I was running out of fresh veg today and the little shop here didn’t have what I wanted. I did a general search for supermarkets, with the intent to look for one near my bus route. I didn’t need a hypermarket today, but I wanted something a bit bigger than the shop here. Suddenly, I remembered that Alicante had a supermarket that would be perfect for my needs, Mercadona. So I decided to pop that into Google and see if there was one more convenient to me than the Lidl downtown (which I haven’t been to, but was my likely destination).

When a result for Mercadona popped up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was 2KM away. Two measly kilometres! There had to be a catch! A catch like, say, the road there not being pedestrian friendly…

I set off around 1:00 with my grocery trolley. The directions were simple and actually took a shorter route  on foot than by car. My destination was La Cañada (not Canadá — accents are important!).

I skirted around the base of the airport and soon had to turn off onto this road, where I immediately felt as though I was in Mexico.

Before I knew it, I was in La Cañada after traveling a pedestrian-hauling-a-trolley-friendly road! It’s a full service community, with shops and restaurants and all services! I cannot believe my host, who seemingly thought of every detail, didn’t think to tell me to check this place out!

Special of the day at the first restaurant I passed: rice and octopus. I went out for tapas last night and had calamari, so I wasn’t tempted.

The Mercadona was exactly where Google Maps told me it would be. It had taken absolutely no time to get there. It was almost like a mirage!

But I didn’t go in yet, wanting to see what other treasures I might find.

Like this one-stop shopping for all manner of certificates and licenses: medical, driving, firearm, private security, nautical, and… dangerous animals.

I passed a lovely church.

And an interesting fountain.

Near the end of the main street, I popped into a Chinese restaurant to ask for a menu. The server gave me one to take with me in case I want delivery (free with orders of 10 euro). I’m not at the point yet with my Spanish where I’m ready to do that… But she also pointed out that there is an eat-in special on weekdays for less than 8 euros for three dishes, with dessert and a drink with lots of choices and the menu is available between noon and 4:30! My clients are currently trying to kill me, but as soon as things calm down again, I look forward to going for lunch of a cuisine I haven’t had in months at a time of my convenience!

Coming back towards the supermarket, I popped into a “Chino,” a type of store my host gave me a heads up about. They are the equivalent of a dollar store/pound shop/Waldo’s, where you can find almost anything for a very low price. I’ve been needing a small sewing kit since I got here to mend a few things and forgot to pick one up when I went downtown. The store was immense and like Ali Baba’s cave. I found exactly what I needed for just 90 cents.

Then, I went into the grocery store to get what I needed. It was large and had a lot, but very little exotic-type products like you’d find in a hypermarket, so I’m not regretting my trip to Carrefour at all. I don’t even think they had almond milk. The produce section was a bit dismal, to my surprise, however. Everything looked fresh, but there was little selection. There is a dedicated produce shop almost right across the road, so hopefully it’ll be open if I go back during the week. But I got what I needed today, some zucchini and sweet potatoes.

They were out of carrots (who runs out of carrots?!), but the produce manager pointed to some packages of prepared veggies that had carrot, leek, onion, celery, and what I think are turnips for just 1.25 euro, which suited me better than getting a huge bunch of carrots. I’ll be able to slice all of that up and put it around a chicken to roast at the same time.

I was also able to stock up on raisins. They were a bit pricy, but needs must. There was a shop marked “dried fruits” a little ways up the road that I’m hoping I’ll find open next time I go as I’m going into prune withdrawal, haven’t had any lucky finding some, and this place will be my best bet.

I’ve only got a little more than a month left here, but even with just that short span of time, discovering La Cañada is a game changer, if only to have a place to pop in for lunch during the work day without having to take the whole afternoon off!