its been a long and interesting day. Im so glad I got to see this crazy, wild and different side of Cusco.