Friday, June 24, 2011

Guess What's In Guatemala

Yes that is a Walmart sign. All the Hiper Paizes in Guatemala City turned into Walmarts while we were gone. It didn't really change anything about the inside of the store or the products it carries. We were only in there a minute when we flew into the capital, so maybe I missed something. It sort of makes me sad. I'm all for capitalism, but I think I just like my 2 worlds separate for some reason.
When we got to Petén we saw that they opened a new grocery store in Santa Elena. It is inside a new mall like structure. Most of the stores are outside and right on lake Flores.
It has a beautiful view. Most of the mall is still empty and the stores that have opened aren't any different than what you would find in the market. I didn't see any store that I recognized.
For those of you that have been here it is right next to the Burger King. It sort of kills whatever ambiance was left after the Burger King went up. My beautiful world is changing and I can't make it stop. I'll take the grocery store though!
This was the flooring inside... gorgeous! It looks like travertine. There is going to be something like this going on in our forever house somewhere with all the reject pieces we purchased from the mine. Probably on the walls though and not the floor.

This is the cute little grocery store. It is SO clean, I hope it stays that way. It is smaller than the Maxi Bodega, but has nearly all of the things we would buy at the Maxi plus some extra treasures we found!
Another plus is that they didn't have music playing on the loud speaker the whole time and it wasn't very crowded. It was so peaceful and relaxing!

Here are some of the products we found that we haven't been able to find in Petén before (not saying they don't exist here in some form, but we couldn't find them). Many of you have brought us some of these things down in your suitcases before!
Crisco
Tabasco Sauce
Desitin (It works better here for some reason than Butt Paste.)
String Cheese
Nice toilet paper!!!!
Sprite (The only soda we drink. We mix it with Orange juice sometimes.)
Brownie mix (And it wasn't expired!)
Jif (It was expensive, but still cheaper than poundage on a plane.)
Baking cups
Cheerios... even Honey Nut ones. (They use to carry Cheerios here, but then quit.)
Quaker Oatmeal Squares
Campbell's Tomato, Minestrone, & Clam Chouder Soup (The Maxi recently started carrying Cream of Chicken, Mushroom, & Chicken Broth)
Wheat Flour
Dijon Mustard (Can you tell my camera died?)
Blue Cheese Dressing

After we finished grocery shopping we took the boys on their first ride in their new wagon! We walked all the way around the island of Flores. They kept their hats and sunglasses on the whole time... they know they're cute!

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY: This is on a main street in Guatemala City. It is a company that bullet proofs vehicle. Evidently this is a service that is in high demand here... enough demand to put their business on a prime piece of real estate. You can see the example car doors on the left with bullet holes in them. The sad part is we know people with bullet proof vehicles and yes they need them.

2 comments:

  1. Hahahaha! Do you still need Cheez-Its? LOL

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  2. Ooh, you have some stuff we can't find here in Antigua! I've been noticing that the stores are starting to carry more and more "gringo" foods, but just when we get used to having them, they vanish again. Cocoa disappeared for ages and whole wheat pasta was only around for about six months. I don't like the lack of steady supply lines!

    It looks like things are really changing! Enjoy it, because going backwards isn't an option. :D

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