I left my room at 8:30 this morning to find coffee. The park office wasn’t open yet, so I decided to just go wander to the other end of town and back along the main drag. Surely I could manage this feat on my own!
It became apparent very quickly that San Carlos gets a late start on Monday mornings. Very little was open and I couldn’t find a single restaurant with an abierto sign. I did find an ATM inside a bank with a guard outside, so I made a withdrawal to get me to Mazatlan (I hope). I got all the way to the end of my map and still no open restaurants!
Dejected, I began the long schlep back to the park when I finally saw an open restaurant! I walked in and asked for coffee. The lady shook her head and pointed up the street, telling me to try the Oxxo convenience store. Why didn’t I think of that?!
I went into the Oxxo and there was a coffee counter set up just like you can find in Canada and the US. The pot was empty, however. I asked the clerk if he had more and he pulled out a freshly brewed pot! I put a little into a cup and smelled it. Not bad! I filled the remainder of the cup and added creamer, which works in a pinch since I use so little. The cost was 15.50 pesos. The coffee is comparable to or a little better than US McDonald’s coffee (which is more bitter and not as good as what you get at CDN McDonald’s). I am quite satisfied with it and it is pretty tasty with a Kashi peanut butter granola bar!
When you see an Italian Coffee Company or a Red Hat Coffee stop and try their coffee. Also, try ordering “Caffe Americano” (watered down espresso) at either of these places. You will be pleased. Italian Coffee Company outlets are located near some Pemex stations or in malls. They have nice pastries as well.
http://www.italiancoffee.com/
Yup, I remembered these names from our conversation a while back! Thanks! I actually checked the email you had sent when I got back this morning to see if you had mentioned Oxxo having coffee. đ
Americanos are great. I always order dark roast at Starbucks and when I’m lucky, they are out and give me an Americano instead for the same price!
My mother only has an espresso machine so when I visit, she makes me an Americano in the morning, only she calls it an ‘allongĂ©’ (stretched).