We did see a few other travelers, but mostly locals were going about the business of enjoying their day of rest. What I didn't photograph was the game of basketball being played on a court off the town square, and town officials conducting business with locals in their offices.
On the cobblestone road leading up to San Sebastion, we encountered families on Sunday outings picking roadside fruit from trees and gathering walnuts off the ground. The cobblestone road at that point was so rough, Gustavo was creeping along at about 5 mph. So he would inquire as to what they were picking and would get an answer like guava, tomatoes, walnuts . . . . It reminded me of my childhood when my grandmother would take us to pick blackberries from wild roadside vines. Open air restaurants along the way were filled with people and music, and we passed a lot of locals headed to town on horseback.
We did miss a few shops, galleries, and museums by touring on Sunday, but the upside was experiencing a San Sebastion without the small tour vans (no large buses allowed up the cobblestone road to the village) and crowds of people. As Gustavo kept saying, "Hear that?" We would anwer with 'what?', and he would say 'precisely'!
No fiesta that Sunday!
A shuttered cafe and gallery.
An empty bench.
Even the mop gets a rest on Sunday!
An empty bandstand on the town zocalo.
Gustavo, our guide, posed in an empty jail cell.
The local carniceria fries pork rinds in a barrel on the street.
Local men chew the fat, so to speak, in front of the carniceria.
Shops on one side of the zocalo.
2 comments:
Question - how did you find Gustavo as a guide?
Jeanne
Jeanne, he and his wife Veronica operate a sweet shop a half block off Lazero Cardenas towards the beach in Bucerias. I can't remember the name of it, but it's about a block before the street ends south of the Kissing Bridge. From Punta Arena where we stayed, the little shop was just at the end of that block south and towards the beach. They always have a little sign out at the corner. (Dulce will be in the name.) Gustavo also works nightly as a waiter at the nice Italian restaurant on Lazaro Cardenas -- Adriatico? You can just ask for him at the bar. I think Adriatico is in the vicinity of Sandrina's. Gustavo does custom tours to a lot of destinations. He speaks great English and has lived in Europe and the U.S.
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