Veracruz Mexico

hooks in the ceiling, un-refrigerated. The butchers slice off the cuts the buyer wants. Chickens sit on countertops alongside gizzards and livers and hearts and feet and even, in some booths, heads. The chicken and chicken parts are also un-refrigerated.

The vegetable booths have more fruits than I know what are, and they have all the standard vegetables.

And there are flowers, and medicinal herbs, and curtain rods and even pet birds and rabbits and dog food.

And there are people everywhere—people who shop this way day in and day out. It’s normal life. Two blocks away is a huge supermarket. It’s also normal life.

Veracruz is true Mexico. It’s a fantastic city for the tourist who wants to see what life was like 50 years ago and get a glimpse of what life will be like ten years from now.

But ten years from now, I hope with all my heart, tourists will still be able to see what life was like fifty years ago. Veracruz is a national treasure.