A Simple Day About Town

Strolled into town yesterday to run some errands. Hit up the market for the ripest strawberries you've ever seen, plus peaches and plums.

Cushin on the left, mangosteen in the middle, rambutan on the right.
Photo courtesy of No Hay Bronca. Click the name to read about his strange fruit adventures!

Got to taste a weird fruit called a cushin or cuxin. It's a giant hard pod, bigger than a banana, but flattened. The strawberry vendor cracked one open for me to try. I had no Spanish to explain anything I was experiencing, so I made do with hand signals and laughter! I felt awkward spitting the inedible bean out when I had finished sucking off the sweet white goop. Weirdest thing I've ever eaten... so far! Next on my list is that furry red fruit, the rambutan, which is actually from Asia originally but they're all over the place here now.

I cannot control myself! I have to photograph cute chuchos.

I've always wanted to go down this little street. Turns out it was a dead end, like many others.
I gawked my way along it, being gawked at in return by a young boy doing dishes in an outdoor pila -- a stone sink.

Someone's garden had some lovely papaya trees growing in it! Not ripe yet but that's quite an abundant harvest-to-be.

There seems to be a fondness for Jello here. This is just one shelf in Chalo's grocery.

The flavors are (left to right): orange, blackberry, pineapple, grape, cherry, apricot, grape, orange, and blackberry. What?? No strawberry? But that's okay because you can buy plain flavorless jello and there is a whole 'nother shelf for flavors you can add, including bubble gum!
On the top shelf you can kinda see some of the puddings. Limon is lime, but the English on the box says lemon. Then condensed milk in a box (?), vanilla, corn (??) , Catalan cream (???), and Bert's favorite, FLAN!!! I bought the flan one to try out.
Was waiting for Bert outside the Despensa Familiar (grocery store) and took a video of the traffic. It's quite fascinating to watch the varieties of vehicles and people and dogs going by. At least it is to me!