Our many faithful readers will recognize that we at TravelGumbo love to visit markets during our travels. We find that besides the colors, sounds, smells and action in a market, it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the local population and culture.
During our recent visit to Santiago in Chile, we visited the La Vega Central Market. This most definitely is not a place aimed at tourists. It’s where local people stop and shop in large numbers. The market is huge and mostly in a covered building, but sprawls into the surrounding streets. It is not situated in the best of neighborhoods, so be cautious with your possessions when visiting. Several people told my wife to hide her camera (she has fairly nice Nikon SLR) — advice like this can be priceless, so we took note and did just that. (Note: I use a small handheld Olympus camera when visiting markets. It’s small, unobtrusive, largely hidden in my palm, and as you can see takes pretty good pictures)
A large variety of goods are sold in and around the market, but most people come there to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from the region’s Central Valley. There’s also fresh seafood and meat, cheese, groceries of all types, flowers, and housewares sold here. The market is open every day. Prices are clearly marked so you won’t get ripped off, and La Vega is said to have the lowest prices in the city.
We were incredibly impressed by the freshness and quality of the produce. For example, the table grapes were among the sweetest we’ve ever tried. Our visit was in March, which is fall in the southern hemisphere, and the variety of produce sold likely at its peak.
I hope you enjoy our photo journey into Mercado la Vega:
