Feria in Atlantida

Thursday is feria in Atlantida. A farmers market, if you will. But more than that, actually, since you can buy clothes, DVD's (properly pirated), bicycle parts, honey- you name it and you can get it there. Not only is the produce outstanding and the cheese and eggs are unbelievably fresh- you don't pay the 23% IVA (sales) tax you do in the stores. And you can buy just about anything you can buy in the stores in the feria.

This is Denise with Syd & Gundy- expats who have helped us immensely.

There are ferias all over the country. Several in Montevideo, one here on Thurs, another in the next community on Saturday. You should never miss going to the feria. They actually are very timely. They open at about 3 in the afternoon(you can go earlier, but not all the stalls are open) and end around 5 pm.

The vendors have their spots "reserved". Not officially, but they definitely have their spots. And if they don't show up, the space remains empty. The produce stand here is just one of many. You may buy potatoes from one stall, brocolli from another, and so on. The prices are listed in pesos (about 19/$) and usually in kilos (for those of you that didn't sell pot, that is 2.2 lbs). Sometimes they are marked "c/u" (cada una=bunch) or "1/2" by 1/2 kilo. It is truly a buyers market. These vegetables are fresh out of the garden and have never been refrigerated. You can tell that. You have never tasted better.

When you come out of the market and get into your car, you must pay the "car guy". All over the city, in very place you can imagine, there are guys with reflective safety vests who "watch over your car". Don't know it they actually do, but you only give them 2-5 pesos, or 10, possibly if you are gone a long time in a bad neighborhood. That is only 5-10 cents, so it pays to pay them.

We are staying in the hotel, with limited space to cook, so all we bought was some of the most delicious cheese you have ever tasted. Still I can hardly wait until we get our own place, and our own kitchen, so I can go down to the feria and stock up. Love the ferias!