Adventure or Obsession

Gathering for the bus trip into Manzanillo.

The four Nautilus amigos gathered outside the Coordinados Bus depot and waited patiently for the bus to Manzanillo. This "adventure" was called the annual Oaxacan Market shopping trip, but that was really a thinly disguised excuse to travel to one of our favorite eating establishments, Monster Burger.

The bus was about as late as the usual lower cost buses normally are. We loaded in and found our seats. Linda and I sat towards the front of the bus while Jacquie and Grant were seated further back.

Normally we would have photos of the Oaxacan Market,
but let's be real, this was our goal!

Immediately as we departed, a gentleman named David started chatting with us.  He first wanted us to know that the people of Mexico loved us and that U.S. friends were welcome to this country.

He explained that he had lived in the U.S. and that he was able to attend two years at Chico State University in California. That part of his life changed when he got in trouble and he had to return to Mexico, but that is another story that he didn't elaborate upon. He said he now lived in La Huerta and worked for the government.

Then he showed us beautiful photos of a beach in Lo De Marcos where he said he built his house using stones from the local river. He showed us a photo of a very large stone. It had what looked like a "D" in it. He said he placed it near the entry of the house; the "D" representing his name, David.

Flowers outside Monster Burger.

Next, he said he owned a workout gym with a friend, but that did not work out. He showed us photos of the gym and said he lived there.

At this point, Linda leaned over and whispered in my ear that she thought this guy was full of shit. His stories and photos didn't match up at all, but what could we do, get up and move? He talked all the way to Cihuatlán. It was a little confusing to follow.  When the bus stopped he bid us farewell. I don't know if I could have kept up with his stories if he had stayed.

Flowers again. Only posted to add a bit of beauty.
On to the FOOD!

The bus rolled on and our attention went to the movie that was on the TV screens. What a thriller! It was a low budget flick called "Maze Runner" and it had every thriller movie cliche in the book. Linda must have helped write it because she could predict every outcome from every scene in the plot.

Soon we spotted Walmart, our jumping-off point and requested the bus driver to stop. The four of us got off and as we huddled to firm up our plans, I spotted a friend, Dayl, as she walked toward us on the sidewalk. Dayl was in Manzanillo because her husband Craig was in the hospital not feeling well.

My smile tells it all.

Dayl relayed their story and assured us that Craig would be fine. They had plans to fly home within the next few days. Relieved that all would be well, we marveled at the coincidence of running into her this far away from Melaque.

At Walmart, we bought a couple items that we couldn't get in Melaque and then it was off to the Oaxacan Market.

What can I say about the Oaxacan Market? The vendors were sleepy and preoccupied with their phones. The artisan items were basically the same as our tiangue has. There were maybe more cloth items and mole products, but a lot of items we could pick up at home. Grant bought a man bag and Jacquie and I bought jalapeño goat cheese. The cheese was very good. I didn't taste Grant's man bag.

Our annual "Don't touch!" photo.

Our market adventure lasted about half an hour. We then walked to the Soriana store and got a few items which took us another half hour.

We exited the store, hailed a taxi, negotiated the price and were on our way to the real reason we came to Manzanillo... Monster Burger!!

Avad, our driver, took us directly to the front entrance of the burger joint. Linda, before she got out, asked Avad if he could come back to transport us back home to Melaque and how much that would cost us. He was more than happy to take us to Melaque for the price of 500 pesos. He gave her his cell number and was on his way. (314-218-5591)

Strange art in Monster Burger.

From this point, the focus was on lunch and only lunch. We ordered our drinks (two margaritas, a beer, and a jamaica.) Next, we ordered our meals. Jacquie and Grant ordered regular El Capitan Monster Burgers, Linda ordered nachos, and I had a Brisket sandwich.

It was a great meal and we enjoyed every bite.

One thing we noticed was that all the sports-related items on the walls were Seattle Seahawks memorabilia. Flags, jerseys, and posters covered the eating area. No other team was represented. I think that is why we actually go there.

We then had our waiter call Avad and within fifteen minutes we were on our way back to Melaque. Our return trip was uneventful and everyone was filled with food and very quiet. Avad delivered us to our front door and I gave him 600 pesos and he handed me 100 back. I told him to keep it and his face lit up. It was a very nice way to end our trip.

Looking back on our day, we agreed that next year we would return and call it a trip to Monster Burger, skipping all thinly veiled Oaxacan Market talk.