TeamGaither

"Milton it"

This is how my stewardess cleans all the veggies when we get home, using the Milton tablets; a bleach-like solution that is safe when diluted in water. It takes up most of the kitchen and a few hours time but then everything is prepped and cleaned and put in ziplocks which makes meal time so much easier!

Markets - 1

This is a veggie stand not far from our permanent flat on Banana Island. It's small but it has great stuff. 

Markets - 12

This is usually how the lettuce is presented, in trash bags. They have a bucket of water to wash the dirt off and show you the leafy greens. Everything here has to be cleaned anyway so it's not a big deal to buy veggies in this fashion!

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This is "Venus"; she is checking out the fruits for me since I am a walking target for being taken advantage of!

Markets - 4

Thank god I have "Venus" to take me to the markets, otherwise I would have no idea what you are supposed to hear when tapping a watermelon. 

Markets - 5

I found these strawberries in one of the larger, western style grocery stores. They are Driscoll's which you can buy in the US and they were about $1800 Naira for a small box or $12. I just couldn't do it.

Markets - 6

This is a store a few people had told me was a great find, specifically for cheese and Indian spices. Honestly I was not surprised when I saw the layout or the product line. You really have to get past the "curb appeal" of most shops to find the good stuff.

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This is one of the better markets near Ikoyi where we live. It doesn't look like much but it has what you need and the prices are good. It is literally under a bridge in the same area as the "marina" where my friend keeps her boat.

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So far the most common items we buy are tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, onions and spring onions, pineapple, mango, green apples and oranges. A very common fruit here is called Paw Paw and is like a white melon.

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This shows a bit more variety in the fruits and veggies. Most of these items can be found in traditional grocery stores but they are more expensive and seem to have taken more of a beating in transport.

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I was surprised to find such nice green beans as well as okra. Bring on the gumbo!

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This little cutie was hanging out with his Mama who owned one of the stalls. There were lots of little kids hanging around. I even saw one sitting by her dad while he gutted fish all day- happy as can be.

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This is the "marina" adjacent to the fish market. I only put it in quotes bc my friend full on laughed when I called it that and she keeps her boat there.

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Shrimp or Prawns, whatever you call it, they have them in huge abundance in lagos. And I do mean HUGE.

Markets - 17

Okay, these are snails. And they are HUGE. Like creepy-this-is-not-normal-huge. I told my friend they should really be pets and she fell out laughing. But I was serious. I can not imagine trying to cook one of these. They are larger than a grapefruit, at least. Apparently you crack the shell and use the meat for stews. gag.

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The fish market is adjacent to the Fruit/Vegetable market. I asked my stewardess to negotiate the price after she explained the difference between a "true kilo" and a "fake kilo". hmm.

Markets - 19

We bought some terrific fish from this market and I would definitely go again, but you really do need to know what you are looking for before you go. The shop owners will cut the fish how you want it which is really helpful in a world without garbage disposals or proper trash pickup

Markets - 20

Before we came to Lagos, people always suggested you can't find toilet paper. That is just false.

Markets -21

This is one of the more westernized grocery stores (it is actually South African)- the refridgerated cases, product packaging and signage are all very modern but the cuts of beef and what is offered is still hard to get excited about!

Spar - August 2012

This is a brand new grocery store that opened in the past 6 months or so. Compared to the other westernized stores I have been in, it is gorgeous. Mostly it is large and clean. Also the aisles were not junked with with boxes or extra inventory - the items were actually on the shelves. I like the feel of the small european shops but they cost a fortune. You can get almost everything you need here including beer and wine at a reasonable price. 

Hidden Gems

This is the alley way that leads to a little market someone told me was like a little "costco" - aka American style, bulk foods. Most of the better places I find are hidden away like this.

Hidden Gems - 2

This is a pic of the little Costco-like market. It was literally the size of my bathroom. They had items that I would be interested in buying - if I hadn't already brought most of them over. The prices were not as cheap as I had hoped but you would never find these quantities and sizes in Lagos so it's worth it if you are a planner like me!

Money Bags

This is how we bring money home from the bank - in a black trash bag. Each bill is the same denomination - $1000 Naira or about $7 USD and its rare to find anything larger than that. The stacks wrapped in blue are $100,000 Naira or $700 so to pay our staff and do all our shopping in any given month, in a cash-only culture, well you can imagine the size of the stack!

Galleria

This is a really nice mall not far from our house called Silverbird Galleria. There is a cinema, several restaurants, a high-end women's dress shop, a lighting shop and even a smoothie kiosk.