Mega Kywi

Unless you’ve lived in a Third World country, this post might be a little difficult to understand. But try to imagine growing up in a place where shopping took place in open markets and fairs, and little shops scattered here and there.

As a kid I only remember two “supermarkets” and, believe me, they weren’t that “super” really – more like small grocery stores. With time, however, what once was but an oversized “town” quickly evolved into a modern metropolis. Shopping malls started to spring up here and there, and we started seeing “super” stores being built. We have now evolved in the era of the “mega” stores – comparable now to the kind of stores you see in the U.S.

Anyway… the latest mega store to be built in Quito is the Mega Kywi, which started out as a humble hardware store, slowly grew into several “super centers” and now has opened the doors of its mega store… comparable to Lowe’s. I had promised my mother that if she behaved and played nice this week I would take her shopping there, which is precisely what we did over the weekend.

As quilters yourselves, I’m sure you completely understand why – after fabric stores – hardware stores are my favorite place for shopping. And this Mega Kywi has probably now become my favorite store in Quito. I mean… you can find EVERYTHING here!

My mom would probably agree… here she is, delighted by the vast selection of cleaning supplies…

… and the aisle with screws and nails turned out to be equally amazing! (-:

We walked and we shopped and wouldn’t have traded this afternoon for a spree in a clothes store!

Then we came across this tired shopper – not surprising, after all, given the size of the place, that she had paused for a little snooze.

It was rather unexpected, however, to find her plunked down right in the middle of an aisle! Ahhh… I love this place. People just tiptoed by her, careful not to wake her up. (Ok, I’ll admit I was startled and did pause to make sure she was breathing!)