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Article #11 FOOD/WATER ISSUES - What About Them?

by Jim Jaillet - Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved

In article #1, CENTRAL AMERICA: You Can Do It!, we discussed the importance of
planning. This aspect of planning will help you to experience your trip with NO
FOOD/WATER PROBLEMS! In this article, I will provide you with GENERAL
food/water-related items as we practiced them on our trip.

Let's first discuss the food issues. Food shopping for use in your rig: In the larger cities of
Mexico you will find both Wal-Mart and Costco. In-general, the square-footage measures
much smaller and hence do not carry the large variety of items found in the United States.
In Central America, you will not find a Wal-Mart, but in the larger cities you will find a
PriceSmart which compares to a small Costco. Another generality, in addition to smaller
variety, you will frequently find the locally produced products inferior in quality than your
normal expectations.

Bottom line: you most likely will not find your "favorite" products.

ADVICE: IF YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT DO WITHOUT A PARTICULAR ITEM, BRING
IT WITH YOU! On our trip, we went about 6.5 months without a Wal-Mart or Costco.
Traveling to Central America entails experiencing other cultures. You can shop where the
gringos shop and pay the higher prices or shop where the locals shop for much less money.
The local markets provide very colorful and far more interesting establishments than a
PriceSmart!

Partaking of the local eatery's cuisines will expose you to many items not usually eaten in
the United States. Once again, experiencing different cultures becomes the reason for
traveling! What you eat depends on your bravery! Everywhere in Central America you will
find "comida tipico" (meal typical) consisting of a generous portion of rice and beans and a
small portion of meat/fish, which generally satisfies both the hunger and pocketbook. If
you eat a comida tipico everyday of your travels you will most certainly enjoy many eating
cultural experiences!

Deciding where to eat challenges you because of the poor sanitary conditions you will
frequently encounter. We used a general rule-of-thumb: If the eating place appeared
relatively clean and very busy with lots of local customers, the food probably will not kill
you! None of our caravan members suffered from food-poisoning.

As part of the eating-out process, you must decide on a beverage. During much of our trip
we found ourselves in VERY HOT AND HUMID CLIMATE and I usually chose the local
beer. Between the many meals of primarily carbohydrate-loaded rice and beans and the
beer, I managed to put on 25 pounds during my trip! Bottled water is readily available, but
doesn't taste nearly as good as beer!

Let's shift gears and discuss the water issues. With regards to filling our rig's
fresh-water tanks, one couple chose to buy bottled water. They filled their l00+ gallon
fresh-water tank from five gallon bottles, one at a time. Their technique of gravity-filling
involved pouring the water into funnel and hose leading into the water tank. The rest of us
got our water from spigots at gas stations, bars, restaurants, etc., on municipal water
systems. I bought a five gallon bottle of water for emergency and never used it.

When you take on water, definitely use your own specific water-fill hose. Once I used the
in-place hose on a gas station water tank and it contaminated my water system with a
horrible taste. This required me to dump all my water and shock-chlorinate my water
system.

My personal water treatment technique consisted of putting one ounce of bleach into my
water tank for every ten gallons of water being added. My drinking water then went
through an under-the-sink Nature Pure filtering system. Then I put the water through a
Britta water filter system container kept in my refrigerator door to chill. When I wanted
water to drink, I'd put it in an insulated container into which already contained a
fresh-squeezed lime and a packet of NutraSweet. I did not experience "Montezuma's
Revenge" at any time during the trip.

Speaking of "Montezuma's Revenge", guidebooks will recommend drinking only bottled
water which is readily available everywhere. One member of our group regularly drank the
local water with no adverse effects. Just like deciding where to eat, your water practices
are a judgment call. I recommend basic common-sense precautions to avoid both food and
water problems.

Don't miss the next installment "CAMPING/BOONDOCKING ISSUES - What About
Them?" in which I'll discuss the considerations for avoiding Camping/Boondocking
problems. Stay tuned and remember my promise at the beginning of Article
#1....................................................................... YOU CAN DO IT!

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Jim Jaillet is a full-time RVer, Adventurer and Author of PANAMA OR BUST - A 343 day
adventure in a motorhome!

You can claim your copy of my book for only $19.95 at http://www.panamaorbust.com

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Disclaimer: The author in no way can guarantee your safety in Central America. After all
they are Third World countries and not without danger or the possibility of death. You go
at your own risk. The author is only suggesting that with some planning, common sense and
caution you may minimize your potential dangers and be rewarded with countless cultural
experiences. :)

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