The Markets of San Miguel
My parents raised me to love harbors. They like to take long strolls along seaside docks, watching the boats and the people that work them, admiring the way the late afternoon light filters into the scene, enjoying the rhythmic sound of the water lapping against the wood.
And indeed I have grown up to appreciate harbors. But on my travels I have developed an affinity for another scene as well: markets. To me, these are somewhat similar scenes. A walk through the market entails the same voyage into a world of ordered lines, vivid colors, strange smells, shouts of work, surly characters, and daily rituals. And so, with both harbors and markets, I like to wander around.
Some of my worldwide favorite markets include Kotokraba in Cape Coast, Ghana where we first landed unsuspectingly during our orientation to that kind country, and the municipal market in Mysore, India, which is rich with scent and colors of flowers, fruits, and incense, almost beyond description.
Add to this list the market in San Miguel, El Salvador, which Kamilla and I both loved. (It´s big brother in el centro of San Salvador isn´t too bad either.) Strolling through both these markets was a joy, for they are both filled with row after row of colorful displays and interesting characters interacting at a bewildering speed. Guidebooks and fellow travelers seemed to take a special joy in warning us about the danger of El Salvador´s cities, but the markets are truly one safe haven where, during the day, you can discover the beat of a country.
Indeed you can get nearly anything there, even if there is nothing that you really need. There are sections for clothing, t-shirts, shoes, toys, hats, souvenirs, toiletries, household items, farm items, lunch stalls, sweet stalls, juice fruit stalls, vegetable stalls, and on and on and on. And between all these are the hawkers, the itinerant peddlers, the fiery preachers (note him now, down on one knee, Bible open in his hand, shouting verse after verse onto all that come near), cripples, children, beggars, housewives, buisnessmen, rural folk, market ladies, urban shoppers, and two wandering travelers taking it all in.
No, it´s not a shabby scene at all.
And indeed I have grown up to appreciate harbors. But on my travels I have developed an affinity for another scene as well: markets. To me, these are somewhat similar scenes. A walk through the market entails the same voyage into a world of ordered lines, vivid colors, strange smells, shouts of work, surly characters, and daily rituals. And so, with both harbors and markets, I like to wander around.
Some of my worldwide favorite markets include Kotokraba in Cape Coast, Ghana where we first landed unsuspectingly during our orientation to that kind country, and the municipal market in Mysore, India, which is rich with scent and colors of flowers, fruits, and incense, almost beyond description.
Add to this list the market in San Miguel, El Salvador, which Kamilla and I both loved. (It´s big brother in el centro of San Salvador isn´t too bad either.) Strolling through both these markets was a joy, for they are both filled with row after row of colorful displays and interesting characters interacting at a bewildering speed. Guidebooks and fellow travelers seemed to take a special joy in warning us about the danger of El Salvador´s cities, but the markets are truly one safe haven where, during the day, you can discover the beat of a country.
Indeed you can get nearly anything there, even if there is nothing that you really need. There are sections for clothing, t-shirts, shoes, toys, hats, souvenirs, toiletries, household items, farm items, lunch stalls, sweet stalls, juice fruit stalls, vegetable stalls, and on and on and on. And between all these are the hawkers, the itinerant peddlers, the fiery preachers (note him now, down on one knee, Bible open in his hand, shouting verse after verse onto all that come near), cripples, children, beggars, housewives, buisnessmen, rural folk, market ladies, urban shoppers, and two wandering travelers taking it all in.
No, it´s not a shabby scene at all.
posted by Hayden @ 1:00 PM
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