Los Mercados

Flowers at the marketplace

Yesterday we went to El Tigre, a town north of Buenos Aires that lies on the Parana Delta. The town is made up of islands that are created by streams and rivers- unlike anything I had ever see before. We visited a marketplace while we were there which was really interesting. There was jewelry, leather bags, shoes, colorful flowers, furniture, food etc. I learned that people don't bargain at this market- the prices are fixed for the most part. This market specifically is known for the hand crafted furniture; I saw a lot of rocking chairs while I was there. I thought the market was cool to see but I didn't find too many things I wanted to purchase. However the one thing that stood out to be were the colors. As you can see in the picture, the colors of flowers were brilliant- hot pink, deep purple, bright blue etc.

Beautifully hand crafted Argentine chess table

A version of our Barbie dolls

Sand Telmo Market

Today we traveled to another market in Buenos Aires called Sand Telmo. This market is located right by the Plaza de Mayo and is open on Sundays from early morning until about 6:00 at night. The street where the market was located was overwhelming in the best way possible; there were people and vendors everywhere. You could find pretty much anything there. Everything is beautifully hand crafted whether it is jewelry, leather bound books, sandals, or even chess tables and dolls. We spent about 3 hours there and didn't even  get half way down the road. In the picture on the right, you can see how crowded the street was and that it is cobble stone and slopes downward as you continue down the road.

The prices were reasonable here and you could even bargain a little bit with the vendor depending on what you want to buy. For example, my friend and I both wanted to buy the national stone called the Rhodochrosite Inca Rose. The price was 50 pesos for one, but he told us if we each bought one he would reduce the price to 45 pesos each. The stone has a beautiful pink color and the myth is that wearing it will help one find their soul mate. I am wearing one on my bracelet and one on my necklace so who knows, maybe I will find my soul mate while in Buenos Aires!