chichicastenango market

let me just say that the market was way more than i was expecting, and i was expecting a lot! we arrived in chichi on saturday and got a hotel, etc. we walked around the town, which was already getting busy. people were already trying to sell things, but not too aggressively. we walked in and out of the main market, which was right next to iglesia santo tomas, the church of the town. it was a big area, maybe two football fields, side by side. we walked up and down the rows and saw many different things being sold. in the outer stalls you have the more tourist-oriented items and deeper within are the locals stalls and food. we thought that this was going to be the market, and that the vendors would just fill in the stalls that were empty. there was a certain excitement in the air, like christmas! we slept early so we could get an early start on the day.

it rained throughout the night and i woke up worried that we´d have to do our shopping in the rain. i went back to sleep hoping all would be well. when i woke up the sky was clearing and i was ready...for haggling! first we took a quick trip around the market, which had grown overnight to the surrounding streets. what seemed to be confined to the town square grew to several blocks in every direction. it was incredible! all the stalls were still not set up at that time but it was very busy. we decided to get breakfast (for me) first. so we dove into the middle of the market, which was full of the locals. many girls making tortillas around tortilla stoves, a round flat metal piece over the fire. they would scoop up some of the dough, roll it in a ball, then pat it to perfectly round circles, then throw them on the stove. it was very intense. we walked down the middle of the food aisle and i probably looked lost because a lady said sit down and eat. she rattled off a bunch of things and i heard ¨carne asada¨ and ¨café¨ so i ordered that. i got rice, beans, steak, coffee and a nice stack of tortillas, for about two bucks. it was a good way to start the day and gain the energy that i would need.

i don´t quite remember what order we bought things in but i bought a lot of things. some for myself and some for others, but it was quite an experience. many of the stalls were the same, or similar. types of stalls included blankets/other fabrics, wooden or jade carved objects, bags, t-shirts that said guatemala/che, necklaces/jewelry, rocks (i still have no idea what they were selling these for), and crazy pants. this was only on the outer stalls, meant for tourists. as you went deeper into the market you could find traditional woven textiles, everyday household items (plastic piggy banks, hair gel, combs, jeans, telephones, etc), food, interesting herbs/spices, meat, shrimp, chicken, eggs, vegetables and more. it was an overwhelming treat for the senses, to say the least. while i didn´t find the need to buy any whole chickens (not refrigerated or anything) it did seem to be quite popular.

bargaining and haggling for goods is something that i´ve never done and don´t really like. at first it was weird and i didn´t really know what to ask for something, especially since they start at a price like Q90, which is like 13 bucks. so basically i´ve figured that you can say about half of what they quote and get pretty close to what they will sell to you for. i was minding my own business at one time when this lady comes up to me with a stack of fabrics on her shoulder. i see it and it looks nice, maybe something i´d want. so i casually ask how much, she says Q250. immediately i say no gracias, that´s way above my limit. then i just start to walk. i walk slowly at first cause maybe she´ll come down on the price. she drops it a little bit then as she follows me i get annoyed and walk faster. she followed me from one end of the market to the other, dropping the price every few steps. finally when she got to Q60 i agreed. from Q250 to Q60! i was very surprised and i didn´t really have to do much work except look like i didn´t care. the rest of my haggling wasn´t so easy but i got a bunch of deals and had a great time.

at the end of the day we were pretty bushed. we had to make a few trips to our hotel to drop off things during the day and it was located a couple blocks down a huge hill. we didn´t realize how high in elevation chichi was until we had to do this. i think chichi is at over 2000m, which is much more than we´re used to. we must have looked like out of shape gringos because old men carrying huge bundles on their heads would pass us going up the hill. how embarassing! on one of the trips down the hill i was accosted by three little kids. they were each selling something different and for about Q10 or so. it was very funny but annoying and when i got to my hotel they blocked my way. after awhile of playing around, i finally gave in and bought something stupid so they would leave. blah! the kids are all into it and pushy. i guess they have to eat too.

now we´re back in antigua for another three days then it´s time for me to head home. not much planned except a trip up a volcano and seeing lava (hopefully).