03/21/2010, Lori's new home?
Saturday morning, which in cruiser lingo is around 10:30AM, we left the palatial anchorage of Las Hadas behind and headed to the Manzanillo downtown area and the central market. Central markets in Mexico are very similar to those I've seen in Italy, with fresh vegetables and raw meats hanging up on meat hooks for display. If they only had some Italian cheese, spices, and prosciutto ham, I'd be in heaven! Every town in Mexico of any size has a central market and it's always worth a visit.
It only took two $0.47 bus rides and about 45 minutes for us to reach the downtown area. The group trying to find our way to the Manzanillo downtown Central Market
The quite modern looking market was rebuilt in 2000.
The ground floor houses produce and meet vendors of all kinds:fish, beef, chicken, and even some things you can't identify or translate from Spanish to English!
If you are looking for something fresh, it's here and at the best prices in town.
I'm pointing to a great looking Red Snapper like I was spearing all summer long!
Pile of Pollo (chicken)
Once you get accustomed to the sights and sounds, we all enjoy seeing the food in something other than a plastic shrink-wrapped package and have always had great experiences when buying fresh meats.
Yesterday is was walking around, now it's hanging around in the Butcher shop
The second story houses the "Luncherias",, which are small diners.
Vegetables and Fruits
The streets of down town Manzanillo
Largest marlin in the world
It's on days like this that I absolutely LOVE being here in Mexico with my family and sharing the adventure with good friends like Patrick, Laura, and Jack from Just a Minute. Patrick and I were walking down the vendor covered sidewalk and at the same time both of us turned sharply to our left from the aroma of a bakery. There was no sign and absolutely no markings at all to tell anyone that it was a bakery, and in most American towns the building itself would have been condemned and torn down, but the smell of fresh bakery products was so strong that Patrick and I almost floated into the shop, like cartoon characters. Patrick showed more restraint that I did, but that could be because he made a smarter lunch order at the pork carnita luncheria. The crew of THIRD DAY ordered first and made the mistake of just ordering 4 pork tacos each. Patrick, obviously having more taco ordering savvy, ordered a half kilo (1.1lbs) of pork carnitas and a warm stack of fresh corn tortillas! We all had a soda and were completely stuffed for $152 pesos, or $11.88USD.
Lori commented this evening that she likes this area and Manzanillo better than San Blas and could live here, so that's quite a ringing endorsement! I still tend to like the smaller towns, but I sure have to admit, we are in NO hurry to leave!
| Cruising Mexico 2010 |
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03/20/2010, all this on a Cruising Budget?
When anchoring off the Las Hadas hotel, cruisers can easily get the feeling that they are paying the big bucks for a luxury vacation. The marina charges cruisers $300 pesos ($23.44USD) per week for use of their dingy landing and with that, as the Harbor master told our friend Patrick with a waive of his hand, "Welcome, all of Manzanillo is at your doorstep". But for the kids, forget Manzanillo, all they wanted access was access to the pool!
Marina Las Hadas
Dingy Dock
Las Hadas Resort Pool
Some view of the Las Hadas Hotel Grounds
We were planning on pulling anchor this morning and head over to Santiago Bay, just 3 miles around the corner, but then decided, why. We still wanted to head to the Manzanillo Centro Market and have some other things to see, so decided why rush away.
| Cruising Mexico 2010 |
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03/19/2010, According to the Latitudes & Attitudes March E-news!
For years before we cast off cruising, I would read each issue of Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine from cover to cover and often more than once! They have started up a monthly e-news letter and the crew of THIRD DAY is honored to find out our blog is listed as their March Blog of the month!
The free e-news is another way for those dreaming about cruising to keep their motivation up with the monthly dose of the cruising lifestyle and interesting links. (plus it could give you a nice diversion at work when it comes into your in-box once/month!) I didn't even know about it myself until a blog reader congratulated us and then sent me the link that I've posted below!
Link to Lats and Atts Monthly E-news letter
I'm sure I'm in violation of some type of trademark issue by using the Lats and Atts photo image in this blog post, so I'll beg forgiveness from Bob ahead of time. Sorry Bob, the Las Hadas, Manzanillo Blackberry Margarita made me do it!
(photo taken from the Blog of Just A Minute)
| Things Cruisers Should Know |
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