SCAMAPALOOZA

There are so many ways to get scammed in this country, it is just absurd, so I will just tell you about a couple that have occurred this week alone.

First, I paid extra for plane ticket seats with extra leg room. We did not get them. No one at Sunwing is sure what to do. I bet they know exactly what to do with my $200. Never get sucked in by the airline upgrade scam unless you are upgrading to FIRST CLASS.

Next was the guy in Playa del Carmen who is set up right where the cab drops you off for the ferry to Cozumel. He has deals for you for your ferry ticket if you also rent a car, and they become almost free if you agree to go to the Occidental for a little tour and some lunch. Time share! Time share! RUUUUUUUUN.

Renting a car on Cozumel has its own pitfalls, and they are MANY. People will try to rent you mopeds and you look around at the Mexican people riding them while carrying groceries, laundry, two babies, and their elderly mother-in-law in the basket, and you think, "I can do this." Take it from me, this may end with your head in a ditch somewhere. I personally was almost made into a Karie Cookie on my first trip by being smashed between two cars. I have seen numerous people bail horrifically. Go for the car. The second time I rented a roofless Jeep from a reputable dealer, like Hertz. That was the advice on the Internet. It was great, so much fun, car worked great, terrific.

This time I reverted back to stupid, apparently. First of all, do not make a pre-arragement while still on the mainland. You have no idea what the cars actually LOOK LIKE. This was my first mistake. So I get off the ferry ride that tries its best to kill you and go to Charlie's Rental. I can not describe fully the nightmare that awaited. An old VW bug, painted bright green to attempt to hide the rust, torn and faded seat covers, won't SHIFT into some of the gears, and won't break without several blocks warning. We drove around San Miguel in it for ten minutes before getting it back to the dealership as fast as possible, where I leapt out of it and started doing the Scary Karie routine, demanding to know if Charlie was trying to get me killed. Anyay, they gave us an ancient top-down Chevy instead that did just fine, but you gotta watch your butt.

On our way to take the car back we had another fun scam attempt. At the gas station, a guy pumped our gas for no time at all, because we had hardly used any - it is not exactly a huge place. He then proceed to tell me I owed him $30 for gas. Again, my other personality took over, since the guy had obviously added our gas onto the guy before us and was trying to make us pay extra. I refused, asked for managers, and finally when I suggested that we call the Policia, the guy said to just give him 10 bucks cash. Off we went to return the car and have an end to that hullaballoo.

We swore on Tuesday not to leave the resort again. Can't afford to!