Aloha Everyone,
San Juan de Dios promotes itself as the largest indoor market in Latin America. Inaugurated on December 20, 1958, the city claims that there are 2,980 vendors spread over 3 levels. The distance from our hotel is less than a mile, but instead of walking unfamiliar neighborhoods, J.J. and I took a taxi.
The best way to describe this Mercado is that it is immense. As in other large markets offering clothes, toys, jewelries, durable goods, souvenirs plus vegetables/fruits and flowers, you are bombarded with so many choices. Sheer sight, sound and the smell envelope your entire being. I have a very low tolerance for scent of any kind. On this trip, J.J. was more willing to explore, but 30 minutes was the maximum duration that I could endure.
We took another taxi back to our hotel amidst the large Saturday crowds in the Centro district.
Okuma Sushi has an ambiance remotely resembling a sushi restaurant. J.J.’s appetizer was cheese filled Mexican empanada and his udon, he said, “Tastes like udon noodles in Mexican flavored chicken stock." I ordered a Teppanyaki grilled vegetables with no sauce. In other words, stir fry vegetables. We both agreed to adhere to Mexican food from now on.
For dinner, we went back to the restaurant located adjacent to the JardÃn del Carmen and ordered tried and tested turkey panini. The only excitement of our dinner was J.J. ordering a soda which smelled and tasted like a cross between homeopathic treatment and something a native healer would prescribe!
Aloha -- Cathi