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Thursday 28 April 2016

Five a Day the Palmeran Way - Markets on La Palma

We often get asked if there are any fruit and veg markets on La Palma. Understandably, people want to know where they can get good, fresh La Palma produce while on holiday and not miss out on their 'Five a Day.' If organic fruit and veg is important to you, markets are one of the best places to head for and of course ... markets are fun!
El Mercado Municipal, Santa Cruz de la Palma
These days, there are plenty of supermarkets on La Palma to choose from and all have fresh fruit and vegetables. But there is nothing better than a market for fresh-picked avocados, lemons, oranges and papaya straight from the tree, sweet potato, chayota and of course - Palmeran bananas! Much of which is ecologically grown.
Fresh broccoli and leeks
But it's not just about the fruit and vegetables as all the markets have products from La Palma such as traditional pastries made locally, honey from the La Palma beehives plus the famous Mojo sauce made with local peppers, garlic and saffron. There are also wines from La Palma, rum produced on the island at San Andres (including honey rum, banana rum, coffee rum), cigars from local tobacco plantations and sea salt from the Fuencaliente salt pans. It's quite amazing to see what is produced on this little island!
La Palma wines, Fuencaliente sea salt, local herbs and spices
Cheese is of course another important product of La Palma - after all, it's an island where goats abound and I'm pretty sure that in Garafia at least, there are more goats than people. So goats cheese is always on sale at the markets, but you can buy La Palma goat cheese in the supermarkets too.
Famous La Palma goat cheese - smoked, semi-smoked and fresh
Puntagorda market is the biggest weekend market and not only does it have all the afore-mentioned, but also has many stalls with handicrafts such as jewelry from Dragon Tree seeds, ornaments from driftwood, clothing made from home-spun wool, leathercraft and so on. Local meat is also on sale which is ideal for your BBQ's. The cake stall is always very popular too!

Daily Markets on La Palma
The two markets on La Palma which are open every day, are in Santa Cruz and Los Llanos. They, along with all other food markets, are indoor which helps keep the produce fresh
In Santa Cruz, the market is in Avenida Puente which goes uphill at 90% from the middle of the Avenida Maritima (promenade). It's right by the traffic lights with the flower market outside.
In Los Llanos, it's at the bottom end of the town near the bus station.
Santa Cruz market is open from 07.00hrs to 14.00hrs Monday to Friday and 07.00hrs to 15.00hrs on a Saturday.
Los Llanos market is open from 06.00hrs to 14.00hrs, Monday to Saturday inclusive.
Puntagorda Market with freshly squeezed drinks from sugar cane
Weekend Markets
There are various weekend markets on La Palma - these are the main ones:
Puntagorda Market - Saturday, 15.00 to 19.00hrs. Sunday, 11.00 to 15.00hrs
Mazo Market - Saturday,15.00 to 19.00hrs. Sunday, mornings only.
El Paso Market - Friday, 10.00 to 19.00 hrs. Saturday, 09.00 to 14.00hrs
Puntallana Market - 1st and 3rd Saturday in the month, 09.00 to 14.00hrs
Barlovento Market - 2nd Sunday in the month, 10.00 to 14.00hrs
Puntallana Market