Today’s episode is about shopping in Mazatlán during the lockdown! There are a few options for you to get groceries during the lockdown. I’m sure I’m not covering them all, but here are a few I know about:
- Supermarket. I live close to Ley Express in Centro, and they’re open. If you are a senior or a pregnant woman, they will give you access to the store between 7 am and 9 am. The general public is prohibited then. Not sure how old they’re considering as “senior”, or how they want you to prove it. I’m going to assume if you have a INAPAM card that would suffice, or if you have photo id with your birthday that would work too. They are also doing a one person out, one person in rotation so that there are very few people in the store at any time. There’s one lane only for seniors as well, and there are marks on the floor – about 3 feet apart, not 6; but they’re doing something. The only thing I’ve had trouble finding there are eggs. One trip they had none, and this last trip they only had the 18 count packs.
- Mercado. Most of the food stalls (and some of the trinket stalls) are open. They have many of the doors closed – why I don’t know. If you’re going to the mercado you need to get in, and now you have to use just a couple of entrances with everyone else. Doesn’t make sense. Anyway, stalls are open. Including the one with excellent bacon, my chicken guys, and the butcher I buy my machaca from!
- Store Delivery. Soriana has a delivery option. You have to sign up, and products are somewhat limited – but all the staples are there (except wheat flour – I couldn’t find it on their site). Note that the international foods that are available at the old Mega location are NOT on the website. I’ve also heard that even though you can select delivery days/times, they are more of a guideline – every post I saw said they were late. By a lot. But they did get their deliveries so this option does work. Here’s the link: https://superentucasa.soriana.com/.
- Private Delivery. I’ve seen a service offering shopping and delivery for a fee. I don’t know how they work – I’m guessing you give them a list of items and a store preference, enough cash to cover the purchase and their fee, and then they shop and bring it to you. The service listed on Facebook is Gopackxpress. Their number is 669.105.42.06, Whatsapp 669.197.61.18, Facebook page is at: https://www.facebook.com/GOPACKXPRESS/. They’ll do other deliveries/pickups like pharmacy and documents as well. Posts say they speak English.
- Restaurant delivery. There are a large number of restaurants that are now either doing delivery or pickup. Hector’s will deliver, and will give you a 20% discount if you pick up. There was a big jump of restaurants listed on Uber Eats and Al Dente as well. You’re not just limited to Rin Rin anymore! My experience is just with Uber Eats and I’ve found that while a lot of restaurants will package each item separately, they don’t package the ones that have both hot & cold well – so you’ll want to put a note in the order asking them to put the hot item in a different package. I’m talking about things like buffalo chicken salad where the chicken is hot and the lettuce shouldn’t be! Uber Eats has also added a “drop it off at my door” delivery option.
Additionally, if you need masks, a recent article in Vidamaz says that a local domestic-violence-survivor group of women is selling them for 50 pesos each. They also deliver. Here’s the info from the article (https://vidamaz.com/2020/04/03/covid-19-update-mazatlan/):
“As it is up north, here it’s difficult to find hand gel, good sanitizer (bleach seems readily available), and face masks. We worry if medical staff will have the equipment they will need. A week or ten days ago people in Mazatlán started to make fabric masks. First they passed them out to family and friends, and now many locals are selling them, including ones made by the domestic-violence-surviving young women at Floreser. If you need homemade masks, they are my go-to source. Call Ely Cucurumbe at 669-123-1669 and she’ll deliver some to you (50 pesos each); she speaks great English.”
I bought four yesterday – they appear to be well constructed. Not N95 compliant, but they will stop a lot of droplets when you cough or sneeze, and will stop you from touching your face. Please consider giving them a little extra if you order – delivery isn’t cheap, and they’re not charging much for the masks.
