Tlacolula; Sunday market

We heard about the “fabulous” Sunday market from a few different sources. Someone told us about it, and Steve read about it. As we sat eating Steve’s favorite paleta (ice cream on a stick), watching the people on the zòcalo, we thought we should head out there since there wasn’t much else happening on a Sunday. We got basic directions from a waiter at one of the outdoor restaurants, who wrote in our little notebook: “Taxi en central de abastos, para Tlacolula.” Well, that explained everything!

Being a bit lazy, we didn’t do anything with our newfound knowledge. A bit later, we strolled north and headed to the original hotel, where we thought we might find Ann and John, an interesting couple from Canada. Just as we got to the door of the hotel, out came Ann and John. They were happy to see us, but obviously on a mission. Guess what! They were walking east “to those big trees” to catch the bus to the Sunday market! We joined in.

Once at the busy street with all the right buses, it became a good question of whether it would be cheaper and/or easier to take a taxi. It was difficult to see which was the right bus or even get the right taxi (some are in-town only, and some are out-of-town only) because none of us could properly pronounce the name of the town Tlacolula. Ann finally made a command decision to take a taxi that was there, and off we went.

I am amazed that there aren’t more traffic accidents the way Mexicans drive, but we got there without mishap. Not knowing what to expect or what size the place was, we agreed to meet back at the original corner in an hour. We ambled off to see what there was to see. Here’s what we found:

Lots of alebrijes

This is the last picture I took looking through the lens, in the market.
The rest were taken with the camera hanging from my shoulder, so that the people wouldn’t be offended. I took one shot right after this one, in which the old woman selling red clay pots quickly put her scarf over her face. Apparently they don’t like cameras, so I tried to oblige.

We followed the path through the stalls and found ourselves in a dark tarp-covered area with lots of food, some raw and some cooking.

The market looked rather large, but it was really just occupying the sidewalks that surround this central square.

With no vendors inside the square, that leaves it available for a little siesta.

Well, almost no vendors. These ladies set up right by the door to the outside, where there was a little shade.

Some have a wide variety for sale.

Some have just a few items.

Some items are difficult to display.

This weaving family has quite a display, but they were off at the end of a row, outside the main traffic flow.

Leobardo Ruiz shows Steve some of his rugs.

This was my favorite of the rugs I saw. It has the sun and the moon at the top, which are just the headdresses of the guys below. Leobardo says it took him two months to make.

All in all, it seemed like just another market to me, but since this town is a fair distance from the city of Oaxaca, it makes sense that the people take advantage of the one day per week that not much is happening, and sell their wares closer to home.

It was interesting scenery on the ride home.