A Market that Sells EVERYTHING

For breakfast, I was learning different ways to prepare nopales (cactus). When you buy it, they trim off the espinas (what is that called in English? The spikey things). Then at home you cut it up into tiny cubes, put it in a large clay pot on medium heat, covered. After about 20 minutes they turn to a cooked-green-bean color, and you let them drain in the colander. Then you can keep them in the fridge for a week and use them as you like. As I was cutting them, the kids wanted to hold one "Me das?" they both ask so sweetly. Before I turned around they ran upstairs and started nibbling. It is tangy when cooked, and raw it almost makes you pucker. This is the proof that Maya will try ANYTHING. She also enjoyed them once cooked, sauteed in a bit of olive oil with chiles, and in a quesadilla.

Every day at camp the kids have to dress in something different, and tomorrow is "Super-hero" day. Several days I had nothing, and I felt bad, so I decided to search for some super-hero costumes for them. Norma brought me to an enormous market that literally sells everything you could ever possibly want. We found several stands that sold costumes and bought Tonito a spiderman cape, and Vivi a Snow White costume (not exactly super-hero...). We saw everything from hub cabs to baby (live) ducks and turtles, to Halloween costumes and shoes. I also picked up some cowboy hats and bandanas for them for Friday. Then we headed over to the food section. If there is one consistent place I love to visit, no matter what country we are in, it is the markets. I was in paradise in China looking at the exotic live insects and other creatures, or in Morocco at the Marrakesh market where you get to pick out your own live chicken for them to skin for you for dinner. Mexico seems tame compared to some markets we've seen, but its vibrant colors of foods stacked 15 ft high never cease to impress. Too bad I didn't get the guts to take out my camera until the last 20 minutes!

Here we were looking for pinole (like atole, but it is a mixture of corn flour, cinnamon, cacao, to be mixed into hot water with sugar for a drink that warms you up with sweet yumminess).

Lots of moles, seeds, nuts...

So many vegetable stands...

Notice how many things are hanging from the ceiling:

Tiny, crowded aisles...

At the end of the pole, there is a man passing him a bag of produce. Usually there is one worker on the ground, and one way up high looking down...

Medicinal herbs for tea to cure every ailment...

Fruit, below a colorful display of pinatas, and in the background: CHORIZO (sausage)... I wish I would have taken pictures of the smiling pigs' heads...

Dulces, dulces, and more dulces...

Obedient Vivi and Tonito holding ita's hand through the whole market...

The sweet, fruity scent enticing you to buy more...

Dried shrimp, dried fish, dried chiles, dried beans, dried tamarinds...

We found the pinole! Look at the huge bag of red jamaica (Hibiscus) flowers to make agua de jamaica...

Enough dulces to make a dentist hyperventilate...

Cleaning supplies...

The same puesto that sold us pinole: