Puerto Escondido (day 2)

This morning, our friend Mary and her daughter Nataly and her niece Danna came with us and we took the collectivo into town and did a grocery shop at the relatively new Bodega Aurrera store in Puerto Escondido. It’s not a very big store, and I don’t think it was well planned.

The Bodega Aurrera chain is owned by Walmart, and any of the ones we’ve been in have Walmart style prices and selection. But the one in Puerto seems too small and not well designed. It was only built last year, and I would have thought they would have put it on the outskirts with a decent parking lot and larger facilities, but this one is downtown and very cramped.

Still, we got some decent deals, including a bottle of “Imported from Canada” whiskey for 99 pesos ($8.25). This same bottle would cost at least $30.00 in Canada. One of the many things about Canada that drives me crazy.

Then Ruth and I took Nataly, Danna and the groceries back home in a taxi while Mary went and did some other shopping on her own. The 7 km (4.5 miles) taxi ride cost 50 pesos ($4.16) and I gave the driver a 10 peso tip for helping with the groceries.

We have been eating lunch and dinner with our Mexican friends. It is true that beans and corn tortillas are staples of the rural Mexican diet. Every meal includes those items. And spicey! We drink lots of water!

At the grocery cash we were able to refill the credit on our internet account. We pay 500 pesos ($42.00) for 30 days of internet access through the cellular network. Our time was up four days ago, yet our internet continued to work. No idea why, but Mary says it’s a bonus through the carrier TelCel, for paying our bills on time! As an added bonus, when I got back and logged on, the system said something like “We have received your 500 pesos, and as a promotion, we are giving you a further 400 pesos credit on your account”. I like TelCel! The Canadian cellular carriers (among the most expensive in the world) could learn a thing or two!

Mary’s brother in law Raphael (23) is building a small restaurant here at the house. He’s on a month holiday from his job as a chef at a hotel in town. So there’s been a bit of construction beside us, but nothing that’s bothered us. Tomorrow, they are pouring the concrete for the floor. He is doing the majority of the work all by himself, but apparently some helpers are coming tomorrow. Want to open your own small restaurant? No permits, no taxes, no red tape…you just do it.

Here's a variety of photos from the day...

Pretty flowers on a tree

Plantains grow across the street

Whiskey, Nataly, Mary, Ruth, and Kevin out for a walk

Building a restaurant

Raphael, getting the floor ready for concrete