Pichilemu Today!

My friend Pam recently found me on Facebook. We've known each other since 2nd grade! How fun is that? I love it! She asked for more info about where I live in Chile, so today I took my camera along when Jim and I went in to do some shopping. I am posting the pictures on my blog so everyone can see them. I hope you get a good idea of what it's like here. I plan to go to town again tomorrow, so I may be posting more pictures then.

Above is just a typical street scene on Anabel Pinto.

None of the supermercados have scales at the check out counter so you must get your produce and bread weighed before you go to pay. While at one market they weigh produce and bread at the meat counter, another weighs produce and bread at the security desk, but at this supermercado called Polanco, there is a person (woman on the left) who stays in the produce department to weigh the produce. Today you can see, there was a line waiting for her to weigh their bags.

There are just a few varieties of bread here. Our favorite is the one below called maraquetas and these were fresh and hot from the oven. The guy came out with a big wicker basket and tossed them in. I quickly scooped up four with my hand inside a plastic bag (faster and easier that using the tongs they provide), and the bread was so hot, it burned my fingers. YUM! Jim and I ate some on the way home.

The most common type of bread is the one shown below. It has a name we can't remember but is often called either Pan Amasado or Pan de Horno. It tastes a lot like soft soda crackers so we call it Soda Bread. We only buy this kind if there are no maraquetas.

Remember when you were told 'candy is dandy, but sex won't rot your teeth?' They must have heard that here because the candy is kept in a locked glass case while the condoms are hanging at the check out counter.

Milk comes in boxes, much like the cartons we had in school. They are never refrigerated and last for months on your pantry shelf. It doesn't taste just like fresh, but close enough for me. It comes in flavors too: in addition to chocolate, there's strawberry, banana, and vanilla.

You've probably heard of the 'butter and egg man.' Well this is the 'cheese and egg man' and he also weighs the bread for you.

Usually at this store, one of the Polancos talks into a very loud microphone telling shoppers of things on sale and what's good at the meat market. Luckily for me, he wasn't there today.
Look for more pictures soon, maybe even tomorrow!
Chao-chao (Chilean spelling for bye-bye),
Geree