Costa Rica - A rich coast

Hey all,

Costa Rica! What a rich coast! The day we landed it got much richer. I'll explain. Day 1 - After landing and working our way through customs, we took a shuttle to the car rental place. This is where I found that my credit card, my only access to money, save a few hundred in American cash dollars, was not working. We were shy about $200 of the rental fee. If you've been in this situation before you know the type of desperation that soon followed. The car rental place so kindly let me dial my bank long distance. They told me there was nothing they could do since their system had been struck by lightning (What are the chances!) and was now down for an indeterminable amount of time...probably the reason why my card would not work. In the meantime, the rental place told us they would take us to an ATM nearby just to try. This just so happened to be inside of a casino. When the ATM wouldn't work for either of our cards, desperation manifested itself in a $200 bet on black. This definitely seemed to be our best option. In Costa Rica the roulette wheels are less "wheels" and more like a cage filled with lotto style numbers. This has a disconcerting effect, especially when there looks to be way more red numbers in there than black. DeMark and I held our breath as the cage spun around and around. The fateful number finally rolled down into its slot. When we caught a glimpse of that unholy red ball, our hearts sank. We ended up using our Chicago bank card, hoping that our rent check had not yet been cashed. In retrospect this was a much safer bet. Costa Rica - 1, DeMark & Colleen - 0. Future travelers, do not find yourself in this situation.