La Merced Market

This Saturday we thought we'd check out Mercado de la Merced. It's one of the largest wholesale markets in Mexico and covers an entire city block. We took the metro there and as soon as you came out, you've entered the market. Immediately, we stopped to check out a curious man w/a moving burlap sack. Turns out it was a snake! We've seen some pretty amazing sights here in Mexico!

In the market itself, it was chaos. People we walking in all directions and there were stands filled w/clothes, shoes, fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and everyday items. I would have disrupted the flow of traffic if I attempted to take a picture of the madness. But I managed to get a snapshot of an empty aisle of miscellaneous goods. We picked up 1 or 2 things we needed for the house and went on our way.

The tourbooks say to beware of walking around the surrounding streets. I guess we learned that the hard way. We wanted to take a shortcut back to the main street and found an empty alleyway. When we came closer, I thought it was weird that the whole street was deserted except for a snaking line of anxious men. There were a few scantily clad women milling about in their clear heels. Aha! Once I figured it out I whispered to Luc NOT to make eye contact...we're walking in the middle of a brothel! It seemed like we walked down that alley for an hour but in reality it was over in a flash. I was just glad no one heckled us unsuspecting souls. Phew!