Prices in Cuenca: 2012 Vice Squad Edition

In 2010, I posted up about the prices for cigarettes, alcohol, and recreational drugs in Cuenca. It's turned out to be one of my more popular posts, but with the passage of time my education has expanded and my pricing has gone outdated. So, new for 2012, here's the Vice Squad edition of Cuenca prices, moving from mild vices to more serious, um, adventure items:

• Coffee: The price of coffee in Cuenca has gone up slightly over the last two years, driven in part by poor local harvests. We had some damp years and one of the major suppliers moved into a new niche. There's also been an increase in artisanal and organic coffee in Cuenca, which naturally costs more. Expect a cup of joe to set you back at least 60 cents, with prices moving up past $2 in some of your nicer cafes.
  
  
• Pack of cigarettes: $1.85 plus whatever your local tienda adds as a mark up. $2 is common for a full pack of Lider, the dominant local brand. Also note that since 2010, Cuenca has passed a law against indoor smoking in restaurants and public places.
  
  
• Cocktails/Booze: Oddly, cocktails seem to be coming down a bit, depending where you are drinking them. Well drinks and glasses of wine start at $2 and move up from there. Do expect to pay $5+ for top shelf or cocktails at more upscale/gringo oriented establishments. Discount happy hours and bargain glasses are available, but you drink what you pay for!
  
  
• Beer: Beer is still in two sizes as reported before, with Club starting to edge Pilsner as the dominant local beer after some fun price wars in the supermarkets. At the store, you'll pay around 60 cents for a small beer, which will be $1 in cheap bars and $1.50 - $3 or more in upscale/gringo bars. For "grandes" your local tienda will hook you up for about $1, while the average going rate in the bars is $2 (more or less, depending where you are drinking). If you don't like the local stuff, Heineken is making some distribution inroads at bars, while SuperMaxi now has Budweiser.
  
  
• Condoms: $2.80 (ish) for three. These are sold at pharmacies and most supermarkets, though not always in sections one might think of as logical. Duo, Lifestyles and Trojans are the big brands. as the major foreign players. The day after pill equivalent is a local tea designed to start menstruation, and Ecuador leads South America in illegal abortions due to the strict official stance against it. Be careful out there!
  
  
• Sex stores: In 2010 I didn't know where these were. Now I do - hunt down "Sexy Locuras" on the street next to SuperMaxi El Vergel - it's the pink thing next to the soccer shop. Apparently a chain.
  
  
• Bribing the police: $10 and up, depending on the offense. I'm throwing this in there just in case you get up to something in the next section. Ask nicely, "Como podemos solucionar este?" (How can we solve this?) Traffic offenses will be the easiest to get out of (speeding, license issues) and remember, not everyone will take your money.
  
  
• Hookers: $6 and up. Pay more than $6 for your hooker. Ecuador's STD stats are frightening - that's all I'm saying. May be found near the Terminal Terrestre (main bus station) or in the brothel area (ask your taxi driver). Those near the bus station are frequently transvestites, and crime in that area remains high, especially late at night.
  
  
• Marijuana: Minor possession of marijuana is legal in Ecuador (one of two countries in South America with the loophole). You may score a hit of low grade stuff for $5 or $10, with pricing moving up sharply from there. I continue to be surprised at the number of retiree users in Ecuador. To buy, put it out there that you are interested and local expats will help you network in (but do realize not everyone here knows or is interested in helping you find pot, especially on a first meeting).
  
  
• Hallucinogenics: San Pedro cactus will set you back 25 cents to a dollar a chunk at almost every local market. Preparation instructions are on the Internet. Jungle trips for Iowaska adventures start at around $40 and go way up past $200 depending on the shaman and tour package you're doing with it.
  
  
• OTC medications: Codeine blend pills are readily available, and can be purchased individually or in packs from your local pharmacy, generally without a prescription. More intense stuff you'll need a prescription to get and Vicodin level stuff is very hard to source.
  
  
• Cocaine: $10 and up. I've heard mixed reviews of the effects at Cuenca's altitude - evidently it is not as good as lower elevations. I have no idea on the science on that, nor do I have any first hand experience. In terms of buying, no, I don't know anyone, and nor have I seen/heard much in the way of news on other drugs.
  

And that's the 2012 update. Anyone want to (anonymously) report how this compares to their own area back home?

Prices in Cuenca Ecuador: The Vice Squad Edition

Coming off a visit to the police station, I thought it might be fun to share a price list for some of the vices in life available here in Ecuador. Compare and contrast with your local black market and/or underground economy!

• Coffee: 50 cents - $2, depending if you are drinking local black or a fancy schmancy thing.

• Pack of Cigarettes: $1.60. Many small shops and bars also sell cigarettes individually for 15 - 25 cents each.

• Cocktail: $2.50 - $3

• Glass of Wine: $2 and up, depending on the vintage. A boxed liter of Clos (a reasonably quaffable Chilean red) is sold for $5 - $7, with other regional bottles of wine available for $10 - $13.

• Bottle of beer: Okay, so beer is available in two sizes. "Pequenos" are what we might think of as a standard beer. "Grandes" are about double that size. Most locals don't bother with Pequenos, opting instead to get cups and split Grandes. At cheaper local places, you can get a Grande for 75 cents. Mid-scale bars will charge around $1.50, and some of the expat places will charge you as much as $2.75. Common beer brands are Brahma, Club, and Pilsner.

• Condoms: $2.80 (ish) for three. These are sold at pharmacies and available only behind the counter. The big local brand is Duo, with Lifestyles and Trojans as the major foreign players. I haven't seen any other kinds of contraceptives on sale (it is a Catholic country, after all), and there hasn't been a single adult store anywhere in the city that I've found, although I haven't been looking.

• Hookers: No idea. Mainly located in the immediate vicinity of the municipal bus station. Have been warned by locals that many hookers here are cross dressers. No idea what to make of that . . . negotiate at your own risk!

• Marijuana: Reportedly $175 - $200 per pound. And yes, that is pound and not ounce. However, most of the marijuana in Cuenca actually comes from somewhere else, like Quito or Guayaquil. Apparently local growers and suppliers are very difficult to find. The discussion on this has been interesting to me, because a number of the expats down here really love their weed and have been shocked to find that there was better availability of the stuff at home in the States thanks to our medical marijuana laws, lax enforcement, and other loopholes. There truly is little that is more comical than seeing a 70 year old prim retiree grouch about not being able to find a source in order to smoke up. . . for medical reasons, of course ;-)

And that's what I know . . . no idea on hard drugs. South America may be famous for their cartels, but although I've read about busts in the newspapers, I haven't seen much in the way of a hard drug culture in Cuenca to have any price points to share!

Update:  If you're looking for more current prices for these things, check out my 2012 Cuenca Price Update.