It was an adventure in many ways.
Renting the car was the first adventure. When I emailed for a reservation, the price was $50 US "including taxes and insurance". Great! That's about what I expected. But when I picked up the car, it was $50 US plus $20 for collision insurance, cash. If I paid with a credit card, then there would be taxes. Hmmmmm....OK.
Our drive was mostly just fun. We stopped at a beach club-a beach with chairs, a fancy pool, where you can/should buy drinks and food. Very nice, but not for us. Especially since it was fairly cool out. Then we went to El Cedral, the only other town on the Island. Christelle bought a coconut and got her picture taken with the "last mayan" on the island - for $1 US. We both got our picture taken with an iguana with a hat - $5 US but worth it because the guy "works with an animal conservation group". hmmmm....
Then onto the Punta Sur Park and its very bumpy road! It was a bit of a waste of time and money, but we climbed a cool lighthouse and went to a crocodile swamp and climbed a cool lookout and saw a swamp. No crocodiles....
Our last stop was a beautiful beach! This is where I had envisioned spending my day. But it was getting late and it was pretty chilly. So off we went.
On our way back, we had to get gas for the car. We thought we'd be OK because we knew to make sure the pump guy set the pump to "0" before pumping. At our request, he did. But we still got caught. One guy distracted me with conversation while the other pumped. Damn, I fell into the trap! But Christelle was watching. When he finished pumping, the total was $110 pesos, about $9 US. But then she blinked, and he switched the pump to $399 pesos, about $35 US. We argued, and finally agreed on $195 pesos. What a rip! But it could have been worse.
That was the end of the misadventures. We returned the car without incident or extra cost. All in all, it was a good day. If you can accept that being ripped off is part of the gringo tourist game...
Photos: Christelle and me with the "protected" iguana. I guess they mean his hat protects him from the sun.
The Paradise Beach Club. Beautiful beach, but very mass production. I can only imagine how it feels on a busy day.
The car I would have liked to rent. But the jeeps are manual and expensive. We drove a boring silver sedan.
No comments:
Post a Comment