So here are some shots of the market at ChiChicastenango. It’s about the biggest market around for handicrafts. As you can see, it’s pretty crowded and active. Lots of pressure to buy and lots of bargaining. I was able to get some neat toys ‘n’ things for Mateo that we can put away and give him as he grows. Stuff for the house, gifts. But mostly the scene itself is the attraction. There's an even bigger market in a nearby town called San Francisco. But that’s more for locals, with booths and blankets spread with daily necessities, fields of pigs, goats and cows, strolling salespeople carrying and shouting out the price of everything from sticks of gum to home satellite systems.

As you can see from the bundles the Mayan women are carrying around, textiles like the one I bought in an earlier entry come in an amazing rainbow of colors, and are used to make just about any product the gringos might want ( evidenced by the picture frames you may have seen in our house).
The scraggly guy with the backpack makes my thoughts wander back to my rambling days……….. no, actually, I didn’t look that neat.

-Matt