Oaxaca is a market lover's town, and we were in shopping paradise.

The sprawling, dark Benito Juarez Mercado has EVERYTHING. My favorite item were each store's special vinyl shoulder bags and totes, generally decorated with the shop's name and address plus a graphic like the Virgin Mary, Frida Kahlo, or smiling fruits and vegetables. Cheesily cute, sturdy and practical, these bags are actually used by locals, not just tourists.

An unforgettable product was the ceramic penis. We could not figure out who the target audience was for these bizarre creations. Some were straight-up penises painted in an uncomfortably realistic way, some were handguns with a penis tip, and one in particular had to be Jesus clasping his hands in prayer, but unmistakably shaped like an upstanding dildo. One stand had these arranged thoughtfully around a naked ceramic woman, back arched, lips parted. It was truly mystifying, especially with sweet-looking elderly sellers carrying whole trays of these around.

Lucha libre wrestler masks had us entertained for a solid 30 minutes. The sheer variety was hilarious...there were some with fake hair, some that glittered, some that looked like animals. We eventually narrowed it down to one relatively simple mask each, as we really couldn't spend too much money on a novelty item like this.

Other great souvenirs Jasmine and Rubina picked up were miniature piñatas and wooden marionettes dressed in mariachi gear. The market was also full of cool skeleton paraphernalia and beautiful pottery (not just the barro negro type), but we ended up buying our pottery and skeletons elsewhere.

While Benito Juarez had plenty of cheeses, sauces and moles for sale, we ended up only buying chipotle paste there. I was very happy with the purchase, as the lady selling it didn't even have her own stall—perhaps couldn't afford rent?—but made a little space for herself in one of the aisles. We had a much better buying experience in 20 de Noviembre when we wanted to buy mole.

20 de Noviembre Mercado is less crowded and cramped than Benito Juarez. There are actually two sections, one that has less natural light, where stall proprietors seem slightly more competitive and perhaps a bit desperate. Located on the brighter side was our favorite juice seller, some really amazing tamales & tlayudas, a Chocolate Mayordomo outlet and the incredibly friendly mole stand.

Simply called Mole Oaxaca, this well-stocked shop carried several mole pastes including multiple varieties of negro and colorado, as well as many powdered moles in a colorful display. The salesman was eager to explain all the differences between the moles, tell us how to cook the mole sauce, and let us sample every paste he had—each tasted better than the last! He also sold chocolate, not quite as tasty as Mayordomo's but certainly good for cooking. As the chocolate in Mexico errs on the sugary side, it was nice that also had a "diet" version in his selection. He kept handing us samples, and we all left with more low-sugar chocolate (still very sweet) than we could eat during the trip. We enjoyed him so much we bought things available elsewhere from him, like chocolate disks, in addition to the pretty boxes of tablets we'd purchased at Mayordomo; vanilla, which was very cheap but later discovered to have an unusual flavor despite the ingredients listing nothing but "pure vanilla;" and coffee in adorable small woven sacks.

Another great shopping experience was in MARO, a store sustained by a collective of women artisans. No bargaining in here, but we were happy to know our money went directly to the source of the crafts.

We finally bought the beautiful vinyl bags here because MARO's graphics were extra-awesome: I got one with a drawing of a human heart on it and we picked one with a mermaid for our friend. They had tons of adorable skeletons here, including ones in small clear boxes acting out hilarious scenes.

The design of the store was lovely as well, well-organized by different products. The sellers did not push here and in fact were almost too laid back...but it made for a more relaxed shopping experience. Highly recommended that visitors to Oaxaca check out MARO and support the artisans.

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