Walmart has upwards of 50% of the retail market in Mexico with Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs, in addition to grocery stores such as Superama, restaurants such as VIPS, and clothing stores such as Suberbia. The nearest Walmart is two metro stops from the apartment, and the easiest place for one stop shopping. But where is the adventure and fun in that?
At the Portales market, a 15 minute walk from my house, my choices of vegetables, fruit, dried beans, chiles and assorted house wares abound. The fruit vendor hand picks the avocados and melons to be ready for the week or for that day. I buy one peso worth of cilantro that is more than enough for the week. The woman selling cream and cheese allows me to taste test the cheese before buying. And for being a vegetarian, I have dallied in the meat section of the market to buy bacon for the team meeting. I had to walk past the pig heads, all sorts of innards and plenty of meat parts that I could not identify, but I managed to find bacon by the kilo. I asked for thinly sliced, but that was a difficult task given that the 15 year-old welding a large knife was individually slicing each piece.
Lina is my usual café where I buy freshly roasted and ground coffee. I know exactly where the fruit vendor is who sells real honey, and around the corner, the stall where I can buy real butter. My favorite store near the market is Alpina. I have learned to go early, or expect to wait in a long line. As far as I know, the store has everything you might want to buy in bulk. I can not say for sure since I have to have my exact order ready at the first window, pay at the second window, and wait patiently as the employees troll their long aisles, shelves to the ceiling, filling my order. One the same street, I buy fresh chipotle tortillas and potentially any shape or size of piñata.
Time consuming. Yes. Always an adventure with new things to see and discover. Absolutely.
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