A bowl of cherries

We were out of a lot of things this morning, so I went to the market. If you are not clear on the distinction yet, the "store" is the grocery store, much like a grocery store in the US, while the market is the open market about a mile up Remigio Crespo, the main street that our apartment is just off of. It covers several acres with a mixture of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, clothes, barbershops, and a miscellany of other things.

One of the things that can be hard to get there is change, that is, if you offer someone a $20 bill, they will just shrug and send you on your way. However, there is a change machine in the walkway under the Avenida de las Americas [yes, a continuation of I-25, all the way down here in Ecuador, except that here it has become highway 35], where I was able to put in a $20 bill and get a whole pocket-full of change. 15 Sacajawea $1 coins, and a bunch of quarters, dimes, and nickels. Anyhow, with these, I was ready to shop.

One of my first stops was for onions and carrots. Then I picked up two pineapples, and on an impulse I bought a pound of beautiful Bing cherries for $1.50. Half of them disappeared this evening, and the other half will go tomorrow. A month ago a pound of cherries was $4, but now we are apparently into the glut part of the season, and prices are way down. The cherries are better too, but I don't know how much longer they will last [in the market that is - the ones I have will not see another sunset.]I then added a large head of broccoli, a large bunch of Swiss chard, a dozen eggs, and four large avocados, and called it a day. I had at least 20 pounds of groceries in my bag, and I had spent a total of $7.45, not counting 25 cents each way for bus fare.

Also, since I did not post last night, I want to include this picture of the sunset that we saw here. This is taken at the park just a block or so from our apartment, where Sunday evening is a favorite time to get out and enjoy the park. This evening we had a thunderstorm that gave a little rain, and quite a bit of lightening and thunder.