Kathleen & Paul Smith's RV Travelblog

04/18/05 - Shopping Fun in Puebla
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Our plans to leave Pueblo were put off for several days. First, we stayed another day so that the Hopcia van could get two new tires.

Paul had to stay back in camp and get some work done on the computer, so the Hopcia Clan kindly included me in their plans for the day, which were to stop at Costco for the tires, then to drive or bus into Pueblo downtown for some sight seeing.

Kitty and Jamie (driver and navigator extraordinary) found Costco and took the van directly to the tire installation section. The children and I went into one of the cleanest and nicest Costco stores I've ever seen. The aisles were WIDE, it seemed that only a few other customers were shopping at that time of the day, so we had a glorious time going up one wide aisle after another. We even enjoyed some of the few "samples" (the children always enjoyed tasting the various samples at the Costco "at home".

Unfortunately, we found the prices at this Mexican Costco nothing to write home about. We would have been able to purchase the exact same items back in the States much cheaper.

Other than that (we didn't purchase that much) we had a good time. The new tires had not been installed yet, so Jamie took the children to get some hot dogs (a real "treat" for them) - so Kitty and I joined in the hot dog lunch. They tasted great!

For awhile we contemplated leaving the van there and taking a bus into town, until we realized it was nearly 5:00 p.m. Too late in the day to face commuter traffic.

As it turned out, Kitty had no luck at the optometry department at Costco, but she was directed to a shopping mall close by. Once the new tires were on the van, we all decided to head for the Mall with hopes Kitty might get some new contact lenses.

The Mall was large, (the optometry shop could not help Kitty) but the Super Market (can't recall the name of the store) was absolutely the largest, most stocked store any of us has seen. All but Kitty LOVE to shop, and we were in "paradise" ... what a fun time we had, looking at everything for which we had time. And even when we said we needed to leave, we thought of something else and went off to see that department.

The fish section was immense, and so many different kinds of fresh fish were displayed, that we were in awe at the variety. We did purchase some fresh Chilean salmon. Paul and I had some that evening, and really enjoyed it.

The evening before we left, I went to ask our neighbors about travel in the Yucatan, since we knew they had recently visited this area. Kitty wasn't feeling too well that evening, so I went by myself.

My intent was to get a few pieces of information from them, regarding toll roads and camping ideas. (That ought to take 10 - 15 minutes, right?)

First of all, Kim and Jon were so welcoming, and were so knowledgeable - the time just slipped by. They shared their experiences and gave many good suggestions regarding travel plans. However, when I finally bade them goodnight, I noticed that they had not had their supper yet. (It had to be nearly 11:00 p.m.) And they were just as hospitable as they could be. What wonderful, sharing people - it's folks like this who don't mind sharing their adventures, so that folks like us have an easier trip! (As an aside, we found out that they, too are from the Bay Area - actually from our own town, Oakland! What a small world! They're the first folks from Oakland we've met since we've been traveling.)

Many thanks, Jon and Kim.

Hopefully, we'll head "out" tomorrow!

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