Mercado de Wanchaq

You might be starting to think I am obsessed with markets, which might be true. But can you blame me for seeking out fresh food and local vibes?

We were looking for fruit, as well as some more of the dark substance to chew with coca leaves since we seem to have lost what we bought from Pisac in transit or something. While we didn’t see any coca leaves or its accompanying chew, we got some pomegranates, grapes, lucuma, and most importantly, we got to explore what a day-to-day market in Cuzco looks like.

Verdict? Pretty similar to regular central markets. You’ve got your fruit, veggies, meats, cheeses, etc, all in sections of the market. The vegetable section had still more potatoes and root vegetables than I think even Mercado Surquillo in Lima.

We continued through the market and ended up in what looked like a shoe repair/knick-knack section. We stumbled upon another eatery advertising ají de gallina and couldn’t pass it up. It’s been one of our favorite meals in Peru since we arrived! It wasn’t quite as good as some of the ají de gallina we’ve had elsewhere though. It looked very pale, rather than the bright yellow it should be, and seemed to have been thickened with something like cornstarch rather than the bread/milk/pecan combo it should have been.

The star of the meal was the soup. It’s been some time since I’ve had a nice homemade broth with veggies and this hit the spot more than the ají de gallina. It had some fava beans as well as barley, which were a great texture contrast to the carrots, potato, and squash(?).

After finishing our meal (5 soles for soup + ají de gallina), we continued on our way and noticed many of the nearby vendors were eating the same soup for lunch too. Yumm.

The best takeaway from today’s visit? Andean cheese!