The Oaxaca Market is back in town and we found it randomly while riding around on the motorcycle. Last time this was in town I didn't have a nice camera so I made a point to get a lot of good shots of this thing to show you the essence of Oaxaca. Having been to the state of Oaxaca, they did a good job.

An incense stand that also sells knick knacks.

A little stand selling all different books in Spanish including natural health books. I actually regret not purchasing one of these. This market will migrate around the bay over the next few months so I'll likely come across it again.

Yes, those are tiny tortilla presses.

Something for the kids, full of toys.

Mexican baked goods are much different than American ones and Oaxacan ones seem to utilize a lot of dried fruits and nuts.

Oaxaca is known for coffee and chocolate and there's always a stand selling both. You can buy it whole, ground, roasted, raw and even prepared into a cup. I purchased a quarter kilo of cocoa powder for 50 pesos and actually regret not buying some of the raw cacao beans.

That's what chocolate looks like before it's roasted and processed.

There's the guy that bagged up my cocoa.

There are little signs all over the market explaining the products, everything from ingredients to supposed health benefits.

This stuff is literally ground oyster shell...or pearl or anything like that. They turn it into this creme that is used as a mask and lotion in joint with a soap bar that contains the stuff to deal with everything from acne to scarring. I purchased some and am testing it for my acne issues and notice that it does actually seem to work as advertised. The dark spots on my scar from my burn are literally flaking off with clean white skin underneath.

Natural health is really big here and about a third of the stands were dedicated to that which we loved. We purchased several different things ranging from rosemary essential oil to a salve made from the mimosa techniflora plant.