BajaNomad

"colmado"

pauldavidmena - 3-31-2023 at 07:10 AM

My parents grew up in Brooklyn, where ubiquitous corner convenience stores were called "Bodegas". I thought it was a Nuyorican thing, but when I visited Puerto Rico a few years back, the local convenience store was called either a "colmado" or "almacén". In Todos Santos, most of the grocery stores are "mercados", but I've also seen "abarrotes". Any other variations out there?

Howard - 3-31-2023 at 07:36 AM

Tienda?

BajaBlanca - 3-31-2023 at 07:57 AM

Like Howard said - in La Bocana it is called the tienda de consumo

Once upon a time

Don Jorge - 3-31-2023 at 08:01 AM

Conasupo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa%C3%B1%C3%ADa_Nacional_de...

pauldavidmena - 3-31-2023 at 08:07 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Jorge  
Conasupo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa%C3%B1%C3%ADa_Nacional_de...


That's a new one for me!

chippy - 3-31-2023 at 09:17 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Jorge  
Conasupo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa%C3%B1%C3%ADa_Nacional_de...



They used to be very common in remote poblados all over Baja. Limited basic selection and nothing cold but you wouldn´t starve or have to drive for hours to a town with electricity.

Don Jorge - 3-31-2023 at 09:34 AM

Quote: Originally posted by chippy  

They used to be very common in remote poblados all over Baja. Limited basic selection and nothing cold but you wouldn´t starve or have to drive for hours to a town with electricity.

Yup. Everything, except the beer, a dirtbag surfer kid needed: tortillas, canned beans, salsa, evaporated milk, Zucharitas (sometimes) and eggs. The horror of seeing eggs not under refrigeration was quickly forgotten.

The beer of course needed to be bought at the subagencia and they were often far, far away from camp and if there another group nearby you pooled the resources and made the run as necessary. That usually also involved a trip to the phone concession, a wait in line for your turn for a quick check in back home. Then a trip to the post office and the lista de correos to see if your girlfriend wrote?

How's that for a thread hijack? Fond memories of a Baja gone.

chippy - 3-31-2023 at 09:41 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Jorge  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  

They used to be very common in remote poblados all over Baja. Limited basic selection and nothing cold but you wouldn´t starve or have to drive for hours to a town with electricity.

Yup. Everything, except the beer, a dirtbag surfer kid needed: tortillas, canned beans, salsa, evaporated milk, Zucharitas (sometimes) and eggs. The horror of seeing eggs not under refrigeration was quickly forgotten.

The beer of course needed to be bought at the subagencia and they were often far, far away from camp and if there another group nearby you pooled the resources and made the run as necessary. That usually also involved a trip to the phone concession, a wait in line for your turn for a quick check in back home. Then a trip to the post office and the lista de correos to see if your girlfriend wrote?

How's that for a thread hijack? Fond memories of a Baja gone.



oh for those good old feral surfer days!

AKgringo - 3-31-2023 at 10:01 AM

If I remember correctly, back in the 80s those phone calls were about eight or ten dollars a minute!

chippy - 3-31-2023 at 10:21 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
If I remember correctly, back in the 80s those phone calls were about eight or ten dollars a minute!



2 Words "por cobrar":lol



chippy - 3-31-2023 at 11:23 AM

"Ultramarinos" is another that I used to see more in Mexico. I got reminded of that in Panama last month.

surabi - 4-6-2023 at 01:53 PM

Mini-super. An oxymarooon.

BTW, re the unrefrigerated eggs comment upthread- unwashed eggs do not need to be kept refrigerated. When you wash eggs, it removes the protective barrier on the shell called the cuticle, which prevents bacteria from entering the shell and the egg inside. This is why you see unrefrigerated eggs in Mexico and other non-first world countries. Umwashed eggs can stay good at room temps for months. Eggs you buy NOB are washed, therefore need to be kept at 45 degrees or so.

TMW - 4-8-2023 at 01:21 PM

Good to know, thanks.

geoffff - 4-8-2023 at 02:52 PM

Yeah, even in New Zealand they sell their eggs unwashed and unrefrigerated.

[Edited on 4-8-2023 by geoffff]

woody with a view - 4-8-2023 at 07:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Jorge  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  

They used to be very common in remote poblados all over Baja. Limited basic selection and nothing cold but you wouldn´t starve or have to drive for hours to a town with electricity.

Yup. Everything, except the beer, a dirtbag surfer kid needed: tortillas, canned beans, salsa, evaporated milk, Zucharitas (sometimes) and eggs. The horror of seeing eggs not under refrigeration was quickly forgotten.

The beer of course needed to be bought at the subagencia and they were often far, far away from camp and if there another group nearby you pooled the resources and made the run as necessary. That usually also involved a trip to the phone concession, a wait in line for your turn for a quick check in back home. Then a trip to the post office and the lista de correos to see if your girlfriend wrote?

How's that for a thread hijack? Fond memories of a Baja gone.

Same story ‘cept envision Pto. Escondido, Oaxaca in the mid-80s. My mind was blown on unrefrigerated boxed milk, stacks of eggs roasting in the summer humidity and the yesca for $10 a sack - think gallon ziploc! Maybe we really were tougher back then? Seagull Surfboards in OB used to have a shirt that said, “No Surf Too Ruff No Muff Too Tuff” I still have a hoodie! We miss you, Jackie and Barbara, DEP!
Carry on Nomads!



[Edited on 4-9-2023 by woody with a view]

mtgoat666 - 4-8-2023 at 08:18 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena  
Quote: Originally posted by Don Jorge  
Conasupo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa%C3%B1%C3%ADa_Nacional_de...


That's a new one for me!


Some of the older markets are still called conasupo. I hear the word conasupo used to refer to the market in San Ignacio.

Some rural areas have diconsa markets, which appear to be govt-funded markets for the rural poor.

I think liconsa is still around

surfhat - 4-9-2023 at 12:05 PM

Thanks Surabi. After fifty years I have learned something I somehow have missed all this time about why Baja's eggs do not have to be refrigerated.

Makes one wonder why we let our eggsin the USA lose that protective membrane.

Liability of course is the reason. Liability in Baja is up to each of us to some degree and is a part of the attraction of getting out there to begin with. That, along with the down to earth locals is the attraction that gives back more than we can ever give back to them.

The smallest of gifts that cost us nortenos little can mean much more to them. Most of us know this already so forgive my repetition of a thought that has been with me for a lifetime's worth of rewards ever since my first Baja trip.

chippy - 4-9-2023 at 01:14 PM

https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/salmonella-and-...

surabi - 4-12-2023 at 11:45 AM

Quote: Originally posted by surfhat  


Makes one wonder why we let our eggsin the USA lose that protective membrane.



Because NOBers would say "GROSS!" if there was dirt and chicken chit on the eggs.:lol:

Also, the barnyard dirt on unwashed eggs does itself contain bacteria, so I imagine there are some health dept. rules about not selling unwashed eggs.


[Edited on 4-12-2023 by surabi]

mtgoat666 - 4-12-2023 at 12:53 PM

Quote: Originally posted by surabi  
Quote: Originally posted by surfhat  


Makes one wonder why we let our eggsin the USA lose that protective membrane.



Because NOBers would say "GROSS!" if there was dirt and chicken chit on the eggs.:lol:
[Edited on 4-12-2023 by surabi]


Here in my NOB neighborhood, half the families on my street have backyard chickens. All of us eat unrefrigerated/unwashed eggs from neighbors…

Backyard eggs are common in usa

[Edited on 4-12-2023 by mtgoat666]

surabi - 4-12-2023 at 02:46 PM

Of course, Goat. I was referring to eggs that are distributed to stores. Rural folks everywhere eat fresh, unwashed eggs.