Vegetable Oil / Motor Oil

Where do we get groceries? Car services? We've had to find out about local shops pretty quickly. I have to admit we went to the Cancun WalMart first day because it was familiar and had a bank machine and internet link. But it wasn't either cheap or particularly Mexican. I even priced an oil change but wasn't impressed. So the other day we needed a whack of groceries (load up on non-perishables like ice tea, toilet paper, and UHT milk) we went to the Mexican chain store Comercial Mexicana. Much better. The holiday cakes had disappeared and now there is a huge and drool-worthy pastry/donut/muffin/sticky bun section. Get out of my way!! Even got something resembling a cream puff. Also good for meat and fish, drinks and cereal. Real grocery store atmosphere, and the old guy serving as a bagboy taped up an old cardboard box to hold the dozens of ice tea bottles. Service with a gold-toothed smile! There's another old guy in the parking lot, retrieving the cart and directing you back into traffic. Prices seemed lower than WalMart, and much more local experience. Free Spanish lesson!

Next day we went for gas. The government has a monoply on selling gasoline, so the only stations are all green-and-white Pemex (Petroleum Mexico). No price shopping needed --- the whole country(!) has the same price(!), and it only changes every year or so. Right now, 7.72 pesos per litre. About 72 cents Canadian, or about the same as in Toronto when we left. Same as the grocery store, the service is fast and efficient if a little sullen.

The van has needed an oil and filter change since we arrived. I usually do my own changes but last time (cold December barn floor) I couldn't get the filter off. So the oil had gone 5600 highway kms, but the filter had done about twice that. So I turned into an open-air roadside "shop". Price was C$3 less than WalMart and it was amazing to watch. No hoist, just an old-time pit under the car that the 14-yr. old climbed into to do the job immediately. Back up top, he got an air hose and blew out all the road grit and sand and autumn leaves stuck in there. Then he got another hose that sprayed a fine oil mist under the hood and basically lubricated all the hoses, hinges, and covers. No extra charge! I've never seen that done back home. The whole thing took about 10 minutes, everyone was cheerful, no taxes or disposal fees, another free Spanish lesson:

Oil and fliter change = "Cambio aciete y filtro". For you gearheads, it was Gruhen brand oil and they used 20W-50 because of the high kms and heat.

Then off to the tip of the Quintana Roo peninsula which involves a drive past another luxury resort /golf course and then an 8km Rocky Road (I'm craving ice cream!). I have been curious about the spot for decades and finally here it was. What a disappointment. Beautiful sand and water, but the same old rickety garbage-strewn pop shacks and sagging chain-link fence. Very little shade. There was a local kitesurfing school, but no other reason anyone would want to come that far for so little. Had to back out slowly to avoid getting stuck in the sand, but then straight home with that curiosity cleared up.

Today is one week since we arrived. Our morning routine is a long fast hike, then reading or card playing at the sand, then a swim. The afternoons are for excursions and discoveries. Remind me to tell you about the turf war going on between our cats --- and the puddles to prove it...