The weekend markets at Santa Brigida and San Mateo are so popular these days that there's traffic jams on the road up. Fortunatley there's a Sunday alternative close to Las Palmas that doesn't get the crowds.
San Lozenzo market has about 20 stalls and is a genuine farmer's market with all produce grown locally. It even has a price board at the entrance listing the maximum and minimum prices for the fruit and veg on sale.
One highlight of the San Lorenzo market is the cheese stall right at the entrance. All the cheeses on display are made in the surrounding area and tasting is encouraged. They even cut your cheese with a traditional Canarian knife. Their lightly smoked goat cheese is fantastic and the stall next door does a great flor cheese suitable for veggies.
As well as fresh produce San Lorenzo also has stall selling bread and local cakes as well as aloe vera products, Gran Canarian olive oil and local honey. There's a small cafe in the market square and another in the church square a couple of minutes walk away: It's only got six tables so be prepared to wait for a seat.
Get to San Lorenzo from Las Palmas by car (there is parking right next to the market), taxi or on bus 335. The market runs from 0.900 to 15.00 but quite a few stall sell out well before the end.
If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts.
In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.
A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.
However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.
A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics.
Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.
We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened.
To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.
Search for the nearest one to you with this tool.
Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives.
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