When visiting Port Louis in Mauritius, one of the “must-see” places to go to is the market. In a previous post, I shared with you our experience when we visited the meat market. Our visit to the building opposite the meat market was a lot more colourful. And, as my daughter remarked, it smelled a lot better!
One of the first colours we noticed when we entered the fruit and vegetable market was the red of the tomato display. They looked ripe and appealing as we passed, and would surely tempt us if we were planning to buy any vegetables that day.
The fruit was certainly tempting, the sweet scent tempting us to buy some to snack on.
Even the green vegetables looked bright and fresh. The vegetables were not refrigerated and must have been picked early that morning. The leafy greens were not wilted, however, as the building was cool and a sharp contrast to the warm weather outside.
When weighing the produce, the seller used these old fashioned scales – scales that are not seen in the stores I normally frequent.
We had to, of course, stop and buy some bananas. A quick, sweet snack which was enjoyed by us all.
Patty Pans were a vegetable I had not eaten in a while (I do not see them on sale in the Northern Hemisphere). What amazed me was the size of them as they lay in the basket.
They looked delicious and firm lying there, and I knew I had to have a taste before I headed back to the north.
The array of green produce available was astounding, each leaf fresh-looking. By the number of people milling in the market, I am sure many of these leaves were cooked in the evening.
Amongst the fruit, a seller was offering small cakes to eat. I did not find these as tempting as the fruit lying in front.
As we exited the market, I looked back and knew I had enjoyed this walk through more than I had the one at the meat market.
Do you visit fruit and vegetable markets?
(This post was inspired by the folks at WordPress.com. The prompt this week is colour)
© Colline Kook-Chun, 2013
Colline's Blog 
Looks pretty much better organised than the souks of the Middle East.
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It is. I have been to the market in Port Louis a few times (every time I have visited Mauritius) and have been struck by how orderly and clean it is.
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What a beautiful and delicious color. 🙂
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Delicious is the right word. The things we bought there were yummily fresh.
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Those tomatoes must have taken them ages to stack so perfectly. I’ve been there but it was on a cruise and we only had one day to rush around the whole island, so I didn’t stop at any of the markets in the port.
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If you ever get the chance again, visiting the Port Louis market is enjoyable. It is divided into thee parts: the meat market, the fruit and vegetable market, and the market at which you can buy clothing, tablecloths and other souvenirs.
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Great pictures! Markets are such wonderful places to find beautiful colors – the tomatoes are fantastic 🙂
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They look so tempting to grab and eat, don’t they. I do admit they taste better than what I purchase in the store at home.
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So colorful… great work, Colline… 😀
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Thank you Bams.
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love the patty pans.
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They tasted good too 🙂
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Love the yellow patty-pan squash.
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I could not believe how big they were!
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I had not heard of Patty Pans before!
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I have not seen them in stores in the northern hemisphere. These are vegetables that I grew up eating though.
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Lovely images – what a great place to do your shopping
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It would be wonderful to go there everyday – and we saw many locals walking the aisles with their straw baskets. A lot more colourful than the produce section in our local supermarket 🙂
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Love markets! 🙂
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Not only do I love the produce on sale, but I enjoy the vibe as well 🙂
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Yes, markets would be one of my choices too… you have me puzzled about the smell 🙂
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We had just come from the meat market – if you look at the pictures, you will see that the meat is not refrigerated. The smell in the hall of the fresh produce was a lot fresher and not as pungent. I think we noticed it because of where we had come from. And of course near the stands of pineapples, for example, you could smell the sweetness of the fruit – especially where they were cut and ready to eat (unfortunately my photo of this came out too blurred).
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market colours are some of my favourites, too. there are a number of markets i visit from time to time, and it is true: nothing beats market freshness! thanks for sharing 🙂
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The fruit and vegetables certainly taste better.
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Methinks the meat market would have had that Chinese influence, indeed – Hai Pong!
Very colourful. I wish we could get bananas like that here. They seem a bit more restrained about what they do.
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The displays are really fantastic – the vendors really go out of their way to present their produce in an enticing way.
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That is what I miss most about our farmers markets being closed for WInter: the vendor stalls brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables. It puts me in a good mood whenever I stroll through them. Only 4 more weeks to wait!
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Strolling through the markets is certainly more relaxing than visiting a clinical supermarket.
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I think if you start counting the colors you will find any color you can think of at the end. Very colorful and fresh.
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Thank you Scrappy 🙂
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When the weather permits we have a farmers market that I love to wonder through. These colors remind me that I’ll soon be doing just that. Nice trip to market, to market….
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… to buy a fresh …. 🙂
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Two years ago, I did the same thing, I brought my camera to the wet market and took shots of the array of fish, veggies and dried goods. It was fun.
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I would love to visit again as there were many pictures I took that could have come out better. I am thinking that when summer has arrived I will visit some local ones where I live.
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beautiful colors of life.
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Thank you – walking through them did make us happy 🙂
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Such lovely shots and colours Colline! I love how they stacked the tomatoes and Patty Pans are my favourite. Thanks for sharing hon. *hugs*
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Thank you Sonel. There was just so much to see! I have shared with you my favourite shots.
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Oh, I can believe that Colline. So many places, so many photo’s to see. I am glad you shared these lovelies with us. 🙂
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A fitting post for colour for sure, Colline! I love photographing markets.. I so wish we had more local, seasonal offerings in our city, it’s a tough climate we live in!
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The Mauritians can enjoy markets like this all year round. In summer (we visited during their winter season), the colours are even more abundant with the summer fruits.
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I love these vibrant, natural colors. I frequent traditional markets. They’re so full of life!
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I agree. Both the shoppers and vendors seem to bring more life to the shopping experience than what is found in sterile supermarkets.
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these are such fun! I visit the St. Paul farmers market when it’s open (spring-fall). I created a post about it, I hope you don’t mind if I link it here. The patty pan squash here look smaller than the ones in your photo. I love to include them on skewers with chicken and other veggies. oh yum!
http://travelswithtoby.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/a-visit-to-the-st-paul-farmers-market/
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Many vegetables grow larger in Mauritius because of the climate. 🙂
It is interesting to see the contrast between the market in Mauritius and the oe you visited in St.Paul.
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With produce like that the kitchen beckons!
A very nice post and photos
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Thank you. though much of what we bought that day we ate raw 🙂
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Lovely visit to the market Colline!! Brings back memories of my visit there!!
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I hope the photos did justice to your memories. 🙂
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wonderful market scenes colline, the population must be healthy with all these great choices to eat!
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They are certainly a lot healthier than many people in North America.
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Nothing beats fresh food. 🙂
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I agree. And going to the market certainly tempts one to eat healthy.
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Never heard of patty pans. will keep an eye out for them at home and during my travels.
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If you like squash vegetables, you will enjoy these.
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so beautiful… I would love to go shopping there… Thank you, love, nia
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I can see you there Nia – photographing many of the displays 🙂
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LOVE THESE! Especially loved the images of the tomatoes and bananas…what a great place!
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Thank you Suzanne. I love visiting there too and each time I go to Mauritius, I always make a stop there.
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An exciting place to be. Beautiful!
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I felt so happy walking in the market. Looking at the photo have brought back all those memories.
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Love your interpretation of this challenge! Lovely photos!
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Thank you. 🙂
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The thing about food is that it looks so spectacular as well as tasting great!! Really enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by and liking ‘The Storm’.
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Especially food in its raw state – fresh and appealing 🙂
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I love patty pans and gem squash too, have to wait for a trip to the southern hemisphere to get them though.
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Whenever we go visit South Africa, that is one of the vegetables we HAVE to eat 🙂
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