Our first stop on the marlet trail was Quito's Central Market

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We could either get our pig whole from the butcher or piece by piece after roasting 
Roast Pig is known as hornado.  Here we could get as much or as little as we wanted



Our next stop was the vegetable isle

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We were greeted with an amazing amount of really fresh fruits and vegetables.  Most of which I recognized but there were a few mystery foods displayed.

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More fresh fruit

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And if you didn't like what you found inside there was till more on the street

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This was one of the mystery foods.  But her little boy had a great sparkle in his eyes

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The textue of these carrots caught my eye.

Then we hit the herbal medicine section.  This is just one of numerous displays of herbs on display
.

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Ruda displayed on the left is described as follows:  Ruda is used as a medicine for a long list of conditions. It is used for digestion problems including loss of appetite, upset stomach, and diarrhea. It is also used for heart and circulation problems including pounding heart (heart palpitations) and “hardening of the arteries” (arteriosclerosis). Some people use ruda for breathing problems including pain and coughing due to swelling around the lungs (pleurisy).
Ruda is used for other painful conditions including
headache, arthritis, cramps, and muscle spasms; and for nervous system problems including nervousness, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Bell's palsy.
Other uses include treatment of fever, hemorrhage,
hepatitis, “weakness of the eyes,” water retention, intestinal worm infestations, and mouth cancer. Ruda is also used to kill bacteria and fungus.
Ruda is sometimes applied directly to the
skin to treat arthritis, dislocations, sprains, injuries of the bone, swollen skin, earaches, toothaches, headaches, tumors, and warts; and as an insect repellent.
.
I doubt that it is USDA or FDA approved

Manzanilla is simply Chamomile tea

Mashua, displayed in the center has putative anaphrodisiac effects. It has been recorded by the Spanish chronicler Cobo that mashua was fed to their armies by the Inca Emperors, "that they should forget their wives". Studies of male rats fed on mashua tubers have shown a 45% drop in testosterone levels. Here it is being hawked as a remedy for an enlarged prostate among other things.

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All of the vendors seemd generally friendly and most did not mind having
their photo taken, especially if you bought something

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Ecuadorian village of Calderon.
The craftsmen there specialize in manufacturing masapan, bread dough figures that come in every shape and size. This pasty material is made into flowers, dolls, chess pieces, statues, figurines and so much more. If you can name it, the craftsmen can make it out of this flour dough material which dries rock hard. They make them into bracelets, necklaces, pins, refrigerator magnets, earrings as well.


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Masapan

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More Masapan

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And still more Marasan.  This was just one of many stores
It all was hand made in the back of the store.  We even got a chance
to try our hand in making a figure.  Looked pretty bad so it went
back into the pot.

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Knitted carnival masks
Ecuador is known for the ancient art of knitted carnival masks

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One is being modeled here to try and get us to buy it

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These geese were for sale in the market.  They were not restrained any
way that I could see.  They just stayed in that location.  Strange?
The chickens and quail were in cages.

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A Panama hat (sometimes informally among hat enthusiasts, just a Panama is a traditional brimmed hat of Ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant . Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe. For some products, the name reflects their point of international sale rather than their place of domestic origin; hence "Panama hats". The 49ers (Gold Rush prospectors) picked up these hats in Panama, and when President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Panama Canal construction, he wore such a hat, which increased its popularity. They're also known as a Jipijapa, named for a town in Ecuador.

Panama-hat quality is a heavily disputed subject. There are two main processes in the hat's creation: weaving and blocking. The best way to gauge the quality of the weave is to count the number of weaves per square inch. Fewer than 100 would be considered low quality. There are many degrees of increasing quality, up to the rarest and most expensive hats, which can have as many as 1600–2500 weaves per square inch; it is not unheard of for these hats to sell for thousands of dollars apiece. Such a hat is known as the Montecristi, named after the Ecuadorian city that produces the best Panamas.The second best type is the Cuenca, again, named for an Ecuadorian city.

The quality of the weave itself, however, is more important. A high weave count, even an attractive-looking one, does not guarantee a well-woven hat. It is said that a Panama of true quality (a "superfino") can hold water and when rolled for storage can pass through a wedding ring. However, Ecuadorian hatmakers disagree on how to rate the lesser-quality hats.

Although the Panama hat continues to provide a livelihood for thousands of Ecuadorians, fewer than a dozen weavers capable of making the finest "Montecristi superfinos" remain. The UK's Financial Times Magazine of 13 January 2007 reported that there might be no more than 15–20 years remaining for the industry in Ecuador, due to the competition of paper-based Chinese-made imitations, especially as a few hat sellers dominate and manipulate the market. Panama hats can take up to 4 months to weave. They usually take 2 months to weave.  I purchased a Montecristi superfino in the market there for $90.00.  When I returned to the US I found the same exact hat  listed at$500.oo.  Yes it came in a nice little balsa-wood box like the photo.

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These are lower quality hats.  I bought mine in a store.

Quito Rain Forest Photo Page 7