No trip to Puerto Vallarta would be complete without a stop at Costco.
Costco -- the temple of excess. I was going to add "consumption" at the end of that sentence. But why gild the obvious?
Just walking through Costco's door transports me to a different world. Some expatriates feel as if they are still up north when they shop at Costco.
Not me. Just looking around at selections, labels, and prices is evidence enough that I am in Mexico. Along with the obvious fact that my fellow shoppers are conversing in Spanish.
And I seldom bag any exotic game at Costco these days. That was not true when I first moved down here. Trips to Costco -- or Walmart -- would send me home with the rear of my Escape packed.
Not now, I can find almost everything I need to eat in my village. If not, I just do without. On most things.
But there are certain foods that always catch my attention. About a month ago, my intelligence source in Morelia told me that I needed to get to Costco immediately. My ambrosia had arrived from The States.
And when I slipped into Costco's refrigerated room, there they were. Piled neatly in plastic cartons. From Washington.
Cherries.
Bings in four pound containers. Rainiers in two pound containers.
Just as if I still lived in Salem. Even the bilingual label seemed familiar.
You may think it odd when I tell you I grabbed two containers of each. 12 pounds of cherries. After all, fruit does not keep forever. On the other hand, cherries do not last long at my house, either.
If you take a close look at the Bing container, you might notice I appear to have been shorted. It is over half empty.
The packer is not at fault, The highway between Puerto Vallarta and Melaque is strewn with cherry stems and pits from about two pounds of cherries. And I will not bother justifying my littering with the overused "organic" exception. Let's just say I may have bent my ethics, but not my morals.
I was so excited about my cherry harvest that I forgot to look for ham steaks to add to my beans this coming week. But I think I can find them at my favorite grocery in Melaque.
Yesterday I said that impromptu trips are great for adventure. But the adventures are always better when accompanied by pitted fruit.
