Market Day

Almost every town in Guatemala has its market day, for which people come from all over to buy or sell goods. These goods can range from dried or fresh fish to fruit to huipiles to pirated DVDs, and so forth. From the few markets I've experienced, market day can range anywhere from the level of fun one associates with a carnival (and there is indeed copious carnival-like tasty food), to a giant disorganized mass of people which prevents one from walking.

Here is the view from our hotel in Tecpan when we arrived:


And here is the view from or hotel on market day (during which it was actually sunny and warmish, certainly an oddity for Tecpan.


On Friday we went to the market in Sololá (Tz'olöj Ya') for class. The market was significantly larger, since Sololá is the capital of the Department (like a county, so Sololá is kind of like the county seat) that we are currently occupying. I took this picture while we were sitting on the chicken bus waiting to head back down the hill to Panajachel. You'll notice that the men in Sololá still use their traje, something that is not very common, as women are usually the ones who preserve the Mayan dress in daily life.