Now that high season is hitting its stride, we thought it might be time to pay a visit to the Friday Mercado del Pueblo, Sayulita’s weekly marketplace, where a cornucopia of organic goods are for sale, and the vendors are the very same people that either grow or make the product. For example, Lina Weisman, founder and manager of the market, is the Sayulita queen of pickles, offering for sale a savory assortment of pickles and pungent relishes that she cooks up her in her kitchen during the week. If you want to try some of Lina’s pickles, get there early: she invariably sells out, as do many of the vendors. The mercado is a big hit.
Lina reports that there are now six farm-to-market vendors, who pick the organic fruits, herbs, and/or vegetables they grow themselves, and bring it all in to sell on Friday. Talk about fresh and healthy! This is as good as it gets. There are also purveyors of various organic salsas and chutneys, three people selling herbal medicinal products, three selling natural soaps, two selling herb starter plants, and assorted dealers in organic coffee, smoothies, liquados, soups, and baked goods including fabulous desserts, spring rolls, condiments, and salad dressings.
Fear not, carnivores. You have not been forgotten. I purchased (and rapidly devoured) an amazingly good pork sandwich, cooked on the grill and slathered with fresh sauerkraut and, also from the grill, a spicy sausage. Another vendor sells delightfully aromatic smoked fish.
As you approach the market on Calle Miramar, you can see how it has reached critical mass. The buzz is on! The people of Sayulita, locals and visitors alike, have gathered to shop and schmooze; people selling hats, blankets, tablecloths, all kinds of food products, and equipale furniture off a truck have set up shop along the block, and in one corner of the market, our fine local guitarist David Ruiz picks out a series of lightly amplified tunes, ranging from Erik Satie to rock n’ roll, with a hat out for tips. If you’re in town on a Friday, don’t miss the Mercado. It’s quite a show, and that pork sandwich, about the size of your head, sliced and served on fresh focaccia bread, was only 50 pesos. Such a deal!
The market also allows five non-food vendors to set up tables—all non-profits– including Costa Verde International School, Entreamigos, Escuela del Mundo, Galeria Tanana, and Sayulitanimals. Be sure and have a look at the info they offer on these wonderful local schools and institutions.
