Fruits and Candies of Cartagena

 I love to try new things.  And who doesn't love fruit and candy.  We've been trying candies and today picked up a variety of fruits we'd never eaten.  Here's my report.  I'll be adding more as we eat them.  Ok, we've been too busy eating all the candy to write about them but that will happen soon.

This photo shows two mangosteen and a caimito  I learned to love mangosteens when I lived in Myanmar.  I rate mangosteens a solid 9.5.  Roland rated the mangosteen a 7.

This is a caimito, also known as a star apple.  I'd rate it a 6.  I'd be happy to eat it again, but it is bland so I wouldn't buy it again.  Roland gave it an 8.

This is a passion fruit (maracuya).  It is hard on the outside, almost like a gourd.

I liked this one a lot.  I'd rate it an 8.  Loved the taste, not wild about the seed crunchiness.  Roland rated it a 5.

This is zapote.  It looks like a potato.

Called nispero in Spanish, loquat in English.  The taste and texture is just like eating pumpkin pie filling.  I'd rate it a 8.  Roland gave it a 7.  His lower score is because he's not a big fan of pumpkin.  I'd definitely buy it again.  It would make great ice cream, I think.

This guy is the size of a small apple and called lulo.  Very popular here it is like a cross between a pineapple and a lemon.  It is very tart and often used to make juice.  

Roland laughed at my reaction after my first bite.  It is very tart!  Especially after the rather bland zapote.  I'd rate it a 7.  Might be good with sugar, as a juice but a bit too tart for me, plain.  Roland gave it a 2.5 - it was just too tart.  He compared it to eating rhubarb.

This is a nispero. It looks like a cross between a coconut and a potato on the outside.  It has a large seed on the inside, similar to a mango.  But the flesh is more solid.

The skin is tough and it is harder to cut up than a mango since it is mostly seed.  But delicious.  I scored it a 5 because it is a lot of work.  Roland rated it an 8.  I'm lazier.

This is a granadilla.

Lots of small, crunchy seeds that look like fish eyeballs.  Having said that, I'd rate a granadilla a solid 9.  Not to sweet, not too tart.  I'm just a huge fan of crunchy seeds.  But delicious and I'll definitely eat it again.  Roland rated it an 8, which is high, for him.

This is all the flesh from 1/2 of the large fruit we haven't identified yet.  

This is a la pitaya or dragon fruit.  

The dragon fruit, to me, is very bland.  I rated it a 7.  Rolando rated it an 8.


  

Hit By a Car

Yesterday was just a typical Tuesday.  My very pregnant friend and I went to Margarita Storm (powered by Sunrise Tacos) for lunch before her weekly appointment at Bumrungrad Hospital.

Lunch was delicious.  Lori went for the street-style tacos while I opted for the American breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes.  Hit the spot.

We strolled through the crowded streets to the hospital where the doctor informed her she'd be having a baby in 1-4 weeks.  Since her due date is in 2 1/2 weeks, that wasn't shocking news.

We got a taxi to take us back to our hotel.  Even though he used an app on his phone to check the route he didn't have a clue.  We drove around, backtracked, ran into a blocked road due to construction (which has been going on for a year so shouldn't have been a surprise to him) and then sat in traffic, just blocks from our hotel.  We opted to get out and walk but the taxi driver had no change.  Lori really needed to find a bathroom (have I mentioned she's very pregnant and we'd been driving around Bangkok for over an hour?) so she bailed while I continued to sit in traffic.  To make it more enjoyable, the driver continued picking at the pimples on his face.  He left no blackhead untouched.  It was disgusting.

We finally made the u-turn to get back near our hotel and a store where I got change and bid my taxi adieu.  Since I was next to my favorite fruit stand, I stopped to check out what they had.  Here are some photos:

She's got a great smile.  Some of the cut fruit on offer (about $.55 a bag) is papaya, pineapple, rose apple and watermelon.

This may not look too appealing but it was delicious.  I bought the tiniest (and sweetest) grape tomatoes I've ever had at the fruit market.  The sandwich is just white bread with grilled pork from the nearby street food vendor.

They also sell whole fruit.  Mandarin oranges, mangos (ripe and green), apples, rose apples, guava and dragon fruit.

More of the cut fruit - pomelo, durian, strawberries and grape tomatoes.

Rose apples are tasty and pretty.

This friendly guy is co-owner of  the fruit stand.  The young man standing behind him sells fried chicken. 

After picking up the fruit, I headed up the street to get a massage.  Run by two friends, it is clean and quiet and they do a great job.

This is one of the beds where I get tortured.  Some call it "Thai massage".  You can also get an oil massage, head and should massage and foot and leg massage.

Clean towels and a fan, which they use instead of air conditioning when there aren't any customers.  When I arrive, the air con comes on.

After 90 minutes of bliss at the spa, I headed for the short walk to the hotel.  It was about 5:30 and traffic on the narrow neighborhood street was heavy.  People use it as a short cut to avoid the even more crowded main surface streets.  Imagine my surprise as I walked along the very narrow sidewalk to have a car hit me from behind.  Scared the bejeebers out of me but I wasn't injured - he just winged me with the side mirror.  His wheels were mid-way on the narrow sidewalk as he drove on after whacking me.    Earlier I'd almost gotten hit from behind because I didn't hear the motorbike coming up behind me on the sidewalk.  That's Bangkok for you.

This morning I did laundry.  I miss my dryer but my room smells nicely of laundry soap.

I'm hoping the pigeons don't poop on my clean clothes.

Rather than risk them falling off the balcony, I hung most of my things inside.

Eating these tiny cream puffs made doing laundry more enjoyable.