Market day!

Today is market day! Everyday of the week in Banyo you can go shopping, but Tuesdays and Fridays are "big market" days. The bread is fresher, more cows are slaughtered, women from the bush come to sell their items, and town is abuzz with excitement.

 

When I first arrived in Africa, I was way intimidated by the local markets. They are something else. I never went, then when we were in CAR we were so isolated that going to the big market across the border was a special treat for me, and now I love to go.

 

To get to the market, I usually take one of these to and fro for 40 cents.

 

 

Here is the outside of the market where leafy vegetables and big root vegetables are sold.

 

You can also buy used clothes, toys, and junk from Europe/America that are in piles outside. I bought two Christmas stockings and a Santa hat here in October for 60 cents.

 

Go past the stinky fish (some dried, some "fresh"- I never buy it because the smell is awful, awful, awful. I just can't stomach it.),

 

 

Next you find more vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, etc. We are so spoiled to have these here, these kind of vegetables were hard to come by in CAR.

 

 

Next, you can make your way through the maze of small alleys. (These bowls have corn flour in them- used to make a play dough like consistency food called fufu.)

 

 

All through the small passage ways you will find various shops- hardware stores, baby stores, soap stores, cloth stores, etc. Sometimes the shops are mixed and you can buy a bra at the hardware store (I dare you to ask Home Depot where their lingerie department is!). It is amazing what you can buy in these shops. A few weeks before Christmas, I bought Christmas lights that were made in Communist China, sold by an Islamic African, and bought by a Christian American in Cameroon. Crazy!

 

 

 

Chicken (live chickens that is) and fish are sold outside, but the Fulbe are cattle people- so the beef is at the heart of the market. And yes, we eat this meat. You can buy a pound of fillet for less than $2.30. See how many flies you can count!

 

Besides choice cuts of beef, you can also buy cow feet or entire heads! Bon a petit!

 

 

 

Past the butcher, you can get your hair cut (if you don't mind the smell of dead cows).

 

 

 

So there you have it- Banyo's Super Wal-Mart: groceries, clothing, household goods, and fresh meat!