I'm about to head down to the quiet of the colonia after what has been a remarkably quiet day. The disco never fired up (after shutting down at 4 AM this morning) and the various street bands were, I guess, sleeping it off. That meant no interruption in this afternoon's lovely opera.
When I got home this morning at 8:30 I noticed that a group had set up their camp on the sidewalk outside our house; Pops was sleeping on the sidewalk and the rest of the family, including kids, a baby, and some other adults, were sleeping in the cab and bed of the truck. They hastened to the door and asked if it was OK to stay there. Sure, why not? You want to sleep on the cement? Buenos noches.
I went down to the malecón a bit later to order some shrimp for my "opera salad"and to gauge the crowds. Not as much as there would be later in the day, but don't forget I had the opera to listen to so had to get home. A note on the shrimp: Dago does it best.
Remember the little Corona cubbies? Here's how they looked today.
Each of these little places sells exactly the same thing, but each is run by a different person. And they all look alike. I guess they depend on family and friends as patrons. Otherwise, how do you choose? Perhaps just the one that's closest when a powerful thirst comes on.
One last look at the campgrounds. Most will pack it up and be gone by tomorrow. Again, taken from the same spot as the last two.
The overall opinion of long-time residents and puesto owners is that the crowds are far less this year. Fewer people actually buy meals or drinks; they bring all their own stuff and only rent the tables, chairs and umbrellas on the beach for the day. This is a huge disappointment, of course, for these people who have worked so hard getting ready for the crowds. This is when they make their money for the entire year. Now we have the week of Pasqua. It's usually a much quieter time with fewer campers, no disco (if all goes well it will shut down tomorrow morning and be out of town by noon). By next weekend we'll have our little village back. And then we leave.
2 comments:
change ~ better for you, not for the merchants...
So what does Dago do to those shrimp? Why are they so good? It is always such a sadness to watch people stake so much on tourists and then the tourists don't come, or don't spend, or there is some fool who does something stupid and then they won't come back next time.
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