Batidas: Great for Hangovers. Just Ask Tess.

Quinn and Tess both accompanied me on my morning EBCRD run, Tess because she wanted a picture in front of the statue of an Indian in the park where I exercise, and Quinn because he didn't want to miss the chance to be in a picture. By the time we got back (when there are kids involved, things go slowly, what with all the pigeon feathers to pick up and lizards to stop and watch), it was mid-morning, and time to head to the Santurce market for batidas.

The neighborhood, which I had previously described as so filled with character, is just that, but now we were going in on a Saturday, which usually follows a Friday night. And the guidebook, now that I thought about it, in a separate section had mentioned that the area around the market is an unofficially open bar for weekend partying - bars in almost every building, and people who walk from bar to bar with their open containers without the police really doing anything about it. So the streets around there were fairly heavily littered. But not so much as you might think - businesses which were open (and there were a lot) had swept up in front of their own places, and somehow the market itself had escaped any harm. I mean, no urine smell anywhere, no vandalism - it appears to be a party district with a heart.

The market is ten times as charming in the daytime, and the batidas were out of this world. Milk, sugar, fruit, in proportions that are absolutely perfect. (I know, I don't do dairy products anymore. But on special occasions, I get a little crazy.) Quinn had about half of his, then said he didn't want any more - and the woman who'd made them came scurrying out of the cafe to where we were sitting in the shade and asked, "Doesn't he like it? Did I forget to put sugar in it?" It was adorable.

But they were both still hungry, so we walked into the market and bought them each a cheese empanada. And Quinn was still hungry after that, so we said, "OK, here's a dollar. Go get another one." Which he was able to go do, eventually, and given an escort to the actual stall from Mami.

The market is sucha neighborhood staple - people stopping in for a late breakfast and bumping into six people they know before they can sit down to eat it, swarms of happy weekend late-risers showing up for coffee and pastries, and of course all the vegetable sellers. It was like an Ecuadorian market, only cleaner and grander. And much smaller. It seems to be going well as it is, but the city seems in some respects to have passed places like this by. It's really the only one around.

We went to the park and played some hacky-sack, then came home for some lunch. Tess and I settled in for naps (hers was longer than mine), and then Quinn and I headed for the beach. Where we swam very briefly again before Quinn asked to hit the sand and build forts. We started in on one, and then divided forces: I started in on the pyramid, and Quinn worked on the wall to protect the pyramid. Results below. It is definitely true that those damn things get exponentially harder as they get bigger. I could figure out the weight of the sand I moved for it, but as a guess I'd say it was about a million pounds. Janneke arrived with Tess around 4:30, and with the camera to take a picture, but the camera had no batteries. So she went back for them, and the evidence is below. I think the pyramid thing is pretty much out of my system.

Home, supper, Dominoes, bed. Tess, this morning, said "Are we going on a plane today?" Janneke said "No, tomorrow. Today we have one more day in Puerto Rico!" And Tess said, "Aw, I want to go home today!" And part of me agrees with her. This is fun. But we're ready.



The market - open this time.



View through the main door.



Our batida joint



Tess and her batida



Quinn's batida, destined to be consumed by others.



Hand-rolled Puerto Rican cigars.



Depending on who you are, this picture probably
either gives you cravings, or makes you want to barf.



I asked this guy, as he sat down next to us,
if he was a Packer fan. He looked at me like
I was speaking Norwegian. Apparently it's just
a shirt.



Quinn built a smaller pyramid next to mine, which
started to get washed away before the camera got there.
But it was a really great one, basically the same thing
in miniature. Way cool.



This got washed away before I could see anyone's
reaction to it, unfortunately.