One of the Idiosyncrasies of Mexico: Grocery shopping

This is L2 (Locker #2), located in the salon at the table under a seat.

Note the 4 bottles of Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette

Michael and I spent 3 hours of our lives yesterday morning searching for 2 outstanding items from my Ship's Provisioning Log.  These items were Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette, a staple in Danielle's diet, as well as canned green beans, for those lonely meals out at sea when all of our fresh produce has been eaten or rotted away.  Canned green beans are the only canned veggie my family will eat. I couldn't find them at the two Walmarts I visited, neither at the Mega, Commercial or Costco, nor at the Soriana store at El Caracol Plaza. All searched via bus or on foot, walking miles in the heat.

Why would I spend 3 hours to find these easy-to-find-anywhere-in-North-America items? Mexico has many idiosyncrasies, but one of the more apparent ones is highlighted when one is trying to provision one's boat. The thing about grocery shopping in Mexico is that you may find something somewhere one day, and you may never see it again.  But we never would have expected this to happen with items that have been relatively commonplace while we've been cruising in Mexico. You see, I have had these items on my boat all along our cruising route, as they have both been readily available whenever I've needed more.  However, for some reason, these items have now become scarce in the Banderas Bay area.  We've learned, just in time to leave the country, that if you see it, even if you don't need it yet, you'd better buy it.  I'm kicking myself now for allowing our stores to run out.

I finally found the salad dressing at the Soriana across from Walmart by the cruise ship docks.  I had never been to that Soriana before and if I were to do it all over again, I'd do all my provisioning there.

Unfortunately, I have not located canned green beans yet.  I think I'm done though.  Oh so done.

Whatever we've got, we've got.  Time to move on to other line items on my To Do list.

-Barb in La Cruz