Nomadic Narrative » shopping http://www.nomadicnarrative.com emphasizing the invisible and underground nature of life Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:29:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Navigating San José’s Mercado Central http://www.nomadicnarrative.com/2009/06/navigating-san-jose%e2%80%99s-mercado-central/ http://www.nomadicnarrative.com/2009/06/navigating-san-jose%e2%80%99s-mercado-central/#comments Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:02:00 +0000 Nomadic Narrative http://www.nomadicnarrative.com/?p=171 San José’s Mercado Central is a microcosm of the entire capital. Built up over the years without any urban planning, in the market like in the capital, one minute you’re plugging your nose as you walk past a fish stall and the next minute you’re stopping to suck in the fragrance of fresh laurel leaves.

Smack in the middle of downtown stretching between the pedestrian walkway known as Avenida Central and the car-congested Avenida 1, the indoor/outdoor market is always a lively place.

Mercado_Central_1
Me queda dos de cuarenta y siete! I’ve got two, forty-sevens left!, screams a portly, grey-haired man sitting behind a table of lotto tickets at the entrance of the Mercado Central. Diez y siete! Seventeen!, shouts a woman in her fifties wearing a necklace of lotto tickets standing nearby.

Passing through one of the many entrances, the calls ensue: Que se le ofrece? Que busca? What can I get you? What are you looking for? More than aggressive sales, it feels more like just good customer service. Once inside, you can find everything from chicken feet to fresh roasted coffee to miniature carretas, hand-painted oxcarts (see carreta picture here), and so much more…

Walls of chancletas.

Just outside, El Trébol sells roasted nuts. You can’t help but linger
by the door in the warm, buttery air.

The market is full of food and drink stalls. My favorite is Café Central.
This is an “Ice Coffe Central” (as it appears on the menu) made with
café crema de coco, licor de café and ice cream – all for 1700 colones, sprinkles included!

Location: The Mercado Central is located on Avenida Central and Avenida 1 between Calles 6 and 8.
Hours: The market is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Read about my first trip to the Mercado Central here.

]]> http://www.nomadicnarrative.com/2009/06/navigating-san-jose%e2%80%99s-mercado-central/feed/ 0 Cosmetics in Costa Rica http://www.nomadicnarrative.com/2009/03/cosmetics-in-costa-rica/ http://www.nomadicnarrative.com/2009/03/cosmetics-in-costa-rica/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:07:00 +0000 Nomadic Narrative http://www.nomadicnarrative.com/?p=149 Over the years I’ve slowly increased my makeup tastes from drug store to department store brands. From there, I’ve even inched a bit up the scale starting with Clinique and moving on to Lancôme and MAC. In the United States, close to malls and enticed by glossy Sunday adds, I was quick to pick up a new eyeliner or the latest shade of lip gloss. I especially found it hard to pass up one of those nifty gift-with-purchase sets. In Costa Rica, for most beauty products, it’s back to the grocery isles.

cosmetics
The mascara is selling for 8,305 colones ($15), eyeliner 6,920 colones ($12.50) and lipstick 5,700 colones ($10). On the bright side, excellent coffee is $1.75 per 1lb bag and it’s too humid to wear a lot of makeup!

The supermarket near my house, where the above photo was taken, has both sides of an isle decorated with cosmetics and staffed with women offering product advice. Need mascara? They are there to point out options just like the makeup counter in a department store. The only difference is that I haven’t noticed anyone offering samples or giving in-store makeovers…yet.

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