One of my favorite things to do when I lived in Spain was to go the community market in Rota. A couple times a month my parents would take us all into Rota to shop at the market. The market building was a large building with two stories.The market there was not to be confused with an American supermarket. There were dozens of vendors selling all kinds of different food items and some of them were still alive.
Basically on the lower level is where all the meat and fish would be sold. Upstairs was reserved for fruits and vegetables. Each level has its own unique aroma. The upper level was much more pleasant, as far as your nose was concerned, than the lower level. I broke it down to downstairs was a treat for your eyes; upstairs a treat for your nose.
The lower level sold meat and seafood. You would see large sharks and tuna just laying there. Rota was a coastal community so fishing was an important industry there. Those fish were some of largest I've ever seen. To be truthful it was very impressive. There was also chickens, pigs and goats for example. If you wanted a chicken, you got a chicken. It was up to you kill it if you wanted hot wings that evening.
Upstairs was loaded with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. There were oranges, peaches, figs pomegranates, and dates. Dates come from a variety of palm trees and those palm trees were very common in southern Spain. The photo above is a date palm. Sunflower seeds were also very common. You could buy a large bag of sunflower seeds for about five cents.
The best thing about the market it made shopping an adventure. Where else could you see a ten foot shark in all its glory a foot in front of you? Much more exciting than a can of tuna at the supermarket you normally would see.
Adios for now.
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