The Streets of Grecia and the Feria

Grecia's Municipal Building
The sign says Clean City

¡Hola Amigos!

The town of Grecia, Costa Rica

We wanted to share some information about the town of Grecia. We are staying just outside town, but go into Grecia often. The population is about 20,000 or so and it is a bustling place. Just a few facts about Costa Rican towns in general: there is usually a church in the center of town and also a park and/or soccer field (known as football here). The church in almost every single town faces west. This is so the people facing the alter are facing east toward Rome. This is a very Catholic country! Anyway, knowing that the church faces west can help you when you are trying to find your way around. There are no addresses here~none! To find a house or store you will be told directions from a well known landmark, like the church. Things are in meters here, so directions to someone's house may be told to you as:  go 200 meters south of the church, turn left and go 300 meters to the blue building, then go left again and the house is 100 meters down on the right.  Generally in towns, 100 meters means one block. But when you are in the countryside, it could mean anything from one block to a half mile or more! And sometimes the landmark is no longer there or has been painted a different color. Even in the capital of San José there are very few street signs. Makes for some interesting driving! (Driving is a whole other subject we'll have to talk about one of these days). 

We have come to really like Grecia and are getting to enjoy it more and more. We are beginning to recognize some of the people and they are recognizing us. We've included some pictures of Grecia and the streets and sidewalks. You MUST always watch were you are walking! Even if the sidewalk is fairly level, the gutters are usually really deep and falling into one could easily break a leg. The reason for the deep gutters is because of the amount of rain that falls here and how fast it comes down. Let us know what you think of "our" town!

The Central Park in Grecia

The Park with the Church in the background

The street coming into town

Lots of traffic during the day

Dog sleeping outside the bank--everyone just walks around him

Near the Park

Typical street in Grecia

The Central Bus Station

Another view of the bus station

Gotta watch your step! This is very common here!

More trouble

The Feria in Grecia

At the Grecia feria

Another thing we wanted to share with you is about the feria, or farmer's market. In Grecia it is held on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. It is an open air market although it is covered, which is really nice during the rainy season like now. It is as much a social event as a place to get all kinds of fresh goodies for the week ahead. It brings farmers and vendors together from around the area to compete for your business with fresh fruits, vegetables, baked goods, meats, fish, cheeses and coffee as well as clothing, purses, shoes, leather goods and beautiful fresh cut flowers. There's even a booth in Grecia that sells dogs outfits! You can also enjoy a typical meal here of chicken, rice, beans, salad and potatoes (yep, 2 starches!). Delicious! Through our neighbors Dave and Marcia, we met Tom who is from Pennsylvania and a baker. OMG! We've been spending more on baked goods than on all the fruits and veggies combined! We are really gonna miss Tom when we move on to Nuevo Arenal!

Check out the pictures from the feria in Grecia.

Our favorite baker--Tom

Need shoes?

Lots of great veggies and fruits

Open air market

They sell lots of things @ the feria

Great Watermelon and Onions!

Enjoy the pictures and we'll post more soon.

Hasta luego,
Tina and Jerry