Food, food, and more food

I've always felt that one of the main reasons to travel is to eat. My travel companions and I have been putting this theory to the test ever since we arrived in Mexico. Yesterday was a very low-key day. It was sunny and gorgeous out for a little while, and then we had a major thunderstorm that I thought might blow the inn over, complete with some serious hail. The only things we left the inn for yesterday were to go to the mercado de dulces (sweets market) and then later the Inmaculada, a church where every night volunteers serve food and aguas frescas (literally fresh water) for incredible prices to raise money for the homeless. Apparently they raise something like four thousand dollars a week, and all of this at an indivual price of well under $4 apiece. Amazing. We all got a different dish, chicken enchilada, sopes, pozole, quesadilla, corundas, and for dessert a buñuelo, fried goodness doused in caramelized sugar, and gelatina (jello) topped with rompope, an alcoholic drink that is similar to egg nog. The aguas frescas are basically fresh fruit juices that are slightly watered down, and so delicious. We had mango, pineapple, and guayaba (guava). All in all a major culinary success.

The four of us along with Rosa, the owner of the inn, ended up staying up into the wee hours of the morning chatting and drinking wine. This morning we woke up to the smell of chilaquiles cooking for breakfast, made for us by the fabulous Maria, the manager here. Shayna and I were commenting to one another that we have felt like part of the family ever since we arrived in Mexico, in one family after another.

As I write this the five of us are sitting in the sunny courtyard discussing our plans for the next couple of days. Jesús, a taxi driver who often drives for Rosa and her guests, will be driving us to Pátzcuaro shortly. The main topics of discussion are where and what to eat and where and what to buy, because apparently Pátzcuaro is a mecca for shopping and handicrafts. Rosa has lived in the area here for about 8 years, so she is really a wellspring of information on the best places for many different things. We have truly hit the jackpot here in Michoacán.

This is where you buy your tickets for the meal, in denominations of 5 pesos each. One thing I have found interesting here is that even though the currency is pesos, they actually use the dollar sign.

So much gelatina, so little time.

Enjoying our fabulous meal.