The Pino Suarez Market

In Mazatlan the main destination for shopping by residents of Centro is the Pino Suarez market. It's housed in a building that takes up a complete block and within it (and outside of it too) you can buy just about anything you need.  There are dozens of stalls, each one specializing in a type of food or household product.

This is the outside and there are 12 doors going into the 125 year old building, three on each side.

The first few times we went to the market I found it so overwhelming that I had to leave.  Especially if you come in via the meat and fish aisles, it can be a bit much. But now that I've been here longer and we've had a few more trips there I'm amazed at what can be found.

There are many fresh fruit and vegetable stalls and some that sell dried and candied fruit...

Some of the butcher shops look pretty much like what you'd find at home...

 

....others not so much. 

To purchase canned or bottled goods, or cleaning products you go to a stall like this one and you ask the vendor for what you want.  Harry speaks reasonable Spanish so can communicate well enough, but even our friends without a word of Spanish shop easily in the mercado as all the merchants are very friendly and helpful.

There are stalls selling cheeses and we even found cottage cheese, which is not that common here.

A young boy still in his fishing gum boots was hanging around at this stall.  Lots of fish is available here, including smoked tuna and marlin.

Today we came with a shopping list that included fruits and vegetables, laundry soap, baby powder, and for me a pair of Mexican leather sandals.  I'd seen some of these up in the tourist area but they didn't have a great selection.  But at the mercado there was lots of choice--with the added benefit of a resident cat.

 I managed to find a pair that I liked and that fit me for $30 pesos less than in the Golden Zone.




Here are a few more photos of what can be bought at the mercado.