Chichicastengo

The chichicastenango (or Chichi) market. Allegedly the biggest market in Central America, I made a point out of visiting this on one of the two market days, Thursday or Sunday, and was curious about how big it would really be, what would be sold there, and how the vendors would behave.

Markets in Mexico and Guatemala are really different: in Mexico Kathi and I found that whatever we needed, be that fruits, vegetables, batteries (except for the very special ones), Isopropyl alcohol, snackies, cheese, or chapulines, the best bet was the market. And the markets seemed to be there daily. Not so in Guatemala: a lot of things you only find in Supermarkets and stores, and the markets seemed to be mostly for veggies, fruits, random clothing (really all kinds of cheap clothing dumped on a pile, mostly), sometimes the fabric for Maya clothing, and usually some food stands—my reason for always going there. Batteries, plastic containers, and all that random stuff I haven't seen on these markets. I also found Guatemalan markets a lot smaller than markets in Mexico.

Before Chichicastengo (long names are a thing here), I visited the city of Santa Cruz del Quiché, on the Saturday after Good Friday, finding everything closed. I was actually hoping to, you guessed it, have some good coffee (the local method isn't bad, with sugar, but I still prefer espresso or filter by a lot), but all stores were closed. The market, though, was taking place, like on every day it seems, to have some tayuyos (pupusas by a different name) and mango with pepita; this one didn't have a drink stand though for Horchata or Tamarinde juice (also a lot more reliable in Mexico). What is notable about these markets, the non-touristic ones, is that I always get stared at: especially if I walk around with my bike looking for something and end up on the same spot twice, some people start full-blown staring and joking about me. (I find that quite annoying; there are always some friendly and helpful people though!). That was also the reason I left Santa Cruz quickly and went ahead and pushed on to Chichicastengo on Saturday late afternoon. Worth mentioning also is that on this way, I actually carried rocks in my backpack to throw at some the f*cking annoying dogs, and I have my knive ready. You cannot imagine how annoying, exhausting, scary it is to be harassed by dogs on a steep climb; they also attacked some couple on a motor, but motors are quicker of course.

On Saturday, there was already a small market happening with some food stands, but clearly not the main event. What was immediately notable was the number of foreigners (gringos) around. And I must say, although it is nice sometimes to be in towns that noone visits, people are more relaxed in touristic towns: they have seen "our kind" before: foreigners, tourists. (Being not the most social person, I always frown on how the other tourists behave, but I don't get stared at myself.) So, on Sunday, although I was way early with visiting the market and it was still getting set up at 7 (I don't know why I am waking up earlier and earlier...), pretty soon some vendors started to try to sell stuff to me, but not (!) with "gringo! gringo!" at a clothing stand where I'd have to dig through the pile, but just trying to sell something touristy. It was a huge difference.

So what was the market about? It was a very interesting mixture of local stuff, with lots and lots of stands selling the traditional fabric for the Mayan dresses, called "Huipils", lots of fruit stands and vegetables, some stands selling souvenirs and crafts, some selling masks for traditional dances, and some of course selling all kinds of clothing. Some also couldn't decide and sold the traditional fabric, but also meat in between. Live animals were also to be found, and on the steps to the church were the flower ladies located. Of course some of the vendors were quite aggressive in trying to sell stuff and get my attention — also because I was really the first gringo walking around — but not overly, and they were super friendly or relaxed throughout (unlike some experiences I have of Zanzibar). Haggling was definitely to be done though, because the prices went down significantly during some interactions I had...) The one thing I was really hoping to buy here, sandals, I didn't manage to find here. Sandals for men just doesn't seem to be a thing here.

There was also a hidden food market that was placed in a gym, which I tried to locate only for a picture, but found myself being forced inside due to the many local people wanting to buy food there. And in this area, I seemed to one again be the only tourist. By the way, some tourists are just overdoing it with the "oh this is interesting, wow!" and trying to talk with everyone. So yes, despite it being so big, there was one group of women who scared me in their overly be-happy be-social behaviour, such that I was trying to avoid them.Read more