Life in Mexico: Walk to The Mercado with Me
Hola amigos! Welcome to the first entry of this new Life in Mexico series where I’ll be sharing what it’s like living in Mexico. Today I’ll be taking you along to the mercado in Campeche.
Why I Love The Mercado
Though it’s more convenient to just grab all my fruits and veggies at the local Walmart (Campeche has two Walmart), I prefer going to the open air market.
In Mexico when you go to the mercado you can find the freshest fruit usually straight from the farmers. Plus the best seasonal fruit is always to be found there. A super bonus is that the prices are much better too.
The mercados usually also have a section for meat and seafood, to buy basic pantry items, clothing and shoes, repair shops, and also houseware items like pots and pans, dishes, and pretty much anything you need.
Some mercados even have live animals…but we won’t go into details.
Pretty much anything you can think of that you’ll need, you’ll find it at a Mexican mercado.
Life in Mexico: Walk to The Mercado with Me Video
Walk to The Mercado with Me
Make sure you watch the video so you can get a better visual tour.
I recorded my walk to the mercado or market here in Campeche. It’s a tour of a just a little bit of the beautiful colonial neighborhood I am blessed to live in and just a small part of the mercado.
The day I recorded this video I was there to buy fruits to photograph for my Mexican Fruit You Need to Try article. If you haven’t read it yet, make sure you do.
This market is called Mercado Principal Pedro Sainz de Baranda or just Mercado Principal. It’s located right behind two forts called Baluarte de San Francisco and Baluarte de San Pedro, and a main throughfare called Avenida Circuito Baluarte.
I love walking around this beautiful and peaceful city. For me it’s about a 10 minute walk and even if it’s hot, I quite enjoy it. There’s colonial houses, forts from the pirate area of Campeche, and the small winding quiet streets that lead to a bustling road that takes you right to the mercado.
San Francisco de Campeche or just Campeche is a small port city with a population of just under 300,000 habitants. It’s the capital city of the state of Campeche and it’s located in the southeast part of Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico.
It’s famous or being one of the only walled cities in North America. The fortified walls were a result of constant pirate attacks the city was under.
Another thing Campeche is well know for is its preserved baroque architecture, which you’ll see some of in the video.
Really quick, I am not from Campeche, I was born in the state of Jalisco and lived in the US and Europe the majority of my life. But Campeche is where I’ve called home the last 5 years, it’s my adopted land and has carved a very special place in my heart.
There’s so much to tell you about Campeche so I’ll just have to divided it into separate entries. I can’t wait to share more with you.
For now enjoy the video and small notes on the mercado. I’ll take you along on another trip to the mercado another time.
And do make sure to go check out the collection of exotic Mexican fruits I bought at the mercado.
Check Out More of My Life in Mexico
Gracias
I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this post, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
Nancy Lopez is a Mexican-born food writer and author of Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Raised in the U.S. and now living in Southern Mexico, she creates authentic vegan and vegetarian Mexican recipes rooted in tradition and tested for real home kitchens.Read more…
