Vero Peso

Boats full of fish, fruit, and other goods sit on the sand at Vero Peso market.  They come from all over the Amazon region, arrive in darkness, then sit stranded as the tide goes out.  In the afternoon, the water rises and they are back on their way!

Our second morning in Belem called for a visit to the Vero Peso market, a notoriously outrageous marketplace selling everything under the sun.  The name in Portuguese means "see the weight," implying that all trades are done on the spot and approved by both parties.   Vendors hawk potions, dirty men slice fish to your exact specifications, and in the back of the market, the jewel is the largest open-air trade of Acai in the world.

Baskets of Acai are sold to local vendors who then process them in their small shacks.  Acai is a staple food much in demand, so here in the market the price fluctuates as wildly as any stock sold at the New York Stock exchange.  A typical basket will go for between 15 and 20 Reais, or about 8 dollars.

The sellers of Acai are aggressive, using loud voices to convince buyers that theirs is the freshest.  Purchasers taste the berries and rub them against their palm to check quality.  Workers march the berries up from the boats by balancing the baskets on their head.  All in all, it is a wild place filled with much energy and excitement.  Yet despite the overall roar of the market, all of the trading of Acai occurs before the sun comes up.  Sunlight and heat will damage the berries, so purchasers get there before dawn to get the best pick.  Due to the crazy hours, there are a number of teenagers sleeping on the ground, exhausted from their all night journey from a distant island with their Acai.  None of these berries will find their way into Zola products -- the vast majority here go directly to local Acai stores and suppliers.

Lemons are cheap - 30 for 1 Brazilian Dollar, or about 42 cents. 

In "Potion Alley" one could find some outrageous stuff.  I came across this bottle of "Viagra Natural" -- not sure if I trust what's inside!

Acai baskets sit in the pre-dawn light.  But despite how tasty they look - they are still 80% seed and only edible in pulp or juice form!

A handful of Acerola, the Brazilian Cherry.  These little suckers have 80x the vitamin C of Oranges!

Our other purpose in visiting the market was to investigate the other "superfruits" that are making their way into Zola's new functional smoothies.  Here we searched out Acerola, a small red Brazilian cherry loaded with Vitamin C, and Cupuacu - a brown fruit that is member of the Cocoa family and filled with a sweet white interior.  We also came across Graviola, a green spiky fruit that looks like it came from outer space, but according to some scientists may have incredible cancer fighting benefits.  Finally we located Tapareba, or Caja fruit, which is like a small, tangy mango.  It truly felt like we were "FRUIT HUNTERS" on the loose!

The inside of a cupuacu.  The juice from this fruit was one of my favorites down in the Amazon.

Chris displaying a basket of Caja.

Purchasing a bag of Acerola from a local vendor.

While I have been seen many incredible markets during my travels (especially the Fish Market in Catania and the Vacaria in Palermo), this one stands out for its incredible selection of fruit and for its outrageous products.  I also don't think I've ever seen any fish look quite like the ones pulled from the dark, silty river. 

~ J. Twice