As expected, downtown El Centro was busy, as it is every Saturday. But this wasn't just any Saturday, this was the Saturday before Palm Sunday. The flower market was exploding with flowers, bouquets, hand woven baskets and palms woven into crosses and other symbols.
Of course there were plenty of vendors for fruits, beans and vegetables as well as those selling freshly pan fried potatoes, coconut, pineapple and more.
We had a wonderful lunch with our new friends and I hope we see them again. Of course we did discover they live right across the street from us...LOL! We had a great lunch at Don Colon's and enjoyed our chatting while the flute players across the street entertained us and the youngster at a neighboring table (and you can see Don also entertaining us in the photo below).
After lunch we stopped at our ATM and then got an ice cream at La Fornace, across the street. I've posted before about their ice cream - it's gone up from $1 to $1.12 (or $2.50 for both with tax). We usually get Malaga, a kind of rum raisin that is quite delicious. This time I opted for Mora which is sort of an Ecuadorian blackberry. YUMMY!!! New favorite for sure, reminds me of Black Raspberry ice cream back in the states.
From there we walked to Rotary Market where I snapped a few photos. We bought a lamp for over the kitchen sink, $16. We started with the one in the photo but them saw the nice rustic orange one and got it instead. I eventually bought a little wooden bowl with a lid, with a wood burned scene on the side, for $6. Also, everywhere we looked, the ladies were knitting/crocheting. The lady is the photo, who let me take her photo, is the one who sold us all our benches, several side tables and more. We also saw large groups of locals scrubbing the benches in preparation for a new staining. We love Rotary Market, always so much to look at!
Next was the mercado for some fruits and veggies (needed to make soup today). We got a head of cauliflower and broccoli for $1.50, 8 bananas for .50 and 2 large bags of strawberries for $2.
Back to the bus stop, home by 4:30. Shortly after arriving home, this is what we saw...soon it we were in a downpour with hail, thunder and lightening. No problem, we were inside, right? Well, except for my leaving my bedroom window open. Two towels and two inches of water cleaned up - the nightstand, floor and wall are all clean. LOL!
All in all, it was about a perfect day. Life is good!
Ciao for now!
