A haphazard chronicle of my inevitable misadventures during a year in Vietnam and points east.

p.s. I'll be pitifully grateful if you send me email during my exile: TravelerKaty@hotmail.com

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Day 8 - Part 3 - Tlaxcala 2/18/06

We took another shot at Tlaxcala city in the afternoon, hitting the overwhelming local Saturday market and doing some final shopping in the craft market just off the zocalo. The difference in atmosphere was interesting. The vast local market encompassed a huge high-ceilinged permanent structure and all of the surrounding streets for blocks around. According to Yair, very good prices are available for everything from luggage to lingere to refrigerator magnets to tripe, and in the early morning agricultural goods are sold wholesale. As a result, the presence of the big local market reportedly keeps prices down all over town. As A commented, it's the Wal-Mart of Tlaxcala.

The vendors at the market really wanted to move product, too, with loud and persistent sales pitches for any and all products. Did they really think a gringa with a camera was going to want to purchase a two kilo bag of meat or a clothes hamper? Issues of reality and practicality did nothing to dissuade them from their sales efforts. They obviously had no desire to re-pack unsold merchandise for the trip back home.

By contrast, the vendors of the craft market were so laid back I feared some might fall asleep during a transaction. And although we were ideal customers -- tourists on their last day in Mexico with pesos remaining and next Christmas to think about -- most seemed to have very little interest in our presence. The ones who did, however, had a very good day. Products purchased, errands run, a final Moka FriOreo Frappe (sob!) consumed, we headed back to the Zocalo only to witness a very strange performance by a group of drunken, dancing Sasquatches whipping the sidewalk in unison. Yeah, I don't know either.

We returned to our sunny little oasis on the hill (see, I'm learning new writing techniques from "Tlaxcala Loves You") to watch the sun set over Mt. Ixtacihuatl and contemplate the depressing prospect of packing and returning to the frozen north.

Some final pictures of Tlaxcala, many of them Mom's:

Tlaxcala's Palace of Justice. As you can see, the Mexicans are not afraid of using color on their buildings.


Need some clothes?


Fighting off the crowds at the craft market.


Check out those fruit baskets! I hate to think of what happens when you take the plastic off.


I'm not quite sure what these sticks are for, but they must be food, right?


Teeth-rotting goodness.


I must say I prefer getting my chicken pre-boned on little styrofoam trays.


And that goes double for pork.



Need to get your beer to the second floor? Why use stairs when you can toss it straight up?



I don't get it either.

© 2006 Katy Warren

posted by Katy at 2:39 PM