Our Last Trip to "La Feria"

 One of the wonderful things about living here in Costa Rica has to be the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies. Every Saturday there is a small "feria" or Farmers's Market just a few blocks walk from our house. We wake up early and head out so that we can get some of the freshest produce available. We also usually end up spending an hour and half just chatting with all of our ILE friends that we run into coming and going. Not only is this a time to get most of our shopping done but it is a nice time to fellowship with others we know. Many "MK" (missionary kids) kids are there hanging out at the playgrounds while one or both parents do the shopping. It is just a nice morning out and has been our routine now for almost a year. It is so amazing to see what we can buy for so little. No taxes, no perservatives and so much variety to choose from. Now keep in mind we do not have the same selection that we would back home, such as butterbeans(which I miss), sweet potatoes, blackeyed peas, yellow squash and such.....but there are more benefits such as fresh pinapple and mango. I am going to give you a sample grocery list that we would get on a weekly basis and the price and see how it compares to things in the states. Sometimes, yes being in another country is tough and we miss out on things that we are so use too. However, this is one thing that I LOVE about living in a tropical country.

cilantro and herbs

Grocery List/Feria

1. Head of Iceberg Lettuce @ $0.20
2. Head of Butter Lettuce   @ $0.20
3. Large Stalk of Celery     @ $0.40
4. Lg, bunch  ofcilantro       @ $0.20
5. 2 pints strawberries         @$1.60
6. 2 Mango                        @ $2.50
7. Pineapple                       @ $1.40
8. 5lbs Tators                     @ $3.00
9. Plantains  (5)                  @ $1.00
10. 10 Bananas                  @$1.00
11. 4/5 Cucumbers             @$0.60
12. red/green peppers(5)    @$0.80
13. Chayote(4)                   @$0.40
14. 3 avacados                   @$2.00
15. 2lbs Tomatos                @$1.80
16. Fresh Garlic                  @$0.40
17. Head of Brocoli            @$1.00
18. 2.2lbs baby string beans @$1.00
19. 5-6 Carrots                    @$0.60
all of the above for               $20.10

That is a ton of food......I really hope that we have one close in Honduras....at least for the fruits. We plan on having a garden on the grounds to take care of most of the veggies and fruits that we can grow on sight. Please pray with us that the "Tiller" we have on our Wal-mart Wish List will be purchased so that we can put it on the container to be shipped to Honduras. One of the big things that we desire for the children's home is to become self-sufficient in the area of fruits and veggies. Not only will this help out with the expenses that we will have but we will be able to teach the children that they can take care of themselves once they are on their own one day. we hope that you all have a wonderful day and our Tampa count down is now 3 1/2 days.....May God Bless you all....

My Little Helper with Cilantro

                    



our shopping