Groceries

The regular grocery stores that most Ticos use are much smaller than what we were accustomed to in the US . “Pali” is the lowest price grocery store, but the merchandise is very limited. Good for laundry supplies and staples, but not much for fresh merchandise. “Mas por Menos” is a step up in price and also in variety of product availability. You could probably get everything you need there, but not necessarily everything you want. They have a decent fresh produce department as well as fish and meat. They also carry the local coffee that we like and our favorite “vino collapso.” Another store, “MegaSuper,” is similar. Depending on the neighborhood, both “Mas por Menos” and “MegaSuper” may have a greater or lesser selection. There are also “Hipermas” and “Auto Mercado,” which are almost like the big stores you are accustomed to in the US , and offer many imported products at very high prices. Next, my favorite stores are the little neighborhood stores, the "pulperias". It’s amazing. Every little neighborhood has one. There are two in easy walking distance of our house. Their size ranges from teensy to very small, but they cram an amazing amount of varied products into the space available, everything from a few fresh vegetables and fruits to school supplies, zippers, bread and milk and gift wrapping paper. Many also carry meats. Recently, on the corner of our street, someone opened a small meat market (carniceria). If figure if I wanted to, I could get by without ever leaving “the hill.” Many neighborhoods also have nice little fruit and vegetable stands, but we don’t have one - yet. Also, downtown there are many open fruit and veggie stands on the street, and in some areas, people just selling peppers, cilantro, or whatever from the sidewalk. Another of my favorites is the Mercado, the big rambling area downtown with many vendors of fruits and vegetables as well as meat, fish, herbs, fabric, kitchen ware, clothing, baskets and God knows what else. Going to the market is always fun, the produce is fresher and cheaper. Last and least expensive for fresh stuff is the Saturday morning feria, or farmers’ market. The one in our town, Heredia, is huge. It’s about 4 blocks long, with vendors’ stands selling every sort of vegetable and fruit. There are also a few stalls with meats, cheeses and other stuff. But mostly it’s fresh produce. A great way to buy good fresh stuff at great prices, but also great entertainment on Saturday mornings. Some towns have their ferias on Sunday mornings. On a recent trip to the feria, we bought:
Kilo of potatoes
Kilo of carrots
4 Red peppers
½ Kilo of onions
Bunch of radishes
Large squash
3 Small cauliflower
4 Large tomatoes
4 Ears of corn
4 Small cucumbers
Kilo of avocados
Small pineapple
Small watermelon
Cantaloupe
Strawberries
½ Kilo of cheese
All told, the above, which more than filled my super oversized market shopping bag, cost about $8 US. It’s possible to eat very well on a very small amount of money. It’s also possible to spend a lot, if you need specific imported or prepackaged things.

Unfurnished

As I’ve mentioned, the house we’ve rented is unfurnished. I probably should describe what that means in Costa Rica. Generally speaking an unfurnished Tico house has nothing in it. I mean it has no appliances, no kitchen cabinets, no closets, no medicine cabinets or shelving or mirrors in the bathroom. Emma was relieved when the landlady told her that, unlike most Tico houses, hers already had light fixtures. She was excited that she wouldn't have to shop for light fixtures to cover all the bare light bulbs. Then she found out that what the landlady meant was that it comes equipped with light bulbs! So we're all out shopping for light fixtures, among other things. We've done a lot of shopping together, and have lent and shared and got by and laughed a lot! By the time we moved in, we had a mattress, fridge, stove, washing machine, beautiful rattan table and chairs for courtyard, some cooking pans and a set of dishes for 4. We also had a few odds and ends like some drinking glasses, wine glasses (priorities, you know), "silverware," and a few other little things for the kitchen. We keep acquiring more stuff, but as I mentioned before, shopping can be a challenge. We have been known to spend days shopping for sheets and towels and a blender for Jon, which he apparently could not live without! A set of bed sheets can cost $60 - $80. The locally made ones aren't made quite big enough to keep the bottom sheet on the mattress. Some of them have fabric that is close to burlap! If I'm ever in a Target store in my life again, I'll probably buy every set of plain white percale sheets on the shelf! But life is good. On Monday we found a bathroom mirror. It is framed in bamboo and I'm in 7th heaven. Of course I got to see myself for the first time in 3 weeks, which was kind of frightening!
No matter what else it is, it's always an adventure!

Self Service - Not

Self service has not come to Costa Rica yet! Having someone wait on you can be very nice. Sometimes it’s aggravating having a “helpful” clerk follow you around while you shop. In many places, like the hardware store or the pharmacy, the merchandise is not out for you to see and touch. It is thus necessary to explain to the clerk, in Spanish, what you would like to purchase. The clerk then goes to the back to find the item for you. Once the item has been located and you have agreed to buy it, the clerk writes up a sales slip, which you take to the caja (cashier) and pay. The cashier takes your colones, gives you change, stamps the sales slip paid. You then take the paid sales slip back to the sales clerk, who packages your merchandise and gives it to you. Sometimes instead of going back to the sales clerk, you go to the paquette desk to retrieve your stuff. In the case of the Christmas gifts I bought today, after returning to my sales clerk, I found that I was supposed to go to the line at the paquette and wait while the sales clerk looked in the back for the boxes. While standing in line, I saw that other customers were getting their purchases gift wrapped and asked if I could get mine wrapped too. Just like any big store in any big city during Christmas week, I thought. When it was my turn, one of the bubbly young women spent about fifteen minutes meticulously wrapping my four gifts with beautiful paper and fancy ribbons. When she was finished, they were a work of art. I said yes to the gift tags, she smiled appreciatively when I told her they were muy bonito, and wrote me up another sales slip, for the wrapping, which I then took to the caja, paid 300 colones ($.80), obtained my stamped slip, returned to the paquette, and obtained my gifts. When you're accustomed to self service, it all seems a bit awkward and time consuming. But here it's the way it's done, you get a lot of service, you learn patience, people smile and say friendly things, and it doesn't cost much.

We Have Malls in Costa Rica too!

My first trip to Multiplaza – just like any mall in South Florida. Felt for all the world that I was in Aventura Mall, except that the prices had gone up! Dale needed tea. I wandered through 2 bookstores. Gene bought a pair of “Dockers” pants! We stopped in the mall for desserts and coffees and laughed about the fact that we’d spent more than we would for a whole meal at a soda! Went to an art supply store and got Gene a few things to do some drawings. By the time we came out, it was pouring! Got totally drenched getting a bus. Stopped later on and picked up some dinner pastries at Musmannis so we wouldn’t have to go back out in the rain for dinner.

Mothers' Day in Costa Rica

Mothers’ Day is a Huge Holiday here. I think mothers are more important here. No school. Wiped out from studying. Hung around the apartment and read a book. Realized we didn’t want to fight crowds at restaurant and didn’t have anything on hand for dinner. So went to Auto-Mercado for a roasted chicken and some groceries. Very expensive place. Will not go there again. Guard says “Pali” is the lowest priced grocery, then Mas Por Menos, then Hipermas, then priciest is Auto-Mercado. With a whole new culture as well as a new language to learn, I learn more here every day than I used to learn in a year!