Well, we went anyway. My class (of four) went with another class (of two) and the two professors. The 8 of us squeezed into two taxis and drove most of the way there. We got out when the maria (taxi meter) read 2000 colones, and we each paid 500 ($1). After getting out, we walked a few blocks to the entrance and waited for the other half of our group to join us. Here's a crappy picture of the main entrance that I took while crossing the street and not looking at my camera:
My professor handed out a sheet of paper to the four of us in her class. It had a bunch of questions on it that we had to ask various vendors. The questions (translated) were:
- What year was the market built? 1880.
- What is the most sought-after food in the market? Casados or gallo pinto.
- Find a vendor that sells medicinal plants and write down six names of unfamiliar plants.
- Find three new fruits. Tiquizque, Ñampi, Arracache. (pictures later)
- Write down the names of three new flowers. Girasoles (sunflower), anturios, elecorrñas. (spelling is very, very, approximate!)
There were some others questions but they don't neatly translate. One was a list of names and we had to ask Ticos what the nicknames of those names were. The market reminded me a lot of Pike Place Market but more twisty-twiny and all the passageways were narrow. There really wasn't a main walkway. And there was no water view. But they had a bunch of mini restaurants, innumerable meat and seafood counters, spices, cheeses, herbal medicines, fresh flowers, souvenirs, and at least two pet stores.
I have no idea what this is, how it's cooked, or what it tastes like. But I know it looks like a really ugly coconut on the outside and has a funny name.
Camote is sweet potato. And a term of endearment. Ñampi is just fun to say.
This is pejibaye. I don't know what is tastes like but it can be cooked in a pressure cooker, peeled, quartered, and tastefully squirted with mayonnaise. My professor loves them and one time last month my host family made them for some friends they invited over.
The fruit on the left is prickly like velcro. The shell is about the consistency of an avocado. Inside hides a grape-like white flesh and a rather large seed. The fruit on the right I don't know much about, other than it looks like a pink artichoke.
Anecdote: while walking through a tight passageway in the market I squeezed passed a Tico, saying, "permiso" (pardon me). He replied in English, "very good". Hmmm. This is not the standard response. I guess I was complemented on my correct use of Spanish?
At the market I bought these very cute hand made leather shoes for $12 and a hand made sling shot for Rey that only cost $3.80. I also bought 10 postcards.
We met up again at 11:30 and were released from "class". The other students were taking the bus somewhere and I planned on taking a taxi to the artisan's market. The two professors were returning to the University and told me they would drop me off at the artisan's market.
At the market I walked to the far end and worked my way back to the front, which was where they dropped me off and the shorter way home. I spent at least two hours there but I only bought a bag, a wine bottle holder, and a pair of elephant earrings. Here's all my treasures for the day:
The first thing I bought was this beautiful bag. Their construction had caught my eye the first time I went to the market. It was there that I decided to buy one at a later date. Today I looked at all the designs and decided on one with a deer that maybe isn't a deer. The leather is reddish in color and has patterns stamped into it. I bought it for $32. Here are some pictures:
The first thing I bought was this beautiful bag. Their construction had caught my eye the first time I went to the market. It was there that I decided to buy one at a later date. Today I looked at all the designs and decided on one with a deer that maybe isn't a deer. The leather is reddish in color and has patterns stamped into it. I bought it for $32. Here are some pictures:
Yay, it says Costa Rica on it!
Do you see these ridiculously tiny, perfect stitches? Incredible!
The back bottom edge.
The back top edge.
Even the bottom is decorated!
I also bought this curved wine bottle holder and these elephant earrings. They were different and only $2 so I couldn't resist.
I spent a decent amount of money ($60) and plan on spending more. Things that I didn't buy that I'd really like to:
- Custom you-name-here wooden keychains ($3)
- A few more bags--if I can get good deals. I have my eyes on a certain style that's heavily embroidered, sometimes by hand, and one vendor had bags with Ganesh and oms on them. I know three or maybe four bags are a lot to buy, but I can see myself using one often, and since they're hand made they're more likely to disintegrate with use. I want to hold on to my memories from my trip for as long as possible. I also want to be the girl with the cool bag that she purchased in a foreign country.
- Another pair (or two) of those cool leather shoes. At the art market a vendor sold shoes that were extremely similar to the ones I bought at el Mercado Central but they were painted pretty colors and had a small wedge heel instead of being completely flat. The vendor there told me he could sell them to me for c8000 or two for c15000 ($16/$30). Same thinking here. More = better because they're likely to fall apart as I wear them. And it's not possible to get cool shoes like that in the States.
- I've got my eye on something for my dad, but emailed him to see if perhaps he would even like it first.
- I'm pretty sure my aunt will throw a fit if I don't buy her something, so I'm going to do that. Plus my grandma and uncle that live with her. I think my college friends will be disappointed if I don't bring them back something but no one insisted and they're on the bottom of my to-buy-for list.
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