Taking the paca by storm...with only $3

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been gone so long. Joel's accident threw my life into a tailspin, but he's doing much better now. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and prayers during the sucky parts of 2013.

This is what Q25 looks like.

So, the other day I was a little bored and decided to challenge myself. I said, "Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to buy as many decent items as you can from the paca for Q25." And guess what? I chose to accept the mission. I scrounged around in my purse and found Q25 (roughly $3) and went on a trip to the paca.

Many of you have heard me gush about the deals, the digging, and the downright strangeness of Antigua's pacas, but for those of you who haven't heard about my obsession, lemme 'splain. Basically, the paca is a giant garage sale where vendors rent spaces and sell everything from used clothes, shoes, hats, toys, books, headless dolls, and the occasional small kitchen appliance. A whoooole lot of it is absolute crap, but there are many treasures to be found if you have patience and determination. Anyone who has been to the paca with me will agree that I am like a pig sniffing out truffles when I'm there. Seriously, I burrow into those piles like a hungry weasel. Squeeeeeeak!

Welcome to the paca.
Let the digging begin! 

Stamina is a must when tackling the paca. Wear comfie shoes and loose clothing. Bring a bottle of water and if you're smart (which I am not) bring some hand sanitizer, too. You can't just breeze in thinking, "I would like to buy a blue shirt today," because odds are, that blue shirt is buried alive and while you are digging it out from under a pile of pajamas, dirty socks, and Disney-themed sweatpants, you will get distracted by the red designer skirt, the glittery pink tank top, and the funky rainbow-colored hand-woven poncho from Peru.

Strange as it may sound, I've been kicked in
the head by these low-hanging shoes
more often than I'd like to admit. (Dammit.)

Each booth has a table in the middle and racks of hanging clothes. The piles of stuff on the tables range from Q1 (12 cents) to a whopping Q10 ($1.20) for each item. I never, never, ever shop in the Q10 piles. Nuh-uh. No way. I realize it's only $1.20, but hey, this is Guate-freakin'-mala and all of this crap is USED, so I refuse to pay more than Q5 (60 cents) for anything in the pile. I'm not rich, ya know.

Anything on a hanger magically costs more. I don't know why, but the act of putting an item on a hanger jacks up the price. In some pacas, clothes on hangers are a little nicer than the stuff in the pile, plus it's MUCH easier to look through the hanging clothes. Should you find something on a hanger that you really like, the paca owner will give you a price. Always, always, always negotiate. Never take the first price they give you. Make a face that says, "Ehhh, I don't know, Q30 seems a bit high..." And I guarantee as soon as you start putting it back on the rack, the price will decrease. Negotiating is just part of the game here. Play ball!

If you'd like to "see" what it's like to be there in person, watch this short video I took today. It's a mind-numbing symphony of paca owners yelling, "Buena ropa! Buena ropaaaaaa!" in an attempt to draw people to their booths. Some of them are so loud, your ears will bleed. Luckily, this video is a mere 19 seconds long. Bleeding will be minimal.

And when you purchase something, they put it in a plastic bag for you. A black plastic bag. So, basically it looks like everyone in the paca is walking around carrying bags of porn. Keep it classy, Antigua.

Treasures await! Dig! Dig! Dig!

So! What kinds of stuff can you expect?
E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Paca digging is always an adventure -- you never know if what you're pulling out of the pile will be a cool vintage Levi's shirt or a horrifically stained pair of gym shorts. You would be shocked at the brand names that make their way to Guatemala. Polo. Chico's. Hugo Boss. Calvin Klein. Liz Claiborne. Versace. Eddie Bauer. The North Face. Prada. Armani. Tommy Bahama. Think of your favorite brand name and...yep, it's here. Think of a brand name you can't afford. Yes, even that one. Yes, that one, too. Good news! You can afford to buy it here. Even some uber-pricey designers from Europe, Japan, Italy... Yup, they're here. I look at these items and I think, "Someone spent a lot of money on this...and it ended up in a pile on a table in Guatemala." (And it only costs 12 cents here.) Score!

The saddest items are the family reunion shirts. I don't know why, but it bugs me that someone would wear their shirt at the reunion then toss it into the donation pile when they get home. Traitors! I don't care how much you can't stand your parent/sibling/cousin -- you keep that damn shirt FOR LIFE!

Why is Bill Cosby sad? Because he knows his
sweater is destined to end up in Guatemala.

Do you need an ugly sweater for your annual Christmas party? Let me know. It's Ugly Christmas Sweater mating season here year 'round. Are you in the medical profession and in need of scrubs? There are tons of cute and fun scrubs waiting for a home. I once found not one, not two, but THREE matching ugly green sport coats on one table. Each was only Q1. Someone out there won the Master's three times and chucked all of their beloved green jackets in one fell swoop. And they ended up here. Remember watching "The Cosby Show" back in the 80's? You can't throw a rock in the paca without hitting a sweater from the "Cliff Huxtable Collection." And they ended up here. I've found concert t-shirts, tube tops, vintage Wrangler cowboy shirts (with the fancy pearl snaps), old prom dresses (hellooo Gunne Sax), absolutely stunning beaded saris from India, London Fog coats, ski bibs (yes, SKI BIBS -- as if anyone would need one here), jeans with the entire crotch ripped out (HOLY CRAP -- what kind of horrific shark attack was that person in???), baseball caps from previous Super Bowls, and... dirty underwear.

Dirty underwear, like an underwater mine,
awaits your unsuspecting hand. BOOM.
Go ahead. Reach in... I dare you.

Yesss... Remember me telling you about the hand sanitizer? Yyyyep. There's nothing worse than reaching into a pile of clothes and pulling out underwear. Wait. I take that back -- there is something worse. Reaching into a pile of clothes and pulling out moist underwear.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEW! 

And as you toss those undies back in the pile for the next unsuspecting shopper to discover, you will
involuntarily make a sound similar to that of a cat horking up a hairball: UUURGLAAAACK! 

Ah, but I digress...

So, there I was with my Q25 in hand and a mission to accomplish. I ended up with seven items. SEVEN! Am I a smart shopper, or what? When I found the (possibly vintage) reversible embroidered Japan jacket, I squealed like a kid getting a new bike on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, when I got home I realized the zipper was broken and it's got a few tears, but hey, it's still a cool jacket. Maybe I can sell it on eBay. OH! And if you are a member of my family in Texas, STOP READING NOW. You don't want to spoil the surprise next time I'm home and handing out my Treasures From the Paca gifts. Right?

So, here's what I got:

Paid Q3 (36 cents)
This shirt is suuuuper soft. I'm a very touchy-feely
shopper. If it's soft, I'm more inclined to buy it. 

Paid Q5 (60 cents)
I have to figure out who is the biggest
Star Wars fan in my family. 

Paid Q3 (36 cents)
This one is sooooo going to my brother.
Last year I gave him a shirt that said
"The Original Rat Bastard." Oh, how I laaaaaughed. 

Paid Q1 (12 cents!)
This is going to my stepfather, who is a fan of
Hawaiian shirts and "Woody" cars. Perfecto! 

Paid Q5 (60 cents)
Sorry for the blurry pic, but this is a Tommy Hilfiger shirt
in absolutely perfect condition.

Paid Q5 (60 cents)
I love this hoodie! It's in great shape
and I thought the skeleton drawing was cool. 

Paid Q3 (36 cents)
The very cool embroidered map of Japan,
complete with volcano and dragon/sea monster. 

Look closely and you will see a tiger
on the left and a dragon on the right. 

And there you have it. Three bucks' worth of clothes from the paca. Now, who wants to go shopping with me? I'll take you to the coolest places!

Until we meet again, stay thirsty for bargains, my friends!

-Jennifer