I seriously need to post about Cartagena or I'm going to forget I was ever there. Not to mention the fact that whoever reads this blog has already forgotten I was ever there!
Fruit vendors were everywhere on the streets of Cartagena. Some sold freshly pressed juice while others sold cups of freshly sliced mango and watermelon sticks that looked like fruit fries.
Coconuts were plentiful too. They sold the juice, they sold shaved coconut, and I think they toasted some of it. The juice carts vendors squeeze the juice right there while you wait with a press they have on their cart. There are also vendors with ice shavers from which they made a snow-cone and flavor it with your choice of syrups. I didn't manage to get an actual photo of one of those carts, but to show you how popular they are, they even have a metal sculpture of one in one of the main squares of the city.
The other kind of fruit vendor was my particular favorite: the native women dressed in colorful clothing. Even though I know they dressed for the tourists, I still thought they were wonderful. They usually had a big bowl of fruit which featured watermelon and pineapple as the star attractions, but also included bananas and strange melons I had never seen before.
And of course, there was the opportunity to pose with them for a small gratuity, which I personally would have found demeaning, but I guess money is money.
It's a true art to carry a heavy bowl of fruit on your head, trust me.
Posted by Lynne on 07/11/2013 at 02:07 PM
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Travels Beyond New Jersey