Low Cost Of Food In Santa Marta
Grown Locally Down The Road
Not Modified For Transportation

The low cost of food in Santa Marta is another benefit of a tropical lifestyle, the majority is grown locally and that’s easy to see as the varieties are not so pulpy, so the food costs less and tastes better, the great benefit of locally grown food.

Santa Marta is at 11˚ North latitude, every degree is approximately 69 miles so 69 times 11 works out to be approximately 759 miles from the equator, so there is not a great variation throughout the four seasons, this means a long growing season.

If you are travelling in a southerly direction from Santa Marta you will soon be travelling through the banana zone and in the Santa Marta harbour you will see large ships loading for export.. Also grown in the area are papayas, mangos, avacados, coconuts, borojo (for juice only), limes, melons, tree tomatoes, pineapple and the list goes on with many that you have probably never heard of.

If you are preparing Caribbean cuisine you will want fresh and that’s easy to find at the local fruit market and vegetable stands, sometimes early in the morning you will hear a vendor yelling the names of the vegetables he has as he pushes his cart down the street. This is what makes Santa Marta and Latin America in general special, in my mind I could never go back to the sterile Canadian lifestyle, not that Canada is bad, it just isn’t latin.

For vegetables carrots, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, and just about everything else, prepare to be amazed at the varieties and the quality of the produce.

I always equate the low cost of food to a low cost retirement or semi retirement, it’s not hard to avoid spending much money over the period of a week as the cost of most items are low, combined with a warmth that you don’t have to pay for. The prices from last year are as follows.

Price Of Vegetables.

• Onions 58 cents a pound
• Tomatoes 0.46 a pound
• Garlic $1.72 lb.
• Plantain 0.43 lb.
• Cauliflower $1.33 lb.
• Carrots 0.71 lb.
• Rice 0.61 lb.
• Beans $1.38 lb.

Price Of Fruits

• Pear $1.33 lb.
• Orange $1.10 lb.
• Lemon 0.39 lb.
• Melon o.30 lb.
• Papaya 0.73 lb.
• Apple 0.25 lb.
• Pineapple 0.27 lb.
• Grapes $ 1.75 lb.

With fresh fruits and vegetables all year and harvest throughout the year, this is tropical living at it's best. Most places in the world have a finite growing season, but local weather ensures fresh food is always in season.

Anything that is refined you will find expensive, cosmetics, lotions, toothpaste, suntan lotions etc. but in general your grocery bill will be much lower and you will lose weight as it’s easy to live on fruits and vegetables due to the heat.

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