Port Vila Market

When I lived here last year, I would go to the Port Vila Market every week to stock up on fresh produce.

The vendors are mostly Mamas from all over Efate who come to Port Vila to sell their harvest. The Mamas (often with their small children) stay and sleep in the market for as long as it takes for them to sell all their produce and only then will they take the long trek back to their own villages.

Bargaining (and tipping) are not part of the Ni-Vanuatu culture so don’t even bother.  My very Asian mum finds this hard to fathom and still try to no avail to bring the prices down.

The market doesn’t offer a wide variety of fresh produce. Often, it’s a hit or miss kind of experience. One week the market is full of mud crabs, carrots, and lettuce; the next week there is none to be found at all. But that is the beauty of going to the markets every week, you’ll never know what you will find.

bananas and young coconutsMama arranging her stacks of pechay

small passion fruits

outdoor broom  made from coconut leaves

produce everywhere! even on the ground

salad greens

coconut oil for cooking?

Mum and her weekly coconut hoarding

Is all.

Lukim yu next time!

(See you next time!)