Catarina

The next day I ventured off again to go to Catarina because our right-hand man G hasn’t been able to get soil for my vegetable garden. He brought me a bag of dirt that someone had sold him at the market and they must have just taken a shovel and dug up some ground next to the gas station. They surely couldn’t believe how dumb these gringos are to a) pay money for this and b) not to be able to do it themselves. The real reason was that G didn’t understand the difference between soil and dirt. Apparently, he has never grown anything in his life. Other than a beard…

So, onwards and upwards to Catarina on the chicken bus. Catarina is for plants as Burlington is for outlet malls. You can buy pretty much anything here that a gardener’s heart desires at very reasonable prices. You just have to figure out how to get it all home. Well, the guy who sold me two large bags of beautiful black soil and two huge plants wasn’t too far from the bus stop. So I figured I would be able to either drag the dirt bags behind me or find someone to help me. And help they did… The first guy showed up in a three-wheeler and brought me to the bus stop. Then the conductor shoved the bags, the plants and moi onto the bus. And once in Granada, I fetched a cab to ride the loot home to Casa Ellis.

I have since planted my garden from the starts I had, the cats have since had fun digging it all up, and I believe that besides peppers and cucumbers nothing much will survive in the heat. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Astrid