Fresh And Cheap - Panama City's Seafood Market
(costaricapages.com) I have a confession. I’ve lived in Panama for 3 years and I just visited the Mercado de Mariscos (seafood market) in Panama City for the first time. I suppose because I have lived near the ocean in Panama’s interior for quite a while, I have become spoiled when it comes to seafood. I will admit, I have not bought any seafood from a grocery store in Panama, ever.
Because I live so close to the ocean and have local fishermen friends, I either catch my own fish or go directly to the fisherman. I have heard many great things about this market that I decided it was about time to see it for myself.
The seafood market is located at the entrance to Casco Viejo, just off of Balboa Avenue. The hovering vultures will help lead the way if your nose doesn’t. Though you can really smell the fish from outside of the building, I was pleasantly surprised that inside the market, it doesn’t smell bad at all. There was a hint of bleach in the air, but no fishy smell.
Inside the market there are dozens of vendors each selling their catch. Corvina (sea bass), pargo (red snapper), and tuna seemed to be the most popular on the Saturday I visited. If you are a fan of ceviche (a delicious pickled fish medley), then the market is the place to get your fill. You can buy it by the cup for about $1, or buy a larger quantity to take home with you.
The booths run by the Kuna Indians were my favourite. There you can find fresh lobster (I’m talking, still moving), and giant Caribbean centolla (crab). Prices for lobster and the crab ran about $5-$6 a pound. Not a bad price at all considering they were pulled out of the ocean that same day.
A neat feature of the market is that you can buy seafood from one of the vendors and then take it to the restaurant upstairs and have them cook it for you. Even if you are not a big fan of seafood, the market is a great place to go to get an idea of the variety of seafood that can be found off Panama’s two coasts.
One warning, even though the market was quite clean the day I visited, I still walked out with the bottom of my jeans saturated and smelling like not-so-fresh fish. If you go, roll your pants up and be prepared to wash your shoes when you get home.
