Abasto

Abasto! There is nothing like fresh fruits and vegetables, and a ton of them at cheap prices. Heading to buy them is a new adventure every time! There is truly no description that can explain the activity and excitement that awaits a trip here! The sights, sounds and smells are incredible. I guess I would say that Abasto is the size of a football field plus some. A huge conglomerate of everything! Everywhere you look are stalls of different types of food and goods. Eggs, huge blocks of cheese. There is a huge area just of potatoes and onions. Another area with bananas and plantains. A meat market, thousands of pounds of tomatoes. Lemons, oranges, pineapples, apples, grapes, strawberries. Coconuts. Fruits that I don’t even know what they are. And the people. Everywhere. They have sellers that are calling out prices, some are sleeping on top of piles of food, babies being held by working mothers. Nursing babies. Kids helping parents to sell. Men and boys charging 5 B’s to carry your purchases in a wheelbarrow all over the market. Bags of every kind of grain you can think of. Fruit Loops and cold cereal. Pounds and pounds of it! Shops with soap and paper supplies. Pots and pan stores. Clothes. Dishes. Live chickens, dead chickens. Plants and plant supplies. An entire stall full of garlic! Stalls full of charcoal, cause barbecue here is popular. The smells! Yes, and watch where you step and always, always move out of the way of men carrying 100 or more pounds on their backs, or pushing a wheelbarrow full of charcoal. The prices are fair and I have yet to have anyone try to charge me too much. There is the washing, washing, and special cleaner on all the fruit. I love the fresh stuff here!