Taking a stroll is either uphill or down - nothing flat. Some sidewalks (where there are any) are stairs. Few roads have shoulders and many have deep drainage ditches so much of the time we must walk in the road. Since car traffic is light and foot traffic heavy this has not been too scary once we got use to it.
This is not a place that could be considered handicap accessible. Almost every corner has a storm drain at least 3 feet across. Some of the drains are covered with rebar grates, some are open, and one had a stair railing laying across it as protection for pedestrians.
We have a 24 hour supermarket just a block away. The produce section is tiny since fruit and vegetable stands are everywhere. The frozen food section is 2 standup coolers. The meat counter has a few steaks, I assume for gringoes, a few chickens and an enormous, 3 foot by 4 foot, pile of chicken necks. Bread and produce are cheap; however, everything else is just below or at US prices.
Considering the average monthly wage here is $250 for an office worker up to $1200 for a professional(lawyer, engineer, accountant,...) it is amazing how the common folks can exist. 50 poor people walk by then a Range Rover drives by. A few rich and a lot of poor.
With all this poverty there is no resentment showing. During many walks we have encountered only one panhandler requesting a dollar (we think) and that may have been only a language problem. People greet us in passing on the street and shop clerks are patient and helpful with our poor spanish.
Locals gather in the evening at the plaza outside our window and visit with each other. At 9:00 pm most have gone home.
Another local entertainment is parades. We have seen 2 during our first weekend. Since one lap of the town doesn't seem to do it they take 2 or 3 laps before disbanding the parade.
No comments:
Post a Comment