[at-l] Availability of Alcohol

[tincanstoveman@hotmail.com (Tin Can Stove Man)]

Regarding the availability of alcohol,

Well this doesn't specifically have to do with the AT, but when I was in 
South America, I discovered that Alcohol was available in nearly every town 
I visited that was large enough to have a store of any sort.  I was always 
either able to find medicinal alcohol (which they sell at 96% in South 
America, not the 70% you find in the states), or "Alcohol para quemar" at 
any hardware store.  By comparison, white gas or compressed butane was only 
available at specialized camping stores in the larger, more tourist-savvy 
cities, and I doubt if you could find esbit anywhere on the continent.  
Additionally, if you are going to buy white gas in South America, you had 
better be prepared to buy it out of an old rusty tank, filled with who knows 
what sort of imputities, which will horribly clog your gas-burning stove 
(I'm not making this one up-- actually saw it happen).  I hardly need to 
mention that minor impurities (flecks of gravel, vegetation, rust, etc..) 
don't clog up the Amazing Tin Can Stove at all.  In fact, I imagine you 
could throw a handful of dirt into a Tin Can Stove just before you light it 
and it wouldn't diminish performance a bit (this is speculation, haven't 
actually performed this experiment).

In the interests of full disclosure, I should also mention that it is pretty 
difficult to find aluminum cans in South America-- it took me a couple days 
of searching through various "tiendas" before finding a place where I could 
buy a couple of Heinekins in cans.  You might want to make your own Tin Can 
Stove first and bring it with you.  Just make sure tye don't think it's a 
bomb at the airport-- not much sense of humor these days on international 
flights...

Just my $0.02,
TCSM

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