
Victoria, the beer of choice? As the story goes they were in Rivas, a crossroads of sorts. Two englishmen fresh from Costa Rica. The first major city for those traveling north from Costa Rica and usually the place where you get your first crash coarse in Nica life. It was hot, I mean hot. There on the corner, a little tienda was calling them. They walked over looking tired and bruised from hours on a chicken bus, and from dealing with the stress of yet another Central American border crossing. Walking through the doors and into a dimly lit and barren room one of them shouted "dos cervezas por favor." A phrase that can be of use if you ever travel, well anywhere in Latin america. Anyway, the waiter replied a polite "Victoria o Tona?" Victoria and Tona are the two national beers of Nicaragua. And aparently one of the guys thought that he said "Vicky o Toni?" Which I guess he could have...anyway. These two tired English guys looked at each other and tried to make light of the situation, were they in a brothel, who was Vicki? Toni? They didn't see anyone except for a drunken man at a table, assumming he was Toni, one said. "Vicki!" The store owner looked at them went into the cooler and slapped two ice cold Victorias on the counter. From that moment until I met these guys in San Juan del Sur, Victoria was their beer of choice. Both are light tasting pilsners, and although Victoria is a little more common, if its hot, you really can't say anything bad about ice cold beer in the tropics. Expect to pay around 60 cents to a $1 for a cold one ( if they are more than that, youare probably at a nice hotel or strip club). A good deal is always to get into the liter-sized bottles. Both Vicki and Toni offer them for about a couple bucks. By the way, together Victoria, Tona and Flor de Cana, are known as Vicki, Toni and Flo! Should you decide to partake in this part of the Nicaraguan culture and get hammered, be sure to be aware of your environment and know who you are with. As the Moon handbook writes, remember that many a traveler's disaster story begins with "Man, I was so wasted..." Keep up on your hydration level and take it slow when drinking in a new place. And by the way, the rum doesn't make you a better dancer, but it might improve your Spanish. Cheers.




