Port Louis Market

A rare blonde in the market

Seems only days ago I was worried sick about the stock market---will it collapse? Will stock and fund values keep dropping?  Will the world economic markets crumble under burdensome debt loads?  What a difference a week can make.  Now, Shelly and I wonder about another market:  the Port Louis fruit and vegetable market . . . will there be eggplant?  what of tangerines and grapefruit? Any chance of green beans today? Has the price of beets gone up since last week? 

We've had such a great time doing our food shopping in the downtown market---part enclosed, part outdoor, but wholly fascinating.  The smells, the sounds, the colors, the hawking of vegetables, the "2 for 20 rupees, 3 for 25" art of the deal.  It's a great place to study commerce and the people who buy and sell.  We usually walk in with about 300 rupees (nearly $10) and walk out with a bag heavy laden with produce.  Most is produced in Mauritius, but there are some higher priced imported items.  Shelly's become quite the shopping maven---knowing that the merchant on the right has red tip lettuce, while the guy on the next row over specializes in bib.  Oh, and the spices!  Each of the varied cultures that make up this diverse country have a full set of their own spices, many with ascending levels of "piment" or heat.  We have started cooking dinner with several different curries, mustards, and fresh cilantro thown in, and they are uniformly tasty.  Mauritians have so much variety in their cuisine---what we typically think of as East Indian, Chinese, African, Creole, and French all have homes here.  No matter what the menu, though, at least half the fun is doing the shopping and experiencing all the senses in such a lively market!