Thursday, June 1, 2017

Shopping on small islands can be a challenge!

I enter the small dark building. There is one room, about 400 sq. feet. The lighting is very dim and the ceiling is low. There are two sets of shelves going one direction, and another two sets perpendicular to these. The shelving units are about 4 feet high with three shelves on each. There are a few shelves along two of the walls, and a cooler on a third wall. The cashier is sitting behind a counter along the fourth wall, by the door. This is a typical "Supermarket" that we have been encountering for the last two months, ever since we left Martinique.



I appreciated the large, well lit stores on the French island, but I didn't appreciate them enough. I had no idea how long it would be before I saw another store in the style that I had been used to in the United States.

The shelves are often only half full with an odd assortment of items, as if someone had gone through a catalog and checked 1 case of this and 2 cases of that. Each store will have a different assortment, so shopping usually entails 3 or 4 or 5 little stores to find what you need. Sometimes we would walk out of a store with only one or two items. Staples such as flour, sugar or rice are re-bagged into small plastic bags, often with no labels leaving me to wonder what the contents are.
This store was very unusual in that the bags were labeled.

No matter how small or under stocked a store was, there was always one aisle fully stocked with alcohol.

Not sure what this is. I decided to pass on it.

I also passed on this.

Leaving the dreary supermarkets, the fruit and vegetable stands are fun to shop at. Lots of interaction with the vendors who are always eager to talk about their produce, where it came from and what it is. Samples are freely given.


 The other source of fruit for us are the boat boys. They will drive their skiffs around the anchorage and knock on the hull. This was what we got today. Finger bananas,  star fruit and plums.
And there is always the joy of new discoveries.  These are wax apples, whole ones at the top, cut up slices at the bottom. They are delicious, sweet and crisp.

We love to hear your comments.

Anonymous said...

Finger bananas. Yum! UL

Sarah said...

They are so sweet and delicious. And such a good size for snacking.