Looking for Chicken Nest at Oslob Market

I am currently in Oslob, Cebu visiting our in-laws again after four months, our last visit was in May this year. My husband grew up in this town and as some of you might know, this town is pretty well known for its tourist spots, the controversial whale sharks, white sand Sumilon island, and Tumalog Waterfalls.

A day after Paeng (tropical storm) left, my husband and I visited the market and we had one goal which was to find a chicken nest because some of my brother-in-law's hens had just hatched their eggs.

From the main highway, we entered the market from its entrance. The fruit stands welcomed us. On the sides, the fruits being displayed are usually bananas, apples, mangoes, and grapes, these are the common fruits available this month in the town. A kilo of banana costs Php 50, mangoes are usually at Php 120, while apples are priced per piece at Php 25.

The fruit section continues as we reached the end of this hallway. There are more on the right side and on the left side is the flower section.

I have to stop by and appreciate the colors of these flowers. I asked the vendor if I can take a photo of some of them and she nodded.

These are close-up pictures of the flowers which I am not sure of the name of especially the yellow one. The white one I thought the baby's breath but when I searched online, the baby's breath looked different. So, I made a google photo search instead and found it to be named Aster, some call them Frost Aster while there are others who refer to it as Heath Aster.

On the other hand, the yellow one was hard to find on the web perhaps because it was not properly photographed. Anyway, we have to move on.

Now entering the market. There is much plastic roofing here and some local left his bike! This tree gives shade but as you can see, the ground is muddy which was expected because it was raining the past few days.

We proceed to the area where we thought the native chicken nest or basket can be found. This part is at the end of the right side of the market. The ceiling isn't that high and so it felt like we are in a tight space. There are lights attached to the ceiling. Most of the items here are ropes, brooms, some kitchen cookware, and plastic items too.

Unfortunately, even after asking the vendors around, they seem not to have any chicken baskets or nests here! Some said. they ran out of stocks! I think we have to look somewhere else. It's just ironic because there are many farms and backyard chicken owners here in town yet, they don't have stocks for chicken nests! Or maybe someone bought them all!

I decided to roam around while my husband went to a different path still looking for the chicken nest! I past by some ready to wear sections too! I was too shy to ask if I can take photos so I just made a fast snap on this part here with the sandals and pants.

Now headed to the vegetable section. For me, this section here is probably the biggest that occupies the Oslob market. There are many stalls and many vendors, and most of their stalls are filled with stocks! They usually have the common vegetables, eggplants, pechay, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, etc.

The floor here is not anymore muddy, thankfully! There were not so many customers around during our time of visit and I spotted my husband walking around with our little one. I think he still have not found any chicken nest!

Then I passed by a very familiar smell - the dried fish area! I took a photo of this one here which we refer as pinikas, the word "pinikas" means cut in half since the fish here is being cut in half before drying, it's my mother's favorite!

Filipinos love dried fish, that's why there's a lot of them being sold here. I personally prefer this fried and then sauteed with tomatoes! I love it as well plainly fried and paired with sweet and milky champorado or porridge! Oh my, I am craving right now!

Anyway, I went into some of the corners of the stalls and was fascinated with the organization of some stalls. Here I saw they had arranged the items in piles. I don't know if it's just me but I could imagine the stock piles falling! But kudos to the vendor for being so organized!

There's also a section here in the Oslob market that sells coconuts. They have a scraper machine so when those who want to buy a coconut can just get their coconut meat scraped right here.

Coconut meat are usually scraped so coconut milk can be produced from the scraped meat. We love to add coconut milk in different food recipes like kinilaw or ceviche, vegetables, and even chicken!

We had reached the end of the vegetable section! And is now entering the eatery section which was just a small corner of the market. There are long tables, I guess three of them on one side of this area. The fact is that, it's my first time to really notice the eatery! I don't know why I have not noticed it before.

As I was taking a photo, a lady vendor asked if she was included in the photo. Unfortunately, she was positioned on the same side where I was taking the photo so she was not included so I moved to the other side and so she waved. Can you see her? She's so smiling and accommodating!

Coffee machine is also available here but this is not worth Php 5 per cup but Php 10. There's a note taped in the machine. This looked a bit old now but I guess it still works as the red light indicator is on! And of course, the owner have to make a protective metal brace to keep it from being stolen!

Now let's go to the meat and fish section. It's at this point where the floor is already messy and muddy. I have to be extra careful walking or else I'll wet my feet!

There meat chicken, pork, beef, fish, and frozen goods available here. I really appreciate that the meat vendors also have meat grinder machines readily available for those who wanted their meat to be minced and it's all for free too!

Oh how I wish we have that in our town back in Guindulman too! Our vendors there don't have machines and so if someone wants ground meat, we have to go to another shop and spend again for the grinding. Sometimes, or shall I say most of the time, this shop is full of customers, some have to wait for a while before they get accommodated!

Oslob has a lot of fishermen to being a coastal town however, my mother-in-law said most of the fish in the market are imported from other islands like Negros and Leyte because the fish supply in town is scarce already. Those fishermen who are able to catch fish within their vicinity are usually being sold to their neighborhood and since they are just a few, they get sold easily and won't reach the market any longer.

That ends our Oslob market tour! Thanks a lot for coming with me! Unfortunately, at the end of this walk, my husband still didn't find any chicken nests. So we have to go home empty-handed. He said they'll have to use a box for the chicks then!