campeche

We have arrived in campeche. It is a small colonial town about 200 km south of merida on the carribean. The most notable thing about campeche so far is that we appear to be the sole turistas.

People generally look at us, perhaps more so me, as if we had just come from the moon.

It is carnival currently and many people walk the streets in bits of costume.  In Walmart today a young gay man had his face painted like a jaguar.

Walmart you ask? Yes we asked too. Turns out the Centro historic is completely dry in terms of alcohol sales. No beer, wine or liquor sold anywhere in the near radius.  And wine prices here in restaurants are equal to Canada if not more. Thus to keep us from busting our budget we get wine at the supermarket.

the little supermarkets have all disappeared from the Centro. The only reminder the Mayan women who still peel fruits and sell them on the street corners.
So who is responsible?  What has colonized mexico like an evil fungus?

 Walmart.  The small collective buses now even paint it as a destination in itself on the front window.

And horror of horrors we attended at not just a Walmart, BUT a Mexican walmart. My father used to joke about American drugstores selling everything but pharmaceutical items but this walmart took it to a new level.

I could actually purchase all manner of vehicles right there and then including motorcycles, four by fours and any tire you could imagine. All on convenient payment plans of course.

C took a photo of me with our cache of wine standing in front of an enormous wall of toilet seats for sale.

Thank you Sam Wal for coming to Mexico where you can pay people even less than in Canada or the states.

Cue me growling like jaguar.