Fruitville

I'm enjoying the names of the hotels along the road as we pass. These are nothing like the motels you see roadside in the States: Budget Motel, Roadway Inn, TravelLodge. The names here are lush and romantic: Hotel Orion, Hotel Media Luna (half moon), Hotel Kissing (!), King of Hearts Hotel, Hotel Bresas del Caribe, Hotel Fantasìa.

These names and the colors of the buildings here, teal and pink and orange, bright as a coloring book; names and structures that could be just utilitarian and unexpressive but instead are sources of a little celebration and brightness. This is one thing I pick up on and really enjoy about this culture.

I also was enjoying the trees in our eco-region this morning. Here it is green, and green is such a brilliant life force after dry brown.  We were riding on a slight ledge and I could see the sweep of countryside below, this wide array of trees to be regarded.  Trees! Who knew there could be such array and variety, in all aspects of their shape. The diversity of canopies and trunks, some trees spreading like a luxurious umbrella, others tall and lean, some twisted with out of proportion large leaves. Palms and acacias and bananas and dense mangos, ones I couldn't even name that seemed out of a National Geographic photo spread. It wasn't a forest of trees, there was space between so that each could be admired on its own. I felt like I was looking at a set for a whimsical Dr Seuss theatre production, each tree with a distinct character.

Friday we passed through Handicraft Furniture Hamlet and then Shoe City. Today we had Cow Town, which felt swinging-door saloon, with actual bull fighting advertised (with the terrible spears, not just bull-riding) and a car driving by with a leather saddle splayed on its roof-top rack, agro-stores at every corner. And then there was Fruitville. Guanabana (an enormous green spiky fleshy thing, shaped like an integral organ) we had in fruit shakes; Guanabana makes me very happy.

It just fascinates me how the places here go in themes like this. We are also into General Sesame Seed Zone, apparently; I've not seen many products made from sesame seeds available yet, but today I bought a tiny container of something like tahini: delicious and good for energy. And now I'm seeing this tahini stuff available in many places.

Posted via Blogaway