What $7.32 Buys at the Market

Today, I went to the Monday market
In the Colonia Aurora.
It is held out behind the plaza,
Behind the IMSS building.
I was actually there for another reason
But the market was there and everything
Looked so fresh and perfectly ripe
That I couldn’t help buying a bunch of fruit.

A half kilo of figs
Seven apples
A kilo of rambutan (on left)
Five bananas
Three mangos
Three avocados
A kilo of limes
One large papaya.
For 97 pesos
Which at today’s exchange rate
Is $7.32.
I still can’t figure out  why Washington apples
Are so much cheaper here
Than I can buy them in California?

As for the rambutan

I see these here seasonally.
They said it grows around here, but I wonder.
I can’t imagine they would import these from Asia
But who knows?
It is an indonesian fruit, relative to the Lychee.
When I asked about it, the seller cut one in half,
Squeezed the outer skin which is about a quarter inch thick.
The lychee like fruit just popped right out into my hand.
It is sweet, juicy and refreshing.
The fruit is beautiful, but looks totally forbidding.
The spines are soft and because of the thick skin
They are a fruit that you could carry easily,
Along with a little pocket knife
To munch on.