Our New Office

Anyone who has traveled to Costa Rica most likely has a few navigation stories or opinions on the roads. We’ve talked a bit about the roads too, which you may remember from my post about the Costa Rica earthquake a couple months ago.

We were told by a tour guide that the government decided to invest in schools and health care, not the roads. We’ve also heard that the local governments don’t pay for roads because they’re waiting for the property owners to fork over the cash to build or maintain the roads themselves.

Whatever the reason for the single lane, washed out, pot-hole laden roads in Costa Rica, bumpy roads are part of the deal. In other words, you haven’t really experienced Costa Rica if you haven’t had a flat tire.

However, there are a few navigation strategies you can employ that might make driving around here a bit easier. Take this section of road we came across on our way to the Arenal observatory.

On this day Jason slowed to a stop just to take a photo, but the day before he decided to take the road at full speed. At some point you get tired of going five miles an hour and just want to get there. It’s bumpy no matter how you navigate so I guess he felt like full speed ahead was the best navigation strategy.

This picture is also from our recent road trip to Arenal. Looks like a little rain may have caused a mudslide. No problem, just drive around.

Costa Rica drivers aren’t much better than the roads.  The speed limit is 40 kph on the country’s two-lane highways, but the average speed is somewhere between 80 and 120 kph. Actually, it doesn’t really matter what the speed limit is. Locals will tail you and pass you despite your speed or the oncoming mack truck.

Costa Rica navigation strategy? Let them pass; even put on the breaks to make it easier for them. It’s not worth the accident.

In addition to the roads and crazy drivers, there are also periodic police checkpoints. We were stopped once and were only asked to show our drivers licenses, but we’ve heard stories of police saying they’ll write a ridiculously expensive ticket or you can just pay the fine now and be done with it. Of course the fine is for $60, but they’ll take whatever you offer.

How’s that for law enforcement?

Because the police can spot the rental cars from far away, I have a feeling its the tourists who get pulled over more often.

This is the car we get to drive from time to time. No radio, no air conditioning controls, no cruise control, and the windows barely roll up, but it passes mountains and clears potholes. Can you really ask for anything more?

August 18th, 2008. First thing this morning I returned our Suzuki Grand Vitara rental car to Budget – the three day rental was over. I expected to find out about a discount or something similar when I returned the car (as I discussed with a Budget employee on Saturday), but instead I was told they weren’t going to do anything. I explained that the vehicle I rented didn’t work as advertised, but the person on the other end of the phone didn’t care. To make matters worse, I was given this information in a rude manner. I had made a point to be calm and polite – I worked in car dealerships for years and I know what it’s like to have people yell at you – yet the person I was dealing with at the “main office” was aggressive and rude.

Here’s a photo of our Budget Aruba rental car – the one with the broken 4wd, electric windows that didn’t work right, a tailgate lock that didn’t actually lock, mediocre A/C, and a host of squeeks and rattles.

My response was to refuse to sign the credit card slip and inform the person on the other end of the phone that I was going to dispute the charge. Then I walked out.

Fuming mad, Sara and I headed to one of our local WiFi haunts (the Renaissance hotel) to grab a cup of coffee, a snack, and make a phone call. Unfortunately, the internet connection in the lobby of the Renaissance hotel in Palm Beach Aruba was too slow for Skype.

I packed up and headed off to the local McDonalds, another nearby free WiFi location, where the connection was fast enough for me to make a phone call. I was informed that the WiFi was broken and was not working. It actually hadn’t been working for the last few days (things take a while to get fixed in Aruba, btw).

I was ready to lose it. The Budget office, the broken wifi, the inconvenience, and my expectation that I would be treated fairly were conspiring to ruin my day. Frustrated, my last option was to return to our condo and try to work with the less than reliable WiFi connection their.

Did I mention that the birds at the Renaissance hotel lobby make loud screaming noises at random intervals? It’s kind of funny (and the birds are actually pretty cool), but I was in no mood for it this morning.

Luckily, the day got better from that point forward. I was able to place a Skype phone call to Budget’s US help line. While they couldn’t actually help me, they did offer to send a report to the international desk. The report wouldn’t be responded to for as much as 21 days, but it was something. Perhaps more importantly than actually being able to help, this Budget employee was the first person that was truly nice to me. He understood my frustration and tried to help.

Next, I contacted the Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) and dealt with another helpful person – Castro Perez. He said he would be glad to forward a complaint to the owner of Budget’s Aruba franchise, and he was very cheerful and easy to deal with.

Reluctantly, I contacted the local Budget office here in Aruba one last time. My intent was to get some names for my complaint letter to the ATA. Instead, I managed to speak with the manager of Budget’s Aruba franchise, Larry Nyak (spelling?).

Evidently, Larry decided that I was more trouble than I was worth because after some arguing on the phone he decided to give me the rental car for free. He said he would cancel the contract and that would be it. So long as he does what he says, I’m satisfied with the result.

Before I move on, let me just say one thing – Larry and his entire staff screwed up. At any point in the process someone could have listened, been sympathetic, and diffused my anger. They could have then offered me a small discount and – guess what – I would have been happy! I wasn’t looking for a free rental car – I was looking for an apology and a small monetary expression of regret.

Instead, Larry tried to make me feel like a small and petty person when he begrudgingly “gave” me the rental. The staff at Budget Aruba needs some help – they need to learn how to better handle dissatisfied customers.

Whew! I feel better.

The rest of the day was devoted to work. As expensive as our weekend was, we’ve decided to stay in for the next few days, buckle down, and make some money online.

August 6th, 2008. Number one:

“There are two things I hate. People that don’t tolerate other cultures….and the Dutch.”

There are lots of Dutch people here in Aruba. We fit right in. By the way, Jason doesn’t hate Dutch people; he just thinks it’s funny to say. I think it is something from the Austin Powers movie.

Number two:

“It’s a car, only smaller.”

Here Jason is next to our tiny rental car. He decided to get it because he thought it would be funny to have such a little car. I swear with the way he drives we are going to tip over.

August 5th, 2008. Today was pretty awesome. We got some work done, rented a car, bought groceries for the next 3 weeks, snorkeled, and ate in. Nice.

Renting the car was an experience. First of all, I wanted the cheapest one they had. That turned out to be a Suzuki Alto.

The joke – “It’s like a car, only smaller.”

Driving this thing is like driving a go cart. The first dirt road I found I did a donut – just for the thrill. The engine screams at about 50mph, and when you drive the whole car feels like it’s really working. It’s nice – the A/C works well, and it corners pretty nicely. It’s a lot like a new toy.

Grocery shopping isn’t usually fun, but it was interesting today. Lots of strange brands and labels, and lots of mysterious fish, poultry, and pork products. Ever seen the whole forearm of a pig wrapped in plastic wrap? Me neither until today.

After groceries, it was time to have fun. We bought some snorkeling gear and hit the water. We found a popular snorkeling spot (Malmok beach we think) and Sara and I took a bunch of pictures with an underwater disposable camera. Can’t wait to post them.

I’m still on Denver time, so I was up pretty late – about 1am EDT. As I’m getting ready for bed, I decide I want a cold glass of water. For some reason, the water that comes out of the kitchen sink isn’t cold. It isn’t hot either – it’s lukewarm. It doesn’t matter which faucet you turn – it’s lukewarm. The only place to get cold water is in the bathroom sink. As I’m leaving the bathroom, something in the tub catches my eye.

ROACHES! Two of them – and they’re pretty big.

I decide to kill them the old fashioned way (with a giant wad of toilet paper). I reach down to snag one and it takes off like a racehorse. “These #$%^ are fast!” I say to myself. I track them both down and kill them. The next question: Where did they come from? I scan the ceiling, the walls, inspect the bathroom window, and find nothing. Then, I notice a couple of antenna peaking out from underneath the bathtub’s shutoff valve.

After unsuccessfully trying to burn the roach(es) out of this fixture with a barbecue lighter, I decide the only thing to do is to go buy some bug spray. Knowing Sara as I do (who is asleep in the next room this whole time, by the way), I’m fairly confident finding a roach in the bathtub tomorrow will ruin her morning. The only way to be safe is to buy some industrial bug spray and kill them with extreme prejudice.

The local gas station is open at 1am and they sell me bug spray. I return, enter the bathroom, and find one more roach in the tub. Time to die. I blast it, and in the chaos of this chemical attack two more roaches scurry out of the drain – they’re everywhere! I kill these two, but I’m a little worried about tomorrow. That’s five dead roaches total, and where there’s five, there’s fifty. Because of the late hour (and my tired brain) I decide that leaving two dead roaches in plain sight will act as a warning to the rest.

So I leave a note on the bathroom door for Sara. It reads“Roaches! Bug spray on bathroom counter, two dead guys in tub. Gross.”