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Published: December 20th 2013
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We tried to change things up a little this week. If we were to go to the Monday market as usual, I would purchase things just because they look so good. My fridge and freezer are overflowing. We don’t need any more food.
Our neighbour Paul, told us about a Monday Tienda in Chapala, so we decided to spend the day in Chapala. As we were leaving, we met another neighbour, Maryann. She decided to join us. We all hopped aboard the local bus and made our way to the bus terminal in Chapala. The Tienda is just a few blocks from the terminal. It is much larger than the Tienda in Ajijic and goes on for many blocks.
I had been reading about a local vegetable, the Jimaca and when I saw them on the stands, I decided this was as good a time as any, to give one a try. I sampled a taste and bought 2 to use with a nice dip for snacks.
That was it, no more food!!!
We walked down the main street of Chapala after leaving the market. I was on the lookout for a store selling piñatas. We found
a store with every size and shape piñata we could want. I chose not to buy one made as an angel. It didn’t seem right to have the children beating an angel with a stick.
The one I bought was very large and green with a Santa in the centre. The same store also sold bags of mixed candies, so we were able to get the candies for the piñata there as well.
With the piñata slung over my back we continued walking toward the lake. Rick found a bench in the shade and sat with our purchases while Maryann and I walked along the Malecón. When we returned, the restaurant “The Beer Garden” had opened for lunch. We again ordered a Molcajete which is now one of our favourite Mexican dishes. This time with three of use to share it, there were no leftovers to take home.
We got on the bus to return home and it was a good thing it wasn’t too crowded. The piñata took up two seats. Jorge was in the courtyard to greet us when we arrived home. He took the piñata and hung it under the pergola near the Christmas
tree.
On Tuesday, although we still had no room left in the fridge, we needed coffee so we made it a shopping and walking day. We walked for a couple of kilometres through the Riberas del Pilar neighbourhood. This is actually where we live, but we are close to the border of San Antonio, so we usually walk through San Antonio. We finished our walk through the residential streets and headed toward the main highway where we stopped at a store called Bubba’s. We have been told that this is the best place to by chicken. So far, I have not been impressed with any chicken we have purchased, it seems that no matter what I do to it (other than make soup), it is tough. At Bubba’s we bought some chicken and homemade pickled beets. Then we took a bus back the way we had walked from to the plaza across the street from Walmart. There we roamed a couple of stores before going into a Starbucks type of store and purchased a small bag of coffee.
Finally, we filled a grocery cart at Walmart then took a taxi back home.
Wednesday, as usual was the
Tienda day in Ajijic and I didn’t want to miss it. We didn’t buy anymore food but we did purchase some local coffee from the man who is always there with a wheel barrel of coffee beans and a manual grinder attached. The price was almost half of what we paid in the store so we will give it a try.
We returned home and I spent the afternoon making a lasagna and roasting some red peppers. Roasted red peppers are the first item I have wanted to purchase and haven’t been able to find here. There is one grocery store I haven’t checked yet but I thought it would be easier to roast my own rather than spend time looking for them. It was.
In the evening we went to a very special candlelight piano concert in the home of Galen. (Back in the 60’s he had a group called the Galen’s.) The night was magical; it was catered by the Number 4 Restaurant (
www.restaurantnumberfour.com). We were told that there would be wine and appetizers served but because it was Christmas, we were served a Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. Galen is an amazing
pianist and a wonderful entertainer as well. The theme of the evening was Christmas and he had Kim Everest (jazz singer and one of the owners of Number Four) sing a few songs. There was also a little sing along of White Christmas by us, the guests. There were 40 of us. The drummer, Dale Hetler, performed a rendition of Little Drummer Boy that was unlike any we have ever heard before. It was outstanding!
When the concert was over and we had finished desert and coffee, a few of us went out by the pool where Dale and Galen lit some paper hot air balloons and sent them off into the night sky. Evidently, this is a popular thing to do in Mexico. We watched until they had travelled high and far away, and finally the paraffin flame burned out.
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