Acapulco by Photo (#2)

This is the market in Acapulco. I think the word market has such great connotations; in the movies they're always set in idyllic surroundings and very well-dressed people walk around with wicker baskets and buy wonderful things. Or there's the farmers market, outside with tables and stands of perfect, delicious produce just picked that morning by a farmer who's wife also just happened to make you a blackberry pie...just because. This is not often the reality, and the same goes for the Acapulco market. It had good points and bad points, but mainly it was quite the cultural experience...and well, that's always a good point.

Thankfully it was covered, because that was my first day in Acapulco and I was not yet used to the 900 degree heat (as evidenced by my face). Not all the vendors were open, but from what I could tell, each of the 60+ stands were selling the exact same things, for the exact same price. Except for one guy, who had a sign hanging over his door saying "We don't screw you too much." Unfortunately, he wasn't there, so I didn't have the chance to find out. We did stop by a stand owned by a lady that belongs to Mandy's church group, and she had some nice things, including ceramic crosses that I bought a few of for a special price just for us. That was nice of her, I have to wonder if all her other patrons get screwed, though...

I actually should have bought a big stick from her, I could have used it the rest of the time we were at the market to beat off the other vendors. It was like feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square, except that they weren't pigeons and I wasn't giving them anything except dirty looks. They've got the pushy salesman thing down pat, and it doesn't help when you have no clue what they're saying. We emerged back out into the blazing heat unscathed, though, and I finished my shopping a few days later at the Wal-mart. Which deserves a whole post of its own.