Cuenca - mercado

One of my favorite places in Cuenca was the mercado. Walking through the southern entrance you were surrounded by bags of peas, tomatoes, various greens, cauliflower, broccoli, and other vegetables.  I drew you a picture!

Not to scale ;-)

Walking through the aisles of the herb merchants was delightful, the air smelled amazing, and the piles of green leaves, mixed with flowers such as amaranth and chamomile were beautiful. The butcher section was interesting in a completely different way... The food court was my favorite place to eat in Cuenca. First off, it was cheap, only $1.50 for a meal. Though a smaller portion than other places, that was fine with me, since I can only eat half of the meals they normally serve here. Even at the mercado, I´ve never cleaned my plate while eating out. After ordering food, I would walk over to the juice section and get a cup of coconut-mora for $.50. Mora is a dark berry that is similar to our blackberry, but tarter and firmer. That juice, which is really more of a smoothie, is absolutely amazing. Creamy with a thick head of foam on top. I encourage everyone to try to make it at home.