Busted by the Police

Puebla City police had a motorcycle, car, traffic cones and 3 officers on the side of one of the major boulevards. A check point but they were not pulling anyone over...except us! Nice policeman came to the window and asked something in Spanish. He then pointed to the front of the car and said "no license". North Carolina doesn't have front tags. He then asked for the papers and checked the rear tag and hologram and then asked for my drivers license. He said, Mr. Johnson I am (his rank and name) and then,in Spanish, told me everything was OK, thanked me for the cooperation and explained it was for security and to have a good visit. We then asked him where the Soriana was and he had his 2 colleagues come over and figured out where it was and how to get there. Now I have to look into getting a duplicate tag to put on the vehicles so we can minimize check points.

We still haven’t done much…between altitude, hay fever and sinus stuff, we can’t get motivated. We did do the Soriana trip yesterday. Soriana chain is an upscale Wal-Mart and quite impressive especially in their deli, vegetable, and meat departments.  An observation: in such stores, anyone handling food (butchers, bakery, free sample givers, etc) all wear hair nets, face masks, and gloves. The place is spotless.  The butchers are in full view, accessible, and more than happy to provide whatever cut you want, how you want it. Another thing we like is the the bakery. You get a big pan and tongs. You then wander through picking out exactly what you want and how many. You then take the loaded pan to a register where they bag it and put a price sticker on the bag for check out. If you want 1 cookie, you get 1, not a box! Oh, and for RV’ers, the baggers at the registers are not employees and only work for small tips. They are usually kids or handicapped adults. On our first trip, for the first time or two at a store, I did not realize this and thought they were salaried employees. They were nice even though I failed to tip. I’ve made up for it since. 

Another great thing is the parking lot guys. I don’t know how they get their position but one or two guys will cover a lane or two. When they see you heading for your car, they run up, take the cart and follow you to car, unload it, and take care of the cart. Then the show begins: they have a whistle and love it. They “help” you back out and stop traffic, if any, with great hand and arm signals and non-stop melodic whistle blowing…even if there is not another car in sight! Sailors guiding planes on an aircraft carrier do not match these guys. As you are backed and ready to roll, he’ll stop by the window to wish you a safe trip and, of course, welcome a tip. It doesn’t have to be much and it is worth the show.  

This trip may turn out to be mainly a beach tour. Daniele’s knee is killing her and she cannot do the walking required for town and cathedral visits. It’s so bad that she’s finally relented and wants to have the replacement done when we get home! Yeah! But, we’ll stay here until after Easter since the beaches are packed. We’ll get a little touring in.