This week is Semana Santa (Holy Week) and the Mexicans are on holidays. I was warned that the beach will be standing room only by the weekend and that I should plan to hunker down. I decided that since today is likely to be the last day before the madness truly starts, I would go check out what was what on the beach.
Shade is a precious commodity on a hot beach! These palapas were built for Semana Santa.
Pretty quiet at my end of the beach.
Quite a hill of sand. We’ve been having HIGH tides!
All the vendors and signage are for Mexicans, not Gringos, most of whom have left already anyway. It’s nice to be in such a touristy area and still experience something authentically Mexican.
Teepees for rent.
20 pesos PER HOUR!
Getting busier.
People were out in the water after several days of bad waves.
I will confess I was getting flashbacks to the movie Jaws, just before the Kintner boy is killed…
A quiet stretch.
You can buy all manner of beach toys.
And beach clothes.
More floaty things and pails.
I’d only buy ceviche from a guy with a cooler at the start of the day…
Surprisingly quiet at this end of the beach (near the climb to the panga).
Finally, a chance to photograph this sign as a reminder to Google what the heck tejuino and tuba are!
Tejuino is a fermented drink made from corn juice. Tuba is palm wine. So both are very mildly alcoholic concoctions.
Rent tables, bathrooms, and… watering cans? Sprinklers?
Very few Gringos on the beach.
To my surprise, I saw my friend N playing in the surf, so I joined her, glad I was wearing suitable clothing for that! I had a few things to discuss with her, so that worked out really well.
I was curious about raspado and picked a vendor at random.
I don’t normally bring money on my walks, but I had thought to stop at a restaurant for a limonada mineral and so had a little cash. Instead of waiting for ages at one of the crowded restaurants, I decided to check out what a ‘raspado’ is at there were a lot of vendors for them. I knew that shaved ice was involved.
That’s the base and you can add fruit juice with chunks of fruit, spices, caramel, sweetened condensed milk and more. I asked for a simple pineapple one and the cost was 20 pesos. Folks who got caramel and milk paid 25 to 30 pesos.
The ice comes in a huge block that is kept in a garbage bag. There’s a tool for shaving it that also collects the shavings into a neat shape that can be easily packed into a glass.
The man spoke some English, but was happy to switch to Spanish and said, “You must be Canadian.” I asked how he knew and he said that it’s easy. According to him, the Americans never buy from food carts, but Canadians often do. I shrugged and said that I’ve been here for almost six months and the food has yet to make me sick, much less kill me!
The raspado was wonderful and refreshing, with a generous amount of pineapple. I may seek him out again to try a prune one!
Chunks of fruit (pineapple) with syrup over shaved ice. Very refreshing!
As I was reaching my turn off to go home, Paco, the jewellery vendor, came up to me and said, in English, “I’m not selling, just want you to look at more snake rings.” I did and didn’t like what he had as they were much bigger than the one I bought, which is already the limit of how big a ring I’ll wear since I have to be able to type with it. He proved to me that he really wasn’t trying to sell when he said, “Okay. See you again soon,” and turned to leave.
So I surprised him by asking if he had earrings, he opened up his case, I had a gander, and we struck a deal for delicate dragonflies with iridescent blue stones that he again confirmed are not real silver, but which are lovely nonetheless. He was really surprised and pleased to make a sale!
I’m glad I got a peek at what Semana Santa is like on the beach, but I’m not convinced I’ll be heading there over the weekend, other than to perhaps sneak a few pictures from a distance!