Gone Shopping
We were recently away for two days, shopping in the Big City for yet MORE construction materials for the house, and of course groceries. We got someone to feed the cats so we could spend the night, because we’ve never been able to get it all done in one day (what with the three-hour drive each way and the exigencies of shopping here).
Shopping in Mexico is never a breeze. Shopping in a city you don’t know well only adds to the fun. Finding things here calls to mind phrases like “needle in a haystack,” and “pulling teeth.”
The three main impediments to shopping bliss in Mexico are:
- There just isn’t as much stuff to buy. If you remember the 1950s in the states, it’s pretty similar to what shopping is like in Mexico today. It brings to life those statistics you’re always reading about the US, with only 5% of the world population, consuming some humongous percentage of the goods.
- Finding out who’s got what to sell can take on Kafkaesque overtones. Logic is lacking. The Yellow Pages, looking so innocently helpful like the ones back where you came from, are next to useless (more on this another time).
- Finally, finding the stores themselves in an unfamiliar city is a job in itself. Maps can help, but not that much where street signs and numbers are frequently absent.
We were in search of, among other things, eight-inch stovepipe for this rocket heater we’re planning to build. Only six-inch is common here, we learned. We finally located a place that fabricates the stuff, but it was closed for some obscure reason (it was Monday). They did open the following day, but we found the prices too steep. We reluctantly resigned ourselves to using six-inch pipe, reluctantly because it will require us to modify the design in the book, a complication we could well live without. That finally settled, we had to find the six-inch pipe, which all the hardware stores claimed to stock normally but seemed to be out of at the moment. We finally found it at Ace, of all places. Of course, they didn’t have the elbows — that would have been asking too much — but we were able to find those in a little hardware store enroute back home.
Things we found: Joint compound, electrical stuff, plumbing stuff, metal for the windows and doors, a cool old lamp for somewhere, the stove pipe, cat food, wine in a box, Kleenex, two wilted red-leaf lettuces (boo), soap, tomatoes in a box, mushrooms in a box, car parts, a can of air.
Things we couldn’t find: A propane heater (too late in the season, they’re already selling fans, and anyway we probably wouldn’t have indulged due to shock at the cost of all the other stuff), double deadbolt door locks, two medicines I needed, but fortunately not for another month and a half (never leave anything important to the last minute), farfalle.
Things we found but didn’t buy: A 2008 calendar, they had some at Sanborn’s but the ~$17 price tag dampened my desire to know what day it is; kitty litter (we still have some although I like to stock up on this); jamon serrano (too extravagant).
Things we blew off altogether : A visit to a tienda naturista for some herbal remedies.
Semi-impulse purchase: A gallon of raw honey for only ~$18 in a hamlet on the way home.
We discovered a terrific hotel, basic but super-clean and with courtyard parking (which we needed due to all the stuff in/on the truck by that time), for ~$20. It had hottish water but no towels. Someone had painted a charming abstract design on the wall over the bed, and there was some nice tile trim outside. There was a TV for the MG, and lighting bright enough to read by for me. Door lock was of the wobbly push-button variety. TIP: Bring your own towel and one of those safety lock gizmos if you frequent cheap hotels. Toilet paper too, although this place had an industrial-sized roll. There were two taco stands within a block, an Oxxo for beer, and a hotel with breakfast buffet two blocks away. What more could a gringa on a string ask?