Farmers’ markets, known in Spanish, as ferias are a time-honored tradition found on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the environs of San José, and every small and large town throughout Costa Rica.

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The action starts at the crack of dawn, when local farmers arrive laden with fresh
produce. They unload their merchandise from small trucks, ancient pick-ups and
in some rural areas, the occasional painted ox-cart. Tables and stands are set-up
on sectioned off streets, or even the football field, and by 6 a.m., the market
is buzzing with activity.

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Costa Rica Living Well with Farmer’s Markets

In the San José area some of the best ferias are on Saturday in
Pavas, Tibas, Zapote and Escazu. On Sunday mornings the one in Hatillo
is very popular with locals, as is Santa Ana, where you are bound to bump into
foreign residents on their weekly shopping expedition.

A cornucopia of fresh fruits and veggies: ferias offer a tantalizing
array of colorful, weird, wonderful and exotic produce. Shoppers armed
with bags, baskets, large sacks, baby carriages – plus or minus baby – and boxes
on wheels, struggle through the throng searching for the best buy, as they greet
their friends, neighbors and favorite vendors.

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Take a walk through the market and do some serious browsing before you
start to fill your shopping basket. Quality and prices – often half you would
pay in the supermarket – differ from stand to stand. They are usually marked on
handwritten signs, accompanied by the name of the item. Pay the asking price;
nobody is trying to cheat you because you are a foreigner.


Retirement Fun – Farmer’s Markets

Energetic vendors are usually happy to explain to the uninitiated what a bizarre-looking
fruit or vegetable is used for, and will even tell you how to eat it, use
it for juice, or even cook it. It’s a great way to improve your Spanish vocabulary,
as rest assured, you won’t find many of the items in your English/Spanish dictionary,
or your favorite cookbook.

Explore new foods and eat healthily and cheaply

Apart from the array of fresh produce you can also buy cut flowers, local cheeses, honey, fresh herbs and eggs, homemade bread, tortillas and tamales – this country’s treasured culinary tradition – made from seasoned cornmeal stuffed with diced chicken or pork, chopped vegetables and wrapped in a banana leaf.

Refrigerated displays of chicken and some rather unappetizing looking meat are
also available, plus a choice of fresh fish that is normally very good.

The feria in Pavas, four blocks west of the U.S. Embassy, stretches downhill off the main road for three blocks and offers many more items than other markets. A recent visit ascertained it is a real winner!

Here you will find a stand selling organic produce, plus other less popular items such as artichokes, Swiss chard, snow peas, mini vegetables and an assortment of dried legumes, herbs and spices.


What are these exactly? Lots of mystery fruits & veggies.

You can also buy cheap and cheerful handmade jewelry, potted plants, delightful
rag dolls, hand-painted piggy banks and even gold fish for your aquarium. This
market has developed an international flavor; offering not only an assortment
of Chinese vegetables, but also all the ingredients you’ll need for a stir-fry
or Asian meal including tofu, jumbo shrimp and even fresh crabs.

Representing Russia and the Ukraine Dash Shembel is from Moscow and Maria Pavlovna,
who still wears her traditional babushka, is from the Black Sea city of Odessa.
Don’t expect cabbage rolls, borscht, or potato dumplings at this food stand. These
women have lived in Costa Rica for ten years, but are whipping-up the most delicious pupusas El Salvador’s traditional fast food eaten morning, noon and night.


Flowers at prices that will allow you fill your home with a thousands colours

Pavlovna forms the cornmeal dough into round patties and Shembel fills them with
your choice – cheese, mashed beans, or shredded seasoned pork – then slaps them
on a hot griddle and there is your breakfast served with pickled cabbage. Eat
them piping hot in the market, or take them home for later. They are delicious! You can also find this industrious pair at the Santa Ana market on Sundays, where
they continue to cook-up a storm.

Ferias are fun to visit. They are a great way to combine
a shopping trip and experience a tradition that represents Costa Rican culture
and the country’s agricultural roots.

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When you go, remember the early bird catches the best worms, and don’t forget
to take a large shopping bag and lots of small change as c10,000 bills
are not usually appreciated.


Happy hunting!



Our thanks to Ann Antkiw for her article. Ann Antkiw, a professional actor, director and English teacher has made her home in Costa Rica for the last 15 years. A freelance writer for The Tico Times and Costa Rica Outdoors, this intrepid British adventurer is writing a book about her backpacking odysseys throughout Central and South America, Africa, Australia and S.E. Asia.

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