The Beer Index

The one thing you can count on when traveling to different countries throughout the world is the availability of beer. I realize that this is a generalization because beer may not be brewed in every country but it certainly has been available everywhere on our current travels.

I am the first to admit that beer is not my beverage of choice (LE is obviously writing this!), I would prefer to sip a smooth red wine, but on a hot, humid day nothing goes down quite so nicely as a "frosty"; the colder the better. For the past two years I have been in some very hot, humid countries quenching my thirst with the local brews and as a result I have conducted a limited field test of the international beer index, something we do not use in Canada.

For those who are shaking their heads and wondering "what is she talking about?" the beer index is similar to the hamburger poll which decides by hamburger choice which politician or political party is favoured (GG has never heard of the hamburger poll, although he does know about the beer index). Since traveling often involves sunny hot places where a cold beer is necessary the beer index is an easy way to get a general idea of what to expect to pay for food and restaurant meals. Here is how it has worked on our trip to date. A bottle or can of beer in Mexico costs about 50 or 60 cents and food was similarly priced; lunch could be bought for about $3.00 and a week of groceries cost between $50.00 and $80.00 (depending on how many foreign products ended up in my shopping basket). Moving onwards to El Salvador and Nicaragua the beer cost between 60 cents and 80 cents and food prices also increased by a small amount. Costa Rican beer was the most expensive at $1.30, and as the beer index suggests, food prices and restaurant meals quickly ate through our budget. It was a relief to arrive in Panama and find that beer was back at 65 to 80 cents with a corresponding reduction in the price of food, just as predicted. Taking advantage of the lower costs and considering our next destinations (Galapagos and Easter Island) I went on several provisioning trips and stocked the boat with as much as it could carry. (I realize that the beer prices I have just quoted are inconsequential when compared to the price in Canada, but if beer in Canada were not so heavily taxed I am sure the beer index would work equally as well.)

After stuffing the boat full of provisions in Panama City we set out for the Galapagos Islands with very little beer aboard. We do not drink any alcohol on passage and as we expected to stay in the Islands for only 7 days I had brought just 18 beer. Plans changed, We ended up staying 10 days and the beer ran out. Every one had told me that things in the Galapagos were expensive so it was with dread that I approached the grocery store. Imagine my surprise to find that a case of 24 beer was a mere $22.00 (only slightly more expensive than Panama) and food prices were reasonable, although the selection was limited. Since I like cooking with fresh rather than canned items it was not a difficult decision to supplement my supplies with additional fruit and produce, ready for the 18 day passage to Easter Island.

Unfortunately on Easter Island the beer index did not work at all. A beer cost $1.12, extremely reasonable when you consider how far Easter Island is from everywhere else, and based on the index I expected food costs to match. I was very wrong. Food was costly, more pricey than Costa Rica, but I needed some fresh produce so I re-organized my meal plans and bought 2 heads of lettuce for $4.90 (not too bad), 1 kg green beans for $4.08 (reasonable), 5 tomatoes for $9.39 (a wee bit expensive), 30 eggs for $12.24 (getting up there), 4 large onions for $9.49 (expensive) and one cabbage for $10.82 (unbelievable). I was going to buy some fruit to replace the apples and oranges that were confiscated when we entered the country but at those prices I decided we could survive on canned fruit for the next 3 weeks without a problem.

Our next landfall is Valdivia Chile, where I expect I will be drinking wine, but my first stop will be a grocery store to buy some beer.