Shopping

Thought you all might like to know a bit about shopping in Ecuador (or at least Cuenca). There is a huge variety of "stuff" to buy here, from cheap souvenirs to high end furniture and appliances. They make beautiful leather products and Lisa and I both bought leather coats and boots. Such a huge selection it is hard to decide. And the shoes! The airline only allow 50 lb per person for checked luggage and 20 lb for carry on per person, too bad, so sad....

They also make pottery here and there is a small shop right outside our apt. Today we went in and the man was making vases and bowls. It was very cool to watch.

copy this link to watch the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw75Z-f-Pbo

There are lots of outdoor markets here in Cuenca. The biggest is called Feria Libre and it is huge with everything from leather goods to vegetables to a donkey's head for sale. We kid you not, we saw one for sale on the sidewalk. The fish and meat stalls are not hard to find, just follow your nose, takes some getting used to and we, of course, do not take chances so pass on by. The other markets are named after days of the month - the 3rd of Noviembre, 20th of Octubre and 10th of Agusto.

There are also lots of "convenience" stores on every street. They look more like jails as there are bars in front of them and you pay and receive your goods by reaching through the bars. Guess this is for security. Anyway, they sell things in these little stores by the piece. I was on a bible study with a sister at one of these stores and within half an hour people came to buy things like 3 garbage bags, 2 diapers, 1 aspirin, 2 cigarettes, 1 piece of candy, and course, 1 large beer with two plastic cups which they drink with a buddy right outside the store. Very different, eh? Many people have only enough money to buy what they need for the day.


Feria Libre market.


Fruit and veg we bought at Feria Libre = $7.60.


Modeling our leather.