Zihua's markets

In spite of its tourists, Zihuatanejo is a quintessentially Mexican town and a great deal of the central area is dominated by markets, some in little storefronts, some on the sidewalk, and some within the large central Mercado Municipal. The first time we encountered these markets we were pretty overwhelmed with all the choices and the language barrier. But now that we have a few trips to Mexico under our belt we can able to breeze through and select some fruit and vegetables and ask questions about prospective purchases.



Our hostess Sandy tells us that some of the most expensive prices are at the stalls inside the covered market so we've been concentrating on the storefronts and the wall markets.The other day we purchased fruit, lettuce, beets and radishes, avocado as well as eggs to make a substantial salad for dinner. 








There are so many choices of stalls that it can be confusing but now we're able to cruise in and take a look around before we decide to engage with the cashier.

As far as we can tell there is no bargaining happening in the larger establishments. They weigh the produce and the scale shows the price, which they write down on a piece of paper that you take to the cash register. Maybe at some of the sidewalk tables you can bargain, but we feel that the stated prices are so reasonable by Victoria standards that we are more than willing to pay them.

Here are a couple of little storefronts, one selling flowers and the other kitchen implements. The black stone things you see are mortars and pestles made of lava rock for grinding and for making salsa. And one store was selling religious dolls, not something on my shopping list but interesting to see.

There's another type of market here that is set up in the main square for only a few days. These women come from the mountains with their beautiful handicrafts that they sell for a fraction of what they cost in storefronts. They were kind enough to let me take their photograph. 

 We are planning a little trip up into the mountains in a few days. One place we'll be visiting is Patzcuaro, a handicraft centre about five hours by bus from here.