Learning to live in Costa Rica has been fun, as we attempt to find out the best way to get things and provide for the family on a limited missionary salary. While many things here are expensive or hard to get, we are very thankful that fruits and vegetables are not. Every Sunday morning at 6:30am, I go the the feria (pronounced feh-ree-ah), which is the big farmer’s market. Every week farmers from all over Costa Rica bring in their produce to sell. A huge parking lot is convered to a market, and thousands of people come to buy every kind of produce you can imagine. Vendors also come selling local meats, fish, fruit juices, and baked goods. Here are a sampling of the prices (which vary from week to week) converted to US dollars:
Large Pineapple – $0.80/each
Carrots – $0.30/kg
Tomatoes – $0.80/kg
Red Bell Peppers – $0.20/each
Camote (kind of like a sweet potato) – $1.10/kg
Bananas – $0.80/large bunch (16 bananas)
Papaya – $1.20/kg
Squash – $1.60/kg
Strawberries – $2.20/kg
Mamón Chino (see below) – $2.20/kg
Here is a picture of the feria I visit every Sunday morning

One of our new favorite new treats is called Mamón Chino. It is an odd looking tropical fruit closely related to the Lychee fruit. It is eaten by splitting open the outside and eating the soft fruit inside. There is a pit that is not edible. Here are some pictures.


Here is the fruit split open

Here is a picture of the whole fruit, the shell, the fruit inside, and the pit.
Thanks to the LLorens for the pictures!