Lake Chapala Farmers Market — Local services in Jalisco

A somewhat surreal shopping experience for local produce, since most of the vendors don't seem to be locals, but rather Canadian expats.

The produce was not what I expected, but made sense in retrospect.

For example: We bought ground beef that was really dry when we cooked it. This made sense once we saw the cows grazing along the lake's banks. The cattle subsist on whatever they can find to eat - they're not fattened at a feedlot - so of course they have little fat and the resultant burgers were dry and relatively tasteless.

We also bought butter that turned out to be a hard block that wouldn't melt. I'm not sure what it was - perhaps some sort of margarine or maybe from an animal other than a cow. It ended up...

Always a good shopping experience. Huge variety. This week friday market is small but excellent options, yummy pickled beets and soft sliced sourdough bread. Tuesday market is huge, get there early. The lamb lady is there around 10 am. You can pre-order fantastic lamb and pork products. Another Tuesday vendor sells the bestest mini pies, meat or fruit, or custard. On the far side is a guy who sells awesome smoked...

Lots of great vendors, lots of products including some unusual items. We had some delicious empanadas, it was lucky we were there early because those were selling out rapidly. We got some beautiful meat: pork tenderloin, Italian sausage, and black forest ham. Also some rye bread to go with the ham. Not just food either, there were some really nice clothes, pottery, crafts, all kinds of stuff. Absolutely...