By Isabelle Jones

One of the reasons that people really enjoy living in Costa Rica is that the fresh fruits and vegetables taste so much better in Costa Rica than they do back home. The reason for this is that Costa Rican soil is volcanic and we say here "you stick it in the ground and it grows".

Everything grows better, faster and more tasteful here. The fruits in Costa Rica are amazing and so are the vegetables. That's why so many expats love to go to the Friday farmer's market in Atenas.

Every Friday morning, starting around 6:00 am there is an active farmer’s market in Atenas located around the volleyball, basketball park. Just south of the catholic church. Both locals and ex-pats enjoy this weekly event. I never go because I have a small family and since everything look so delicious, I tend to overshop and end up throwing too much away. You need to go early to get the good stuff. It's all gone by 12:00 noon.

But I have many friends who have been going to the Atenas farmers market  for years.  It is part of their routine on Fridays. It is an economical, fresh way to do your weekly shopping for fruits, vegetables, herbs and a variety of other products.  It is also an excellent way to support our local farmers. 

Everything looks delicious: mangoes, bananas, pineaple, oranges, papaya are some of the fruits you can get fresh for your breakfast table and turn into delicious juices or smoothies.As for vegetables, you'll find lots of the ones that you know like cauliflower, yellow and white corn, carrots, broccoli, spinach and many others, but there will also be a lots of funny ones that you don't know. And that's one of those reasons you came here to get: adventure.

Adventure doesn't only mean like skydiving and scuba diving but also means adventure in the kitchen. Some you might know but you have no idea what to do with them but I can assure you that there are plenty of locals willing to give you a great recipe. I can name some and you can try to find the English names for them and a good recipe:

Aguacate, Ayote, Camote, Chayote, Guineo, ñampí, Plátano, Tiquisque, Zapallo, Carambola, Guanábana, Naranjilla and Tamarindo.

On the farmer's market you'll find all kinds of things for sale sometimes. Its not only about fruits and vegetables. You'll also be able to find things like white farmer's cheese, bottled honey, tapa dulce (a sweetener made from sugar cane) and what they call "tiliches" in Spanish, which means "little things". You can fit almost everything imaginable into the tiliche category.

The Market is also a great opportunity to meet and greet your neighbors. If you haven’t experienced this festive occasion, you need to. I invite you to come visit us in Atenas on a Friday, with pleasure I will show you the farmer's market and some interesting property. I'm sure you'll love Atenas.

My name is Isabelle Jones and I am your Atenas real estate expert.

Mobile: (506) 8838-4683
Home Office :506 2 446 4092
Skype: 303 586 1992

Email me

Feel free to call me if you have any questions about living in Atenas or if you plan to buy any property in Costa Rica, so I can show you our beautiful area. I live here myself and I love it here.

At any time, feel free to ask for a tour of the homes  and home sites that I have listed in Atenas, as I can offer you a great inventory.