Mercado Central

So, today Amy and I went to El Mercado Central (the Central Market), which reminded me very much of Morocco. Most of the others either went away for the weekend or went to hike the place, Puerta del Diablo, where we went a few weeks back. Anyway, this market is in fact a whole area of “shopping” with plazas and churches interspersed, including the Cathedral in which sits Romero’s tomb (La Cripta, the crypt). Before we left, a couple people told us how dangerous supposedly it is, that people get shot or stabbed along with lots of petty crime. We were told that it would be dirty with tons of people, just unsafe in general. The guidebook said nothing about that, and I couldn’t imagine that such a place would be that dangerous in the middle of the day. As I already understood beforehand, petty crime is a problem, such as pickpockets and other minor offenses. Also, simple intelligence says to not look like you have money, as the book also mentioned. I used by travel money belt and just wore a t-shirt and didn’t carry my camera. Amy wanted to call a Casa friend who’s a cab driver to see if he could help us out/accompany us/take us through the unsafe parts in his car, but he didn’t answer his phone. Thus, we set off on a public bus to get down there. We just decided to get off the bus when it ran into traffic and was moving terribly slowly—not from cars but from the amount of people. First impression, wow this is crazy, and yes, it reminds me of the atmosphere of Morocco. As it turns out, there really weren’t that many people for a Saturday afternoon, in my opinion, and I didn’t feel in danger at any point. Only when we walked out a little from the main center did we feel it getting sketchier, which immediately prompted us to turn back around and head toward the shops again. The Mercado is basically loaded with little “kioskos” selling anything from electrical parts, to shoes and clothes, to fresh food, and everything in between. Amy and I really just wandered around, soaking in the sites. We knew we wanted to go to the Cathedral and another church and an artisan market that we were told was close (but in fact is no where near there, according to three Salvadorans we asked), but besides that, we were just there to soak in the culture. Thus, we really walked through the shops, not with an intention to buy much, until we hit the Cathedral, which was interesting and somewhat different than I expected. It was very high and really open, with a large dome up front, and a different architecture outside. But what was more moving was Romero’s tomb, la Cripta. It’s located in the basement of the Cathedral, and it’s at the end of one side, facing the Virgen de Guadalupe. There’s also a pulpit and an altar for saying Mass down there, with a big open space for chairs. It was strange down there, initially because the only people were two kids running around and playing with each other and a small group of people intensely praying. The kids were typical Salvadoran style: no shoes, playing with only what they had, running everywhere, with a typical younger person’s disregard for our societal restrictions on where to play and what to do.
For lunch, we stumbled upon a vegetarian restaurant. Those of you in the States are probably thinking, okay, a vegetarian restaurant: but around here, that’s almost unimaginable. I just chose to enter, wanting to see what it was and also thinking the food would be safer than something on the street, and we ended up eating there. It was very good, with delightful juice drinks as well—fresh carrot and orange, what a great combination. And it was actually all vegetarian, and I had a slice of pizza with soy meat.
The other church we went to see was closed up, but we definitely need to head back to see its beautiful stained glass windows all over the ceiling in this arc shape. Definitely going back.
These types of markets, in my opinion, say a lot about the people and the culture, besides the fact that they're very interesting to explore and experience. It turned out to be very safe, as no one even tried to pickpocket me. I've felt much more unsafe in other parts of the world. Paz y amor a todos ustedes--

AMDG,
Anthony