Abastos

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has read my blog, and especially everyone who has left a comment. It's really encouraging to know that people are reading, and are interested in, my writing. :) :)

Yesterday afternoon we went down to the biggest market in town. I think it is supposed to be one of the largest markets in all of Mexico. It's huge by itself, but certain days of the week are especially big (about three times as big), with people coming in from quite far away to set up a stand and sell their goods. All together it covers several city blocks. It's very, very easy to get lost inside the market because it's so big, so you need to have a good sense of direciton. This is the place to go if you want a leather belt, fresh meat, ripoffs of expensive watches and sunglasses, some pottery, new batteries, a live goat or pig, a CD player, firewood, furniture, shoes, name brand clothes, cheap CDs and DVDs, a new pet, new shoelaces, fresh fruit, a flower arrangement, a toy car, freshly baked bread, a hammock, a woven basket, or (relatively) fresh shrimp. They really do have almost anything.

I was disappointed to find that most music vendors only had Mexican music, but there was one place that had some American music that I recognized. I got five CDs for less than five dollars. It's always kind of funny to think that if there is even one song you like on the cd there, you should get it, because it's cheaper to buy the whole cd there than it is to buy the one song on iTunes. It's almost the same for DVDs. It's cheaper to buy the dvd here than it is to rent it or go see the movie in the theater. It takes some getting used to to get into that mindset. :)

I also got a coffee mug, since I have a collection of them from different places I visit. Well, acutally I got three, since I couldn't decide which one I like better. They are all handmade glossy black pottery with big, handpainted pictures of flowers on the outside. Again, each of these were only a dollar. In the US, something handmade like that would cost at least ten or fifteen dollars! So for eight dollars I got five CDs and three handmade, handpainted coffe mugs. In the US it would have been at least ten times that much. I may not like shopping all that much in the States, but it sure is fun here!!

First pic: One small stall selling a variety of manufactured goods. Unfortunately, most of the people don't like pictures in this market either, so the pictures aren't the best quality.
Second pic: Another very small part of the market, with pottery in the foreground and furniture in the background.
Third pic: Part of the flower section. Almost any kind of flower you want. Again, this is just one very, very small part of the whole market.
Fourth pic: Fresh baked bread at one of the stalls in a permanent building.