Cuenca markets, street foods and treadles!

We´ve arrived in Cusco, Peru, and it all feels so foreign, after getting to know Ecuador somewhat.  Still two Cuenca things to wrap up.  Here´s another on the street foods and markets of Cuenca, because they were so varied and interesting.

A tamale with chicken, steamed (here) in a banana leaf.  50 cents.

On Sundays one can find these outside on the churches, warm fried dough with sugar.  10 cents.

Quail eggs - 10 for $1, really tasty, and no cholesterol.

They get salted, peppered, then a spicy pepper, served in a bag with a toothpick.

Strawberries that must´ve taken hours to stack so beautifully.

Many ways to do piggies.  Whole pig,
 or the head, roasted.  Delicious, actually.

This specialty pig, done in the hills north of Cuenca is accomplished with a blowtorch, literally.  Blackened skin is a special treat.  Takes about 3 hours to blacken the whole pig, we´ve been told. The end result is very crispy black skin, and a raw rest of the pig.  Didn't try this.

Here, strips of skin are sliced off and sold.  Later the pig will be roasted further and consumed. 

Sometimes the pigs get just flattened out.   Also yummy.

We visited another market in Cuenca, on its busiest day. More stuff there.

In the medicinal section, datura and brugmansia flowers (the yellow to red and white ones) -- for medicinal and hallucinogenic teas.  

The market's own special happy Jesus shrine. 

Feet stuck in the chicken's internal cavity -- look kind of pretty this way.  Feet usually show up in soups here.

So many kinds of potatoes, with special uses, special flavors.

Guinea pig being sold in the market. Whets the appetite when they make their little "cuy, cuy, cuy" noise.

And in a market in the country, cocoa beans melted into this form, for you to do stuff with.

Beans, peas, lentils,corn, already cooked.

Surprise!  Treadle sewing machines are still sold new!

Fancy ones with special stitches. 

 Toys for sale in the market. Mostly plastic animals, dinosaurs, reptiles.