Bolivia, Here I Come: Day 2: Day on the Town- The Traditional Market

The traditional supermarket where you buy all of your groceries doesn’t apply in Bolivia, unless you want to pay premium prices for the same products. My grandparents aren’t, so Saturday morning we ventured out to one of the many markets in the city. Called, “El Mercado,” this traditional method of buying vegetables, fruits, and meats is quite fascinating. While I have seen markets like these on TV, seeing them in person is such a unique experience where I have to find myself constantly ducking to avoid hitting my head on the exposed nails and electrical wires holding up the roof of the large room/ shack where El Mercado is. The first picture I took of El Mercado features mi papito signaling my mamita to come see specific fruits. As you can see in the background, there are all sorts of vendors along a narrow dirt path. After a couple of vendors, you find a big open shack/ room where natives come to sell their fruits and vegetables they have acquired from Las Yungas, or a nearby tropical area where fruits and vegetables are able to grow. None of the fruits and vegetables you buy at the market are farmed commercially, and you can tell. These fruits and veges are bruised and have all sorts of marks on them. However, these fruits and vegetables are organic and ripen naturally- and you can taste that! The tropic zone, Las Yungas, is so perfect for farming that the fruits and vegetables come out HUGE in size. From the pictures I am posting here, you can see that there are all sorts of vegetables, some that we are familiar with, and some not so much. I found myself asking my mom and mis papitos many times what certain fruits/ vegetables are. A couple vendors allowed us to take pictures of them selling their products, so they are also posted here. The contents of this bag shown only cost $7 American dollars, or about 50 Bolivianos.

Mis papitos visit the same vendors every time they go grocery shopping. That way, the people you get to know give you discounts and are nicer to you. Even if you can’t get a discount, you can be sure you aren’t getting ripped off if you see the same vendors.

Milk is also consumed differently. Milk is sold in bags and not cartons. It is quite interesting! You cannot buy a carton, because they aren’t sold anywhere. They have all sorts of sizes of bags, and you can buy a variety of flavors of milk. We bough a couple bags of “Leche de Frutilla” or strawberry milk. If you would like to drink it without a cup, which you very well can and many do, you simply nibble off a corner of the bag and drink from the bag. It’s actually more fun than drinking from a glass, and the milk is healthier. You can also buy soy milk this way.

Groceries are a unique aspect of Bolivia, whether you buy them at an American style grocery store, or en el mercado.