First Friday art walk

Last night we took the bus down to el centro historico to look at art and crafts.  There are about two dozen artists with studios scattered around the old part of town and on the first Friday of every month they host an art walk.  We started  a little late so we only managed to visit a few of them, but there is quite an amazing range, from very touristy pieces, to crafts like weaving, metal work, carvings, and even an installation in a printmaking collective.  Some of the places were  very artsy, even serving wine or sangria and little snacks.  This is clearly designed to appeal to tourists but it was also attended by people who live here.  

We enjoyed seeing inside some of the lovely old buildings with their tiled floors.  

After walking around we stopped by the Plaza (now all lighted up for Christmas) for a bite of dinner.

When it came time to go home we discovered that the bus we wanted had been completely rerouted because of the "espectacular" that was taking place along the malecon.  We weren't in the mood for more spectacles so we ended up taking a taxi home.  

Taxis are pretty cheap here compared to Victoria.  We paid the fare of $5 and added a $1 tip for a ride that took about 20 minutes, and as usual we ended up talking in Spanish to the driver.  So we also get a language class thrown in for free.