Eating out!

Sunday day 7
An eating expedition. Lazy day at the pool in the morning and then watched the sun disappear, at noon, for the rest of the day, a rare happening! But it made for a wonderful time for walking. The plan being to discover the Malecon ( thew seafront promenade) and then eat and get on the bus before the last one left at 9pm.

Getting the bus outside of the hotel I noticed a fellow fidgeting with a guitar and wondered if a local musician had boarded the bus. Musicians on buses are a common event. They sometimes stroll the aisle singing to the passengers but on the larger buses they stay up front and sing. The guitar guy started to sing as the bus hit the main highway for the fifteen minute run into Town. Sang about three songs and then moved up the aisle to collect tips. Most gave about ten to twenty pesos ($1-$2 US) not a bad haul but he has to split it with the driver. This guitar guy didn't sing traditional Mexican but chose songs that accentuated his warbling, but steady voice. A good entertainment value to break up the journey.

After sightseeing and then recuperating, on the beach, with the obligatory beverage, led to us looking for "restaurant row" - Basilio Badillo. We finally found it. Eating spots up and down the street. How does one choose where to eat? The ritual is the same; arrive, study the menu (pasted on the wall) intently and then size it up mentally calculating the permutations of price, selection and ambience - move on to the next one. After a few, distance to be walked is determined by the length of the street and number of restaurants. The point at which you break down is reached and you just say get me in here and settle. But the probably before that point you will be enticed by offers of a free round of drinks or a discount off the final bill. But these offers aren't automatic. One has to be reticent and show indecision to get the offer. It usually involves talking to the waiter on the street and then starting to walk off, he will then shout at your rapidly disappearing back (you should walk slowly) an incentive. We obtained, in the place we selected - we settled but it happened that we settled on a good choice, and inveigled a second round of free drinks, for four. "Robertos" was as good as its description in the free map - "A twenty year tradition in PV". Rushing to the bus in the rare spot of rain, which had finally arrived after threatening with severely overcast skies all afternoon, we travelled to the bus interchange at "WallyMart" by travelling thrrough a local "local sight" - the Tunnel. This stretch of road is a highway tunnel carved from the mountain - at the time of construction an engineering marvel. But the best part of the day was yet to come - a very short wait for the last bus!

Picture of the Day - Sand sculpting on the beach