First visit to the Nuevo Mercado in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán

The Nuevo Mercado in Pátzcuaro has been in the works for a while now. Maybe a couple of years? Maybe more? (UPDATE: I found an article noting when the project started, which was just about two years ago.) It opened up about one week after our more recent trip in April, so we could only see the outside and peek in from the perimeter. I was skeptical. The old market was a bit chaotic, but had that 'authenticity' that people seek and romanticize. Informal stalls lining the streets, with plastic tarps strung up on all sides to protect from sun, rain, birds, what have you. You can find more pictures in the google maps listing of the old market. I'm sure I have a few in my photoroll from years past, but cannot find them quickly. So I will borrow this one for reference:

(Image source: Everardo Guadalupe)

The old market had everything you can find in most good Mexican mercados. Fruit & veg. Carnicerias. Taco stands. Jugos y licuados. Clothes, shoes, housewares, etc., etc., etc. We wouldn't visit during every trip to Pátzcuaro, but we would walk through it often enough. Sometimes picking up a purple sweet potato to bring home. Once to buy rain boots during a particularly rainy stretch with flooding streets all about. The old market would blur lines between market stalls and the shops lining the streets that radiate out from the market location. The whole area was, in my mind anyway, just part of 'the mercado'. So I think of the B2B snack snop that sells giant bags of chicharon and cheez poofs as part of the mercado (that bag of cheez poofs we bought turned out to be a not-great decision).

Back to the current story ... For the past two years much of the mercado was relocated to the plaza chica. That situation was objectively a mess, so by comparison the nuevo mercado would be an improvement. My concern as nothing more than a regular visitor to town was that the new market would be another step down a path towards contrived, charmless homogeny. In just the 10 years we've been coming through it feels like there have been a lot of changes. A couple / few boutiquey hotels opening up, like El Eden. Some chic, sophisticated cafes, bakeries, and shops. I know things evolve and that managing 'progress' is tricky. But it does feel like the genuine character and 'alma' that justified the city's selection as a pueblo mágico, the vibe that attracted travelers to experience the 'magic', is at risk of becoming a bit stagecrafted for tourists. Admittedly it's a long way off from feeling like an Epcot version of Pátzcuaro. And some of these new places are undoubtedly good additions. But others, like the complex at Casa Musi, for example, feel like an unnecessary step in the wrong direction. The collection of little restaurants and Don Gennaro's hot chocolate shop that were in that corner building previously had charm and appeal that can't be concocted in the brainstorming session of some rich family's LLC (or whatever the Mexican equivalent is).

All that is semi-relevant preamble to say I was dubious about the nuevo mercado. And at this point all I have had is one limited first impression. Let's see how I feel next year after another 3 or 4 visits. But my first impression is that it is a net positive.

The streets that were once blanketed with informal puestos spreading out in all directions are now tidied up.

Stepping in from one of the entrances you can see it's still not fully ramped up. But we were also there fairly early in the day. Around 10am. So it could also be that not everyone had opened up for the day yet.

It's a multi-level deal with an attractive atrium of sorts.

So we headed up to see what was what. More shops and a nice view of the lower level.

All the way up top there is a pedestrian bridge connecting the two buildings. There are a number of food stalls up there that will likely be a very cool place to enjoy some tacos with a view. But today was early and cloudy. So we snapped a few pics and kept it moving.

We went up via the stairs, came down via the ramp, and did note they have an elevator. So it's relatively accessible, though the one elevator was pretty small.

Net - I'm cautiously optimistic. We'll be back out there in October and will have to check out the upper deck's food hall for lunch and report back.

Pottery run to Capula - day 1

We visit our artisan partners in Capula 3 - 4 times per year on average. Always around Día de Muertos, to stock up for the Q4 / holiday season. Almost always around Semana Santa, so we can combine it with a visit to the Tianguis in Uruapan. Then depending on the year we'll also head out in January, like we did this year. Some years we also come out in July. This is one of those years.

The first time we came out in July we didn't realize it was a time of local and regional celebration in honor of Santiago Apóstol. I cannot find one specific source online to explain exactly what it is being celebrated, but the tradition goes back hundreds of years as I understand it. And it runs through dozens of small towns across the state of Michoacán. This article features a church in his name in a small town that has been painted by local artisans. Doesn't go deep into the broader tradition, unfortunately, but gives you an idea of the importance and reverence for the patron saint of the region.

One year we were coincindentally driving through a number of these small towns during the celebration and were treated to a series of fireworks, bands in the streets, children riding horses like pros, festivals lined with food stalls, etc. Pretty special to stumble through. Capula puts on a big festival during these days, with the artisans all set up along the main street and a full program of religous ceremonies and celebrations. So if timing allows we coordinate our pottery pick up with the festival de Señor Santiago. Below is a poster we saw at the co-op mercado outlining what to expect this year.

So here we are heading out to Michoacán for our July pick up and, as always, we make our pit stop at the halfway point of Cafe KM 118. Actually, I guess we were at KM 118 Express because the 'main' side was buried in buses. Mad lines to order food. Since we are not rookies, we pivoted to the smaller side with the same menu. Sat in the upper deck for a view of highway 'quince D' that we'd be hopping back on shortly.

The second half of the drive was a bit of a grind. Obras, accidentes, y tráfico por todos lados. This was our view for much of the ride:

We arrived after an afternoon rain to a wet and gray Capula.

Picked up our order, including some new shapes and styles we will try out. Don't usually carry the floreros, but let's see how these do in the shop.

Also, as is usually our routine, we are staying at Hotel Casa Encantada. We enjoy the familiar surroundings.

With the traffic on the way and the pit stop in Capula, we rolled into Pátzcuaro around 7. Hungry, we made straight for an early dinner at Pasta y Pasto, a place we tried for the first time back in April. Bit chilly and raw, so we sat inside. Judy got a gigantic calzone and I went for the pasta poblana that I enjoyed last time. Nice Mexican/Italian fusion. Caprese skewers weren't great. We can skip those next time. But they got a bit of food in our belly while we waited for the main course.

Happily fed and war, we did a lap around Plaza Vasco de Quiroga and called it a night.

Mykonos, Greece: Scenes from a visit in April 2023 - Part I

Next in our tour through the Cyclades after Naxos and Paros was Mykonos. Prior to visiting I did not know much beyond its reputation for parties and beach clubs. I learned that there is definitely more to experience than Super Paradise.

We stayed at the Elena Hotel, which is an easy walk from the center of town. Once again I took too few pictures. It's a nice little 3* hotel. They were (maybe still are) renovating in stages. The newer rooms are terrific value in a nice spot that offers easy access to the shops and restaurants of downtown while still being set just far enough away to be very chill. The two pics I did take are one view of my more basic older room (with the modern interpretation of a chicken/rooster painting) and the outdoor area where you can eat breakfast, sit with a glass of wine, or take a picture of your sneakers.

(Borrowed this next shot from my colleagues who posted it to the group chat. Think you can tell those aren't my fingers on the keyboard.)

Eventually I got up and walked around a bit. Managed to take a few shots of the surrounding area generally before meandering down to get a view of Little Venice.

At some point we set off on a catamaran cruise over to Delos and Rineia. This was generally pleasant. However, as Mykonos is known as the Island of the Winds and it was late April, it was honestly a bit chilly despite the brilliant sunshine. I mostly curled up trying to stay warm. Snapped a couple of shots of the sheep on Rineia, which is uninhabited aside from the shepherds.

Last pic for this post because it doesn't really fit anywhere else is a beer I ordered during dinner at m-eating, where we had a lovely meal. Trust me. And the beer was pleasant, too.

13 pictures I took in Lefkes and Parikia, Paros (April 2023)

One of our days in Paros was spent in large part participating in a cooking class where I didn't take any particularly post-worth pictures. Then I also had to work a few hours. So my photoroll from Paros is not as rich as what I have from other islands. But somewhere during our visit we had a driver take us into Lefkes and Parikia to freestyle explore a bit.

Lefkes is an inland village, set up a bit higher on the island. Again, we were there late April, so very early in the season. Only a few restaurants were open. Minimal shops. But it's easy to picture the charm of visiting when things are a bit more lively. Lot of winding little alleys/streets and stone staircases to blindly follow. A nice counterpoint to Naoussa, which is a new development that can feel a bit curated for visitors with every detail perfectly in place.

Parikia is the older port town and was my favorite part of Paros. It definitely has its tourist-friendly charms and plenty of restaurants and shops to enjoy and explore. But it also felt lived-in. At least in comparison to Naoussa, which has almost pure vacation vibes (nothing wrong with that, just different).