Mercado Central, San Jose

by Anne Watcher on Thursday March 20th, 2008 at 10:50am

We headed into San Jose the other day to tour the inside of the National Theater. When we got there they were closed for the entire week due to the holiday this weekend. So on to plan B, explore Mercado Central. We had briefly stopped one day before and had wanted to return anyway. If you visit San Jose and don't explore this market you are really missing out on a lot of fun, culture and a taste of daily Costa Rican life.

As the name suggests it is centrally located between Calle 6 & 8, Aveinda Central & 1 and is easily accessible from bus terminals and downtown hotels. Although not considered large by Central American standards, it is a true maze of sodas, florist shops, dry goods, spices, fresh produce and meats and a couple of souvenirs shops. They are very resourceful when it comes to the use of space. As we were winding through the aisles we noticed that one soda was doing all their cooking on an overhead ramp and then lowering the cooked food down to the staff below. We saw types of fruit here that we had not seen before as well as florist shops with the variety of what we would expect from our's at home, all squeezed into tiny areas. Dried spices, herbs and banana leaves were also readily available. Some areas were so narrow that it was hard to pass by another shopper. Get a few bags in your arms and the task becomes even more tricky. Even though the area is packed to over full capacity, aisles narrow with seemingly dead ends it is possible to make your way through without getting lost. Just relax, enjoy the sights and smells and experience what it's like to be a Tico/Tica!!!