Finally Here....and Wondering Why

Well, (6) checked bags, (5) carry-ons between the three of us, (2) dogs and (21) LONG hours later we are finally in Vieques. Steve says we are home but Im not sure Im ready to call it that quite yet. The drive from the airport to the house provided us with the most beautiful sunset and I instantly thought "alright this isnt so bad" HAHAHA!

We arrived at the house to  find it is not nearly as large as we had originally thought which brought on a bit of anxiety when I  realized how much furniture is going to be delivered in 4-5 weeks...oh well, we can deal with that when it arrives. Aside from that and the usual amount of dirt, dust and dead insects you would expect from a house that has not been occupied for over six months it wasnt all that bad. Of course the view from our living and dining room doesnt hurt either....  

After unloading all of our luggage Steve and I went to pick up our rental car and decided to stop and get some cold beverages (of the alcoholic kind) on the way home. We stopped at the "small" market and once inside I decided that if this is the really small market then the big market must be pretty decent. I mean they had recognizable ceral, pasta, canned foods etc so it wasnt terrible. The meat and produce section was pretty much non-existent, but after all this is the small market so Im sure the big one will have a much better selection. Got home from the market, beers, rum and diet coke in hand, had a couple of cocktails with a grilled cheese sandwich of which all ingredients were purchased at the market, relaxed and called it a night. 

Woke up this morning feeling rather optimistic and determined to get the house cleaned up, put together and fridge and cupboards stocked. With the help of my sister we got the majority of the house spic and span, I managed to put away the contents of all (10) pieces of luggage and all that was left to do was hit up the "BIG" market to stock up on the necessities and get stuff for dinner. Hopped in the jeep and drove a whole six minutes on the bumpy, narrow, horse lined streets to the market. From the parking lot the market was significantly larger  than the one we visited last night, "perfect, I'll make some chicken fettucine alfredo a salad and some garlic bread for dinner!"

We walked into "Morales Super Descuento" (which I thought meant Morales Super Market, turns out it means super discount which is definitely false advertising) This market was definitely larger in size, and did have a small produce and meat section, but for the most part it was just larger quantities of the same stuff that was at the small market last night. Well that doesnt help much but at least I can get some salad ingredients and chicken....chicken first. As we approach the meat section I notice an unfamiliar and slightly offensive smell, which Jennifer obviously did too as she covered her nose with her shirt (she's not very discreet about things). First reaction, maybe it's just a different kind of meat that Im not used to, so I move in for further examination. Now I know they eat different kinds of food all over the world, but Im pretty sure that on every continent chicken with a hint of green is bad. Ok, scratch the chicken, fettucine alfredo and a salad....lets go find the produce.

I was far from prepared to face the produce that I encountered. Who would think that any type of retail estabishment would keep bags of brown soggy lettuce, moldy garlic cloves and wilted browning celery on their shelves. No, really, who does that? Let me tell you, "Morales Super Descuento" does! Hmmm, ok chicken... scratch, salad...scratch, moldy garlic bread....scratch. 

So I'm just about to leave the house and head down to the hotel for dinner. Clearly my efforts to stock the fridge and cupboards are going to have to wait until I can get over to Costco on the big island, until then its Mix on the Beach for dinner, Mix for breakfast and Pool cafe for lunch. Thank god for the W.

Tomorrow is halloween and hopefully my day will be filled with treats rather than tricks, but on this island who knows!