Antigua Guatemala's Mercado: Color Everywhere!

Antigua Guatemala’s Mercado is a feast for the senses, especially if you, like me, have spent the majority of your life shopping in an air-conditioned supermarket while pleasant elevator music plays in the background. The sounds, sights, and smells are overwhelming for first-time visitors and you’ll be hard-pressed to find any sort of plastic interfering between you and fresh produce.

It will actually take you a few visits to get your bearings, as it’s easy to get lost in the narrow corridors and crowded stalls. It’s impossible to form an attack plan unless you know the layout, so it’s more likely than not that you’ll walk about aimlessly, picking up stuff along the way.

Since I’ve been here for a while, I rarely go to the Mercado now unless I have a specific purpose for visiting. It’s easier to swing by La Bodegona, the local supermarket when doing quick errands. But for most fresh items, such as meats, veggies, and fruits, the market is unbeatable, not only in price but in quality.

Yesterday, I decided to stroll through the Mercado. Not as a shopper, but as a photographer. I wanted to capture those sights that seem so normal to me now, but that made quite the impression when I first arrived here. If you stop to observe what’s going on around you, you’ll find a lot of interesting items worth checking out. Some may even surprise you.

I hope you enjoy the pics below as much as I had fun doing this photo session for you.

(Click your favorite pic to start the gallery and see captions)