Smart shoppers: Economic impact

The new SuperXpress opened in La Gloria today, possibly changing forever the way islanders do business. It is from the same corporation that has operated the supermarket in Centro for a decade. But it means that people can save the 20 peso round trip by cab to get their groceries.
There are a lot of other options in the neighborhood that will have to rise to the occasion to stay in business. The little tiendas which people are accustomed to going to when they need an egg or a CocaCola. The veggie ladies on the corners, the green grocer in his shop and the stalls in the market. The fruit truck that drives by.
After shopping at opening this morning, spending 35 pesos for a kilo of chicken thighs, romaine lettuce, a cucumber, 8 limes and a diet Squirt, I bet they will.
Folks were like me, shopping the advertised baratisimo specials. The will shop for the loss leaders. They will go to the Mercado in Canotal for the variety the Maya growers bring.
The little tiendas will stay open, selling things from Sam's and Costco. Who will suffer? The cabbies who'll lose the fares to Centro and back. The tourist will pay higher fares to keep their families fed. That's how I see it.

Major dig!

At the end of the day, Eriso and I made a pact that he would plant habanero peppers that have been sitting in their seeding cans for at least a couple weeks now and plant the chaya cuttings that give me no space in the not-s-great great room.
I need to get to Centro and my flu shot, assuming they got the vaccine in Monday, and to ask William at Ballyhoo if his mama still makes compost and track down Luci the plant lady for more bags of dirt.
While idling yesterday, waiting for the electric company to turn the power back on at the credit union, I bought some serano chilis and free range bacon. The beans are on!
I also started collecting small, sweet squashes to do some pilgrim thing with later this month, since we didn't get any pumpkins on the island.
This supermarket business on the island is really irritating. Locals have always referred to it as inferior. SuperExpress is a San Francisco de Assisi CV enterprise. I now just think it's their scratch and dent raise-the-price attic!
The veggies would not be offered for sale in Cancun. No way. The butcher shop gets de-boned meat. I wanted beef bones to clean up for Lora. No hay. The bones are in Cancun from the loins, etc. You can't even get a bone to scrub that would last forever for your dog. Forget about soup bones for humans!
If you read the papers, San Francisco has all sorts of items for sale, cheap. Here everything is 5 pesos more. I go to Cancun on Tuesday for an appointment my lawyer is taking me to. I will stop and get STUFF that will offset the ferry and cabs fares, if you could get it here!
Which brings me back to the dig. The whole project involved raising the flower beds and making a cement pole fence. With deeper beds, I can grow carrots, radishes, green onions, zuccini. All the stuff that looks like it failed the scratch and dent rack here. And of course, salad greens! Prettier flowers are a bonus.
Well, time to stir the beans and get doggie dog fed. And perhaps, dig a bit before I go!