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Local markets attract me to no end. Exploring them gives me plenty of satisfaction. Our favourite is the Friday Market in the town of Santa Barbara, about 20 minutes away from us.  Flowers Stalls in Sta. Barbara Market. Copyright: aesta1 I love to go when it is the market day for that town, as many vendors from different provinces and towns in the island of Panay go there to sell their produce. Thus, there are a variety of choices that ensure you buy quality products.  Fish Stall in Sta. Barbara Market. Copyright: aesta1 Last Friday, we went to a town next to us as it was their market day. It's busy, but this adds immensely to the fun. I went with my sister and niece; we had reasons for being there, so we decided to separate ways and meet at a designated place and time. My sister came with me because I'm unfamiliar with the market.First, we went to the fish section, and as we entered the area, my sister's former student greeted her. He is now a fish vendor. The fish are all fresh. There are many to choose from, including blue marlin. The price is reasonable compared to what we get in our town.  Meat Section in Sta.Barbara Market. Copyright: aesta1 My sister and I saw the tiny fish that we used to eat as children. You can eat the whole fish when stewed in a clay pot, in garlic and ginger, and wrapped in banana leaf. It brought memories of the smell when our aunt would cook it. Of course, we got some. The day before, we went to a pottery place and got the perfect cooking pot, so we got very excited. We went next to the meat place. My sisters have a place she constantly goes to; they already know her. Such a place is what we call suki in our local dialect. Suki means someone who buys regularly from the seller. From there, we looked for mung bean sprouts to go with the dish we planned that day. We went around not so much to buy as we grow plenty on the farm but to check the prices and availability of produce. We did our market research. Then, off to the dried fish section. We love eating some, especially for breakfast.  Fruit Section in Sta. Barbara Market. Copyright: aesta1 Then we traced our way back to where we said we would meet each other and saw some plants for sale. They have beautiful herbs: spearmint and peppermint. Rosemary, basil. And Tarragon. I got some, and my niece did the same. What's funny is I got three and paid 300. I found it cheap, 100 pesos each. On the other hand, my niece bargained for three for only 200. I smiled as I was content with my purchase. Two days before, I bought the same plant for 250 each in the shopping mall. We had so much fun sharing our experiences in the car. The market was busy. It was crowded, hot, loud, wet, and smelly, but who cares? People are friendly, so no shouting in anger, only voices selling their ware. We had so much fun. We shared memories of when we were children. We remembered the adults in the family going to these markets. We looked forward to their coming home as they always brought us treats, but we did not go.  Spices in Sta. Barbara Market. Copyright: aesta1 We returned to this Santa Barbara market several times as we always had so much fun. Last time, I found someone selling spices, and I told my nieces about it as we always looked for some but could not find some exotic ones. My sister suggested we try going to the markets in other towns. I am so game for it.
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