Fruit at the Side of the Road
Walking through town and to the beach as much as I have, and having a fondness for all plant life, I have noticed quite a few tropical fruits growing in random places. Many of the yards and gardens have fruit trees as you might find in any location. Here in tropical Puerto Morelos, the long days of intense sunshine and heat combined with the water filled mangroves creates the perfect environment for fruit to grow in the most unexpected places.
Vomit Fruit
I have noticed Noni or Vomit fruit along the roadside on all of my walks. It grows in abundance here. In the photo above, one of the fruits is quite white, this one is almost ripe and will drop when it turns a more brackish yellow colour. The taste as you can ascertain, is not pleasant for most palates. The medicinal qualities however are extensive. Used for anything from inflammation to scorpion bites, it is an important plant to many cultures.
Passion Fruit
This big vine is amazing, it is growing on the side of the road in the colonias and has made its way over the through so many trees and shrubs. It almost takes up half a vacant lot. Passion fruit flowers are absolutely stunning, but they are so elusive! I have passed by this plant almost every day and some evenings, and I have not been able to capture a single open blossom. Even though it is covered in new and spent flowers. Passion fruit is one of my favourite tropical fruits, so versatile and unique in flavour.
Bananas
What tropical paradise wouldn’t have bananas! I don’t know what it is about bananas but every time I see a bunch hanging from the tree I have to stop and admire them. They are just so unique with that humongous flower hanging down from the spiralling fruits at centre. There is nothing like eating a banana that has ripened on the tree or stalk. Its a pity that the industry has focused on one variety, the Cavendish, which is the only one available to most countries that import them. There are so many varieties here in the markets, its a banana lovers paradise!
Papaya
The papaya is in the top three most delicious tropical fruits for me. And I see them growing here in Puerto Morelos on every walk. With this photo, I was trying to capture the flowers though! I wish I had a ladder, for I would love to push my nose into those big blossoms, I imagine they smell divine! Papaya when ripened on the tree, is like nothing else. It is so juicy and soft, you can simply push a piece towards the roof of your mouth and it will dissolve and electrify your taste buds. The flavour is so sweet and earthy and I have to say a little poo like, but in the best way possible!
Those four fruits are the ones I have seen every day here, while on my walk-a-bouts. These are not in any persons yard or garden, they are growing on the side of the road, in a vacant lot, behind the futbol field etc. There is so much food to be found here, it makes you feel like you have fallen into the garden of Eden.
Adios mi amigos/amigas.
