Doing A Small Part for the Local Economies

I'm "wealthy" around here which is why I have to be cautious and situationally aware. It's also why I have to spend money wisely--and hopefully in ways which help the people who most need it--without my going broke in the process.

I don't have a hard and fast rule against giving to beggars, though my default response is no.  The thing is, despite the very real poverty you witness all over Central America, there aren't nearly as many beggars as one might expect.  But there a few, and I find that they are mainly older people, men and women of middle age and older.  When it comes to beggars I have a soft spot for elderly women because I know how hard women of all ages work around here--you see evidence of that everywhere you go--so if an old woman is begging I figure she's truly desperate.

With working age men, I usually say no, but if they can speak some English I will hear them out, then maybe offer a little help.

Far more common than beggars are the many people who haved carved an independent niche for themselves in the economy by peddling various items on the street or on buses or at bus terminals.  Candies, drinks, fruit, various hot foods, and fresh snacks like roasted peanuts or carameled popcorn are among some of the edibles you will find being hawked by itinerant peddlers, these mostly by women.  And watches, wallets, flashlights, CDs, and DVDs are also commonly sold--typically by men.  If fresh snacks and fruit or bottled (more typically bagged) water is on offer, I will often go for it, because these items are always very cheap but great value.

My main contributions to the economy, of course, are for lodging,  food, and transport (basically in that order).  Some hotel owners are quite obviously wealthy, but there are many others who are running a mom and pop affair.  For ordinary folks who have converted their old courtyard home into a guesthouse, the cash I and others bring to the table can be a real help.  And in any given town I always try to eat at least once in an ordinary, modest, mom-type comedor because she's putting her kitchen to work for her family.

If I can find espresso coffee I will spend my money there.  Sometimes these places are owned by foreigners, so I'm aware that I'm not directly helping the locals very much with my custom in that case.  But foreigners always hire many locals as employees, and so I do my part by tipping them if the opportunity arises.  I make liberal use of the tip jar, marked propina in Spanish, not by leaving a lot, but by always leaving something.

If I can't find an espresso shack then I'll look for the best 30 to 50 cent cafe con leche in the market.  When I find a good one the seller will get a tiny extra boost that day because I will usually buy 3-4 of them--and the same number the next morning!  By that time, the locals in the market "know" me fairly well. . .

In the bigger, more expensive restaurants I always tip my waitresses (it's usually young women at this job), and when the service is extra fine I sometimes even tip a little too much--maybe a dollar more than was necessary, not all that much for me, but helpful to her.

I also make a point of tipping the ladies who clean my hotel rooms--these women work very hard, and the evidence for that is in the fact that nearly every room I've rented, no matter how old or new, big or small, ramshackle or sleek, is always spotlessly clean.  For these women I try to leave a certain amount per night's stay.  Again, it's not a lot of cash for me but I know what I leave will help someone's family.  And often I can hire that same woman to do my laundry--another little bit that helps her a little, while helping me a lot!

Often I'll round up taxi fares.  I have found most taxi drivers to be really helpful and professional, despite the not-so-sparkling reputation they have worldwide, but in my experience I've rarely been "taken for a ride."  So in Central America I don't over-haggle with the the driver, but tip a bit instead.  It's well worth the extra few cents it costs me because in this economy another 5-10 lempiras (30 to 60 cents) can be stretched some way by the driver (he can stretch that 10 lempiras in ways which I simply can't).  And let's face it:  isn't that a whole lot better for me than getting ripped off?

If I've ever been overcharged or ripped off in Central America, I've concluded,  it's nearly always my fault for neglecting to get the price up front, or because of some other carelessness on my part.  When that happens, I shrug to myself and say, "That was a lesson well worth the cost!" because hopefully I won't make another expensive mistake like that again.

The Oddness of Seeing Dollar Prices from the 1970s

I like to travel for the new people & places you can meet & discover. And I like to travel in the tropics for the weather & the food--both of which generally agree with me.

But I have to admit that I love traveling in the developing world because the lower costs also very much agree with me. Whether you get 33 baht, 10 pesos, or 8 quetzales for the greenback, those lower costs don´t quite compute like they do in El Salvador, which ditched its own currency in 2001 and adopted the dollar. Nevertheless, it´s truly odd to see prices in dollars & cents that I haven´t seen since I was 12 or 15, or even 20 years old.

How about pastries for 15 to 55 cents? Or an ordinary cup of coffee for 20-60 cents? Bus fares for between 35-75 cents, or a dollar at most. A can of Coke in the supermarket for 30-35 cents. A sandwich for two dollars, breakfast for $3.00. Fresh OJ for 50 cents. A delicious latte for $1.50 or $2.00. Aguardiente (the local firewater) for $2.35 in the supermarket. A short taxi trip for $2.00-5.00, a long taxi trip for $10-15. . .the list goes on.

I have high speed internet for 50 cents an hour! That´s a far cry from the $13 per hour I saw offered in an American airport.

Some prices are more "normal" for me, I guess. Hotels, for example, run the full spectrum of price points. I try to average $20 per night for two star rooms with TV & private bath, and I mostly succeed, but sometimes you have to pay $40-50 for something that´s not much better than Motel 6 at home. On the other hand, sometimes you pay that much for something really nice.

And gasoline, sold by the gallon in Central America, is usually the same or more expensive than in the U.S. Here in El Salvador it´s $3.30-3.50 a gallon.

But ultimately what can´t be beat is the fact that these places--where most of the ordinary people you meet are poorer than the average Westerner--often have some of the most natural beauty in the world. It´s a cliche, I know, because of a famous credit card commercial, but that´s fairly priceless. . .