Leon, Fall 2012: The Coconut Lady.

I was in Leon in the Fall of 2012. Most mornings, I would walk down to the Mercado to buy a fresh coconut. 

The first few mornings, I selected coconuts with thick, hairy husks. The vendor would chop off a section, which would enable me to push a straw through the flesh to get to the water. After drinking the water, I would go out onto the patio and drop the coconut onto the cement floor to get at the flesh. Although messy and labour intensive, the reward was delicious. 

One day, my new friend Eric took me to the Mercado and introduced me to The Coconut Lady. That's when I found out that not all Mercado coconuts were equal. The Coconut Lady would remove the husk to expose the membranous flesh. The result was an opaque, orblike delicacy; A slightly translucent ball of fibrous flesh thinly veiling a delicious mass of fresh coconut water. If you squeezed it gently, the thinner areas would bulge ominously.  

The Coconut Lady sold the best coconuts.