10/9/2011 - To market, to market

The Sunday market in Loreto is one of those things that it's easier to experience if you have a car here. Again, it's way too far from Puerto Escondido to walk. You could anchor the boat off Loreto and row in but, since the "anchorage" at Loreto isn't protected from any direction except maybe the west, and since strong northerlies are predicted this week and weekend, that option is out for all but the extremely brave or extremely foolhardy at least part of the time.

So, that pretty much means catching a ride from a cruiser with a car who also happens to have extra room and whom you haven't pissed off about something yet. Our chance came today when Richard from s/v Trinity offered us a lift. So right after the morning VHF net we met up and headed to town.

The market is a combination flea market and farmer's market.

Like any good flea market, you never know what you might find. Richard was looking for some soup bowls and found some although he could only get three instead of the four he wanted. There was a cool little GE travel iron like the one I had in the Navy. It was all Lulu could do to walk away from it even though she already has a good travel iron. It was just so cute.

The real reason to go, though, is for the food. Mostly the produce, although I'm told the meat is good as well.

We bought a kilo (2.2 lbs) of rock scallops and a half kilo (1.1 lbs) of huge shrimp for 220 pesos (about $16 USD) and so, what with all the salami and pepperoni we bought for pizzas the other day in La Paz, there just wasn't enough room in the fridge for any more meat.

We did, however, have room on the boat for produce.

We bought a pineapple, mangoes, potatoes, limons, zucchinis, and a cauliflower.

And, I got to get a couple of excellent carnitas tacos for "breakfast". I have a tendency to always order fish since we're in fish country. But I do miss my carnitas and carne asada tacos now and then.

Following the market, we stopped at the local ISSTE supermarket for a few more items and then back to the boat to put it all away. If we had a car down here, the Sunday market could easily become a weekly ritual.

Now it's time to fire up the mesquite charcoal briquets and put those shrimp on the barby.