Purchase of Provisions: Best & Worst Countries

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

Well we have a small amount of countries on our list yet.

Europe generally excellent for provisioning, huge supermarkets and often local farmers markets for anything all year long, fuel expensive, industrial goods affordable, you can buy anything everywhere online and get it shipped easily. Tabak expensive, alcohol often too. Marine parts and services easy to obtain and generally of a similar price with some small discounts, costs for marinas, haul outs and docking sometimes ridiculous expensive during the season.

Gibraltar, fuel and alcohol cheap, chandler, parts, electronics comparable to high tax countries, not worth the hassle.

Canaries less VAT, door to the Atlantic, all services available, parts were ordered from main land via express, fuel cheaper than continental Europe, medicaments and medical kits can be easily purchased for the onboard pharmacy - often without prescription and with a good consultation / explanation - in contrast to Germany and other countries. Huge well sorted supermarkets that deliver to the dock.

Saint Martin / Sint Maarten - excellent for provisioning, parts and repairs, big chandlers mainly on the dutch side, big supermarket chains with anything you may want, alcohol cheap (less taxes), fuel cheap, everything imported in the stores, local farmers market very limited, big cash and carry markets with us brands on the dutch side. Business Point has a Florida Address for Amazon shipments once per week, fright forwarder can ship stuff from EU and China for a good price. Pharmacies well stocked.

Dominican Republic - provisioning OK, variery in the supermarkets is very limited to the basics except in the capital. Chandleries not existent, services limited to some hotspots. Fuel prices ok, alcohol expensive, fresh local fruits and veggies everywhere sold from the trucks, seasonal, very affordable, chicken meat ok, big farmers markets everywhere. Industrial goods are not so much available and expensive, clothes cheap, china stores for anything small.

Colombia (Cartagena), all services, travellift, fiberglas work. Chandleries small and tiny selection, expensive (50...100%+) canvas and sewing stuff cheap and in a overwhelming variety, chinese stores with most stuff available, smartphone and notebook repairs down to soldering on the streets. Basurto market is a must see (farmers market), you get there anything, fruit and veggies cheap, big malls, nice well sorted supermarkets, european prices, alcohol / wine expensive, coffee expensive, meat great quality and affordable, special butcher store where you can order what you want in any quantity vacuum sealed and deep frozen if you want it. Big cash and carry market for lyrge quantities. Amazon US delivers free from 30$ to 200$, above 200$ high import taxes are applied. Pharmacies expensive, but well stocked

Panama Linton Bay - small supermarket, very limited selection, ok-ish price wise, supermarkets reacheable by bustaxi or car rental, fuel affordable, fruits and veggies very limited (local seller comes to the marina with a selection of the day) Pharmacies expensive, they sell single pills for fantasy prices.

San Blas - away from civilization - no shops, but a lancha once a week with a variety of fruits and veggies and some essentials from pricesmart, eggs, chicken, butter, flower, sugar, rum, wine, beer, soft drinks. Local fisherman sell you the catch of the day (coral fish, lobster, octopus, conch) You can order on whatsapp other stuff and likely will get it all delivered for a charge.

Panama City has probably again everything you may want.

Mexico - (Cozumel, Isla) huge supermarkets, anything you need, prices ok, quality of food and veggies very good, meat very good, chandleries non existent, pharmacies everywhere for prescription drugs like Antibiotics etc. Expensive and targeting US tourists. Alcohol between cheap and expensive, coffee expensive, beer ok, fuel affordable. Great for provisioning.

Bahamas / Exumas - fuel expensive and often not available, supermarkets generally expensive, alcohol, beer, milk cheese very expensive, beach bars expensive, fresh fruit and veggies very expensive, little to no local farmers markets, meat ok, chandleries rare and very expensive. There are freight forwarder from Florida if you need parts, services / travel lifts very limited. Provision well before arriving - the water is amazing.

Jamaica - fresh markets with local produce - not cheap, but ok. Some larger supermarkets are well sorted, prices vary on eu level. Pharmacies are more like a general store with a counter for medicaments. Fuel slightly cheaper than EU. Chandleries rare (only in the capital), public transportation with bus cheap, luxury tourist bus much more expensive, taxi expensive.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so very much, for sharing such a wealth of information, extremely helpful.
I will make sure to take good not of this priceless information.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

True, but I’ve always changed my eating habits to suit what’s locally available , about the only staple I like is coffee.

Of course in recent years I’ve concentrated my sailing in the med , this is the best area on the planet for good local food. Whereas provisioning in the Caribbean , aside from the French islands was hit and miss , foreign food was available at a price , and the local diet is quite restrictive, but it’s a matter of changing your diet to suit.

Thank you for sharing, I will take note of this.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Drek4 we were in Fiji just before Covid and I was surprised at how high the supermarket prices were for a third world country. It wasn't expensive but considering how low the wages are I thought it would be more affordable.
One thing we find expensive in Australia is good maple syrup, we paid $9 for a 250ml bottle yesterday. Unfortunately we acquired a taste for the good stuff while living in Canada and the cheap syrup just does not cut it.

Cheers]

That's the divide you find in most 3rd world countries, 80% can't afford supermarkets.
I find Golden Syrup is a good substitute for Maple, especially if you make your own..

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Just a comment on the canaries , the vegetable markets ( for vegetables ) in places like Las Palmas , are much better then the supermarkets if you are provisioning for a crossing

Thank you for you for sharing.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by grantmc

In the main centres of Lautoka, Suva, Nadi and Labasa I agree with Heywood, but in towns and villages much less choice. Yes they have supermarkets, but they're full of canned tuna, flour and local brand ship biscuits. Always chock full of coke, potatoe chips, instant noodles and other assorted junk food. Meats are available but choice is limited and it's expensive, so is alcohol. There are many (what you might call) local farmers markets and everywhere you go there are roadside sellers. And it continues to amazes me that no matter the remoteness there are people selling from stalls on the side of the road, maybe 20 cars passing a day.

So fresh produce is mainly confined to taro/dalo, coconuts, pineapple, cucumber (they have cucumber in every dish), cassava, ginger, poor quality small tomatoes, bananas (many varieties), chicken, eggs, melon, egg plant, pumpkin and a variety of green leafy veges. Oh and there will always big a large section of the market devoted to selling kava, all forms, various varieties, typically about $F100 per kilo. You wont find fresh milk, milk powder is the main form. Cheese is horrendously expensive and the local cheese is putrid. Outside of the main centres there is no electrickery, so no refrigeration and everyone still cooks on wood stoves.



And Fore & Aft's comments ring very true. The average wage in many such places is $40 per day (local currency) and that's if there's work. I was astounded to visit resorts that charge $US2,500 per night for a bure and yet when you order your expensive drinks it's likely the bar staff are likely to earn around $F5 an hour. That's about US$2.25 per hour before tax. And the reality is that prices are generally not especially different. In fact much is more expensive relatively because so much has to be imported, containers unloaded and the small quantities are then shipped by little boats all over the islands. So there's little point in stocking stuff that no one (except tourists) has the money to buy anyway.

But back to the OP who asked about Oceania, wow it's a big area of the world comprising many different countries. But when it comes to Island nations, whilst they are all unique, most of the people are comparatively very poor, don't expect Western style shopping except in main centres because you'll be very disappointed.

My comments about Fiji are I feel are equally valid in Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Solomons, PNG, Cooks, Tokelau etc. It is a little different in the French colonies of New Cal, French Polynesia (Tahiti) and Wallis & Fortuna where prices may bring tears to your eyes. Oh but the choice of cheeses, the fashions, so wonderful!

Thank you for this very informative post, I appreciate.
Well supermarkets are more convenient, but if you can find all you need, that's the most important, especially if it's affordable.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

This is a common feature in many poor countries where so called supermarkets often sell western cheap junk food , pot noodles etc. Properly desired as a result of advertising , people new to cruising these areas need to be aware that often the local diet is very poor and restricted.

I have seen this often in SE Asia, prices at the supermarket are not the cheapest, you can better pricing at the local market a few blocks away or a vendor at a stall, most of the time.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Indeed.
Everyone, everywhere eats - though some, not as much, as others.

Thank you for adding to this thread.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by boatman61

That's the divide you find in most 3rd world countries, 80% can't afford supermarkets.
I find Golden Syrup is a good substitute for Maple, especially if you make your own..

Interesting, can actually make a syrup with sugar, water and lemon juice.
Would have never searched for that, but I will keep that in mind.

[El Pinguino]

Supermarkets in most countries seem to have a good online presence that can give a good idea of what is available, stuff like this.
https://www.carrefour.ke/mafken/en/c/FKEN1600000
Chile is great for vacuum packed meat https://www.jumbo.cl/carniceria?page...l%20Vac%C3%ADo
Those prices are in Chilean pesos - 1000 pesos = about $US1.20
Not so good for some canned goods that you may be used to. I don't think baked beans exist in South America - they can be found in the Falklands along with Fray Bentos steak pies - and Chilean tinned peas are awful, you could boil them for a week and still use them as buckshot.
I did find some very good ones in '19 that were imported from France https://www.jumbo.cl/busqueda?b=Bond...arvejas&page=1

Here in Ecuador camerones/prawns are king, frozen $US12/14 a kilo.

As stated the best are commonly street vendors or even better the wholesale markets where the street vendors often buy their stuff.
Pics vvvv of the one in Antofagasta, on the edge of the Atacama.

I buy up big on canned goods - we finished our last tin of Watties' NZ apricots just a few days ago.

[El Pinguino]

Correction to my last - you can buy baked beans in Ecuador.
Mi Comisariato has B&M brand at $US2.99 a tin.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Supermarkets in most countries seem to have a good online presence that can give a good idea of what is available, stuff like this.
https://www.carrefour.ke/mafken/en/c/FKEN1600000
Chile is great for vacuum packed meat https://www.jumbo.cl/carniceria?page...l%20Vac%C3%ADo
Those prices are in Chilean pesos - 1000 pesos = about $US1.20
Not so good for some canned goods that you may be used to. I don't think baked beans exist in South America - they can be found in the Falklands along with Fray Bentos steak pies - and Chilean tinned peas are awful, you could boil them for a week and still use them as buckshot.
I did find some very good ones in '19 that were imported from France https://www.jumbo.cl/busqueda?b=Bond...arvejas&page=1

Here in Ecuador camerones/prawns are king, frozen $US12/14 a kilo.

As stated the best are commonly street vendors or even better the wholesale markets where the street vendors often buy their stuff.
Pics vvvv of the one in Antofagasta, on the edge of the Atacama.

I buy up big on canned goods - we finished our last tin of Watties' NZ apricots just a few days ago.

Thank your for the links, pics and information, appreciated.
I would like to see Ecuador one day, they say the beaches around Manta and Salinas are beautiful.
Peru has Machu Picchu, but of what I read, the water becomes colder the more you go south of Ecuador, but again, you never know...

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Correction to my last - you can buy baked beans in Ecuador.
Mi Comisariato has B&M brand at $US2.99 a tin.

Cool!

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Drek4

Thank your for the links, pics and information, appreciated.
I would like to see Ecuador one day, they say the beaches around Manta and Salinas are beautiful.
Peru has Machu Picchu, but of what I read, the water becomes colder the more you go south of Ecuador, but again, you never know...

Peru is best visited by land not by sea. They don't seem to like yachts.

The beaches at Salinas? well they are beaches I guess but I don't think they would win many prizes. I'm currently just next door in Puerto Lucia/Santa Elena.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Peru is best visited by land not by sea. They don't seem to like yachts.

The beaches at Salinas? well they are beaches I guess but I don't think they would win many prizes. I'm currently just next door in Puerto Lucia/Santa Elena.

Thank you for the information.
You had some bad experiences in Peru?
Good time to go to Ecuador at the start of the dry season.
I hope you enjoy your stay.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Drek4

Thank you for the information.
You had some bad experiences in Peru?
Good time to go to Ecuador at the start of the dry season.
I hope you enjoy your stay.

I enquired about going to Peru on my boat in 2013. An agent was required and all fees were related to commercial shipping. Things like $US50 a day for garbage collection.
You may find this interesting
https://www.noonsite.com/report/peru...0-to-clear-in/

Other stories i have heard are similar. There was a boat here in Puerto Lucia when I arrived in late '19. It had been seized by the Peruvians for some minor infraction and it took him lawyers and three years to get it back by which time - going by the photos he showed us - he could have made a good living mining guano on her.

Best when passing to stay a solid 200 miles offshore.

I passed through there soon afterwards - by bus on my way to Arica - the coastline is pretty bleak.

Oh - and another link
https://www.sailblogs.com/member/sequitur/132313