Mayan Markets in Antigua, Solola and Chichicastena
Trip Start
Mar 05, 2007
1
5
10
Trip End
May 22, 2007
Chichicastenango,
Guatemala
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A woman weaving in Antigua
Everywhere you walk in Guatemala you see indigenous people dressed in typical Mayan outfits: colorful and hot! However, the best place to see these people is in the marketplace and we made it to ones in Antigua, Solola and Chichicastenango. These markets are like nothing you have ever seen back home: imagine a flea market on a bad day and multiply that by 100. The first type of market is the local one, where people are selling foods, housewares, beans, machetes, furniture and anything else you might need in your daily life. These are loud and chaotic with people yelling and bartering everywhere. 
A woman selling fruit in Antigua
The other market is the tourist one, where there are usually neatly arranged stalls each selling the same blankets, bags, tee-shirts, traditional Mayan clothing and all sorts of Nick-knacks. Here, any time they tell you a price it's a safe bet you can get the item you're looking at for half of that and that new price is still probably double what it cost to make the item. The merchant usually asks, "What are you looking for? I can give you a good price. What do you want to pay?" All of this comes out in one stream of talk as you begin to leave their stall to find a better price. It's very intimidating at first but becomes a sort of a game after a while.See more photos at Adventures of a GoodMan
