Mercados Guanajuato

I apologize for the lateness of my posting today, we took it easy and cooked breakfast at the apartment and then took a leisurely stroll into town to check out the Mercado Hidalgo, one of the well reviewed markets in the city.  We had a great day to say the least.

Here are a couple of pics of our apartment at the very top of the hill (above what is called "the Panoramica".  These apartments, while small, have everything we could need.  There is no air conditioning or heat in most homes here but the temperature is perfect so the utility costs are extremely minimal.

 

 Our walk into town was delayed slightly by a little old lady rummaging through the giant dumpster down the hill.  There is no curbside trash pickup nor recycling here.  Everyone walks their trash to a conveniently located dumpster every day and the city picks it up (sometimes).  The woman asked us to help her carry her pickings (wood sticks) down the hill to her house so we both grabbed a pile and she immediately grabbed onto my arm so I could help her down the steep road.  I explained to her that I did not speak Spanish very well but it did not deter her from filling our ears with the cutest commentary.  She was absolutely adorable and made me look like a Scandinavian giant next to her.  We caught sight of this gigantic Agave plant near her home and I had to snap a picture.

We continued on down the hill into town to explore the famous Mercado Hidalgo.  It was a busy work day in downtown GTO so we took our time and enjoyed the journey.

Policia Municipal spending more time waving to his friends than actually protecting.  But heck, this is a friendly, safe town, is it really necessary?

There is something about this town that reminds me of the beach towns in Rhode Island.

Another beautiful park on the way to Mercado Hidalgo.

You can see the entrance from the underground tunnels that used to be old mining tunnels but are now used as roads to help reduce traffic.  Very much like Boston.

Mercado Hidalgo is an old train station built around 1910 on the site of an old bull fighting ring.  The history is quite interesting, you can read about it here.

Fresh fruit, vegetables, clothes, jewelry, meats, fish, etc.  I don't think we will ever need to go to a formal grocer again.

Here is a great view of the construction of the building.  It smells of baked goods, vanilla and all things wonderful.

Outside the market are these cool shade trees.  I think they are Indian Laurel (Ficus microcarpa).

Outside the market is lined with more vendors.

When we walked by this section, people were waving their menus at us trying to entice us inside.  Hard to resist I gotta say but I'm working on my bikini body so I had to decline :)

Yes, this is a bag of chicken feet.  What is more concerning is the dog just hanging out at the booth.

Here is my darling husband ordering me a soda inside the Mercado.  He gets so many stares from the locals.  They think he is Ron Perlman, no joke.  I don't think I look too much like his wife, Opal.

Finally, a cab ride to the famous "MEGA" ended our stroll where we picked up some groceries to make a nice dinner at home.

Day three has once again astounded us at how beautiful it is here, how kind everyone is and how easy it is to assimilate into this little gem called Guanajuato.

Hasta manana.

Salud,

Cat and Mike