Feeding the Masses in Puente Piedra
This article may contain affiliate links where I make a small commission for purchases you make from links that you click from this article. By purchasing through these links, you support me at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support.
Three times every day, 50+ people sit down at wooden tables with colorful plastic plates piled high with food at Project Peru, the refuge my niece and I had been volunteering at outside of Lima for a week. I knew it was no easy process to put food on those plates every day, as kids and adults busily work for hours putting together menus that are well-balanced yet economical. However, I hadn’t considered the first part of the process – how Project Peru found and purchased the food for so many kids.
Antonia, one of the many local women who work at the refuge, took Megan and me to the market along with two of the other teenage girls from the refuge. I pretty quickly learned they ran a well-oiled shopping machine. However, it didn’t appear that way at first, as we left the walls of the refuge with a wooden crate and a few bags. Antonia made her shopping list on a soggy piece of paper while sitting on the crate waiting out in the rain for the bus.
Once we arrived in the chaotic suburb of Puente Piedra, the two girls left us, and we went with Antonia. The first stop was chicken and fish – my favorite part of the market – the butchers and fishmongers. Whole chickens, beef, pig heads, live crabs, and whole fish were overflowing in the market. Antonia didn’t waste much time. She went directly to her preferred vendors and bought up a dozen whole chickens while I snapped pictures. Megan squirmed looking at the inside organs of a chicken. The people in the market were as excited to see me, the foreigner with a camera, as I was to see them and their butchering skills. Granted – I’m not sure how much of their excitement had to do with the fact that I was with Antonia. I’m not exactly sure how you’d be received there showing up on your own. But just remember a smile and Hola go a long way in any situation.
It was clear not many foreigners ever came to this market – and that was just the way I liked it. Everyone there seemed eager to have their photo taken and even more elated when I showed it to them. There was laughter and smiles as friends in different stalls joked with each other and people vied for my attention like the kids at the refuge.
Strangely, Antonia kept ticking things off her list of purchasing things but didn’t seem to be accumulating anything. I later found out she had the goods delivered to a particular stand in the market since there was no way she was going to be able to carry around a dozen whole chickens, let alone fish and a bag of potatoes. Occasionally, Antonia would pick up a fruit or vegetable that looked foreign and give it to Megan and me to eat. We normally had no idea what it was – but would always try it anyway. Our favorite – the pacay pod – a green pod that, when opened, exposed a sugar-rich pulp, similar to cotton candy, surrounding the seeds. Sweet and delicious!
I could tell that Antonia had a few recipes in mind as she shopped, and I was excited to try the ceviche I knew she was cooking up in her head, which translated to her purchases of fish and limes.
After walking around the muddy market purchasing in bulk for about an hour and a half, Antonia smiled at us and led us to the stall where all of the deliveries were made. There, we met up with the other two girls, who had also been making purchases in bulk and accumulating everything in one stall. We had a mountain of purchases. Crates of oranges, bananas, limes, clementines, and apples were piling up. So were bags of potatoes and red onions – not to mention a dozen chickens and an equal amount of fish!
If you are looking for a unique Lima market experience that brings you closer to the local culture, then visit the market on your own. The market in Puente Piedra is open every day and is a great experience to simply go and walk around. You can get there pretty easily by local bus from Lima. Go early in the morning for the best market action, of course, and don’t be afraid to try the things you are offered. You’ll soon be swept up into the hustle and bustle of the vivacious market culture. And it will be a local experience you’ll never forget!
Learn more about Project Peru and the many, many great things they are doing for this community here – projectperu.org.uk
If you feel like donating, please consider giving to the Intrepid Foundation, as they match donations! Donate here www.theintrepidfoundation.org
- The Niece Project
- Seeing Rome Through New Eyes
- For an Immersive Local Experience Try a Rome Food Tour
- Getting the Most Out of a Vatican Museum Visit
- Rome Travel Tips: Skip Lines, Get Around, Eat Like a Local
- Put These Three Stops on your Amalfi Coast, Italy Itinerary
- How to Eat Pizza Like an Italian
- The Next Niece – Destination Unknown
- Evie’s Decision
- Modern Family
- Are we There Yet?
- Assuming Responsibility
- Finding our Stride in Hanoi
- What to Expect in Halong Bay
- Local Experiences Along the Tourist Trail in Hue
- Taking the High Road Hai Van Pass
- Hunting for Photos in Hoi An
- Saigon Unseen
- The Incredible Edible Egg Embryo Hot Vit Lon
- Saigon Street Food
- How to be a Good First Time Traveler
- The Niece Project Version 3.0
- Bumpy Beginnings Niece Project 3.0
- How to travel with other people’s kids
- New Perspectives in the Sacred Valley
- Into Thin Air with a Teenager
- Inca Trail Alternate Route
- Machu Picchu a Decade Later
- It’s a Jungle Out There
- A Teenager’s View of Peru
- Building Homes in Las Laderas Peru
- Project Peru
- Feeding the Masses in Puente Piedra
- Niece Project 4.0 The Decision
- Week In-stagram Review Belize
- Welcome to the Belize Jungle
- How To Be First In the ATM Cave Belize
- Taking Flight in Belize
- 3 Ways to Explore Belize Caves
- Under the Sea in Belize
- Exploring Firsts in Placencia Belize
- Niece Project 5.0 Travel Decisions
- New Zealand In-stagram Review
- Getting To New Zealand: Niece Project 5.0
- What the Niece Project Taught me About Traveling With Teenagers
- Why I Love to Take Teenagers on Small Group Tours
- Taking the Leap into Fear
- Flying Tips on How to Deal with Long Flights
- The Last Niece Project Goes To…
- An Aunt, a Niece, and India
- How to Spend a Day Like a Local in Jaipur
- My 6 Favorite Experiences in Rajasthan India
- Experiencing India As a Teenager
- Too Scared to Travel To India? I Have a Solution…
- The End of the Niece Project
Amazing – looks like a fascinating place. I always think markets are a great place to experience local culture and habits, and to really get stuck into a place. They’re a great place to make you feel alive! The project sounds great as well. Hope you’re both enjoying volunteering there – must be hard work, but incredibly rewarding.
Wow. What an incredible experience for you and your niece. I absolutely love markets, especially ones where the people seem to enjoy being photographed and showing off their wares. As usual, your photography is awesome. Thanks for sharing the experience!
Looks and sounds like an awesome experience.
Great photos of the market! Love seeing a bit of local culture through this! Thanks for sharing!
It took a while for me to get used to the pigs heads and chicken feet in the markets in South America.