The Bodegano a.k.a. The Grocery Store

The Bodegano

Yesterday I took some pictures of the Mercado where we generally shop for fresh produce. I did not mention that we can eat anything we can peal and cook well. We also have a vegetable wash called Sanivida which is a Clorox solution where we let most of the things we buy soak for about 5 minutes. I also use the solution as a final rinse on the dishes which I then let air dry. It must be working as we have had no food/tummy issues so far.

 Today I present you with a small tour of the
 local grocery store.

The Front of the Bodegona

There are no neon signs to indicate the location of businesses on the street. You have to walk on the opposite side of the street to read the signs over the doors easily. Walking on the same side of the street is just slightly more difficult to find places.

Now the things that we need like paper towels, toilet paper, Ziploc bags are best bought at the Bodegano. We could actually buy most of the things we need in the Mercado but if we have to go to Bodegano we might as well buy them there. This is a store off of the main drag that is painted a baby blue.

 Upon entering the store you must lock your backpacks in lockers provided  there for the purpose.

Don opening a locker in the Bodegona

all backpacks and bags must go in there and

there is a guard at the doors. 

We can select our shopping basket/carts and join the crowds looking for food and stuff (stuff is such a good word- covers a lot of territory). There is no and I mean NO rhyme or reason for the placement of articles in this store. Things that we think would be in the same area as our stores just doesn’t happen. Paper products can be located at a number of spots  inside the building.

The eggs below are sitting on a shelf inside the Mercado and eggs bought inside the grocery store "the Bodegona" sit similarly on shelves in a small alcove in the store.

Eggs in the Mercado

 Last week we had to ask where they were hiding the eggs. We could find yogurt, cheeses, etc. in refrigerated sections but no eggs. Turns our the eggs sit on a shelf in a little side corner and are not refrigerated here. There are eggs available in the Mercado, also not refrigerated. The front half on the lower level of the Bodegona has grocery items. And one side of the building is a pharmacy where you can get rubbing alcohol, band aids, hair care products, etc. - this area has some similarities to Walgreens but no prescription drugs.   The back half, which exits on the next block, has dry goods, socks, underwear, towels, kitchen ware, stoves as well as an ATM machine. If we exit on this back side we can walk maybe half a block and find McDonald’s.

Upstairs you can find paper, pencils, notebooks, some Hallmark type cards, arts and craft items along with computer disks/CD‘s, electronics, and in other words just a bit of everything.

When your check out is complete you move to a table provided to load your items into the bag or box of your choice. They will ask if you want to purchase a ‘bolsa’ (bag) or you can use some of the empty boxes you can find. We use our handy-dandy bags that we carry in backpack at all times.  I much prefer the bags we brought because they do not stretch  and tear and actually hold more thus cutting down on the number of items we have to lug home on the chicken bus.

Below is a bird's eye view of the Bodegona from the top of the stairs. From here it looks like a grocery store. But the actual fact is that finding the things you want is like a scavenger hunt. You look for clues and ask questions and eventually you strike gold.

Bird's Eye View of Bodegona

This photo is as close as I have seen representing a Hallmark type of shopping. This is the largest collection of cards that I have yet to run across. It is located upstairs in the Bodegona.

Largest Selection of Cards I have found

There is another much smaller store call Dispensa Familiar which is a subsidiary of Wal Mart. They do not have a large selection of items but do carry meat that others here have said is 'gringo' approved. It sometimes takes DAYS to check out of here.