Huembes Market

This is an experience that everyone should have at least once in their lifetime. We go to the market about twice a week. They have everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, to hammocks, to paint, to dishes, to meat, to cheese, piñatas, candy, clothes, shoes, etc. We have been here long enough to start to learn the market and where everything is. The smells of the market change as quickly as the shops and definitely take some getting used to. My oldest daughter tells me she holds her breath and only breaths through her mouth at certain parts. I will try to explain in words but this is something that needs to be experienced to fully understand. The fresh fruit and vegetables are amazing but it is fresh and some of it is over ripe. If you want something different this is where you will get it. At the edge of the produce section is a lady with 2 baskets of fish. They say fresh, but I am not sure how fresh it can be when it has been sitting in the heat all day. Now, this is where I am also guilty of holding my breath and not even breathing through my mouth. We just walk really fast. As soon as you enter the other side, there are the amazing smells of burlap sacks full of spices. Every spice you can imagine. And just around the corner from the spices is an entire section of fresh flowers. Your nose definitely gets worked over on just one trip to the market.



From past experience, I know that there is a meat section. We have been avoiding this area with the girls mostly because of the smell. Yesterday, my niece came with us and decided to take a short cut. Straight through the meat section! I am trying to rush the girls through the aisles in the hopes that they don’t really notice the raw meat hanging on the hooks above them, in the baskets beside them, or on the tables. Phew, we made it through! I can’t imagine myself buying meat that has been hanging on a hook in the open air all day long. So we finish doing what we came for and we are heading back the way we came. I am thinking that I have protected the girls from all the weird meat. We turn the corner and head straight for the meat section again. My youngest daughter turns to me and says, “Mommy, are we going past the eyeballs again?” I guess I should give them more credit. They saw every detail. As curious as kids can be, they were looking for the eyeballs in the plastic bags on the way back. We make it through the meat section a second time and the girls are still talking about the eyeball in the bag with whatever else is with it. Believe me! I didn’t stop to check it out! My oldest daughter as serious as she is, looks at me and says, “I am sorry, Mom, but if they serve me something with eyeballs in it, I am not trying to be rude, BUT I AM NOT EATING IT.” I reassured her that she would never have to eat eyeballs, no matter who cooked them. Now the curiosity has got the best of me! I asked my husband what they cook with eyeballs and he calmly replies, “I am not sure, but that is just gross!” So thankfully none of us will have to refuse eyeballs for dinner!