2nd Day Vehicle Pickup and 1st Leg

Some things come back to haunt you.

We didn't exchange money at the airport - why not? No idea🤔

But let's start from the beginning...

We got up at 6:30 am after definitely not being able to sleep anymore. Then we had a leisurely breakfast. We opted for a traditional breakfast, which means hearty with beans and rice, baked something, I say it was bananas, Robert thinks it was something else, but it doesn't matter... with eggs 🥚, coffee, and orange juice. Robert liked the food more than I did - it wasn't really my thing.

At around 8:30 am, as planned, the rental car arrived. A small Suzuki Jimmy. With a manual transmission and felt like way too little horsepower. Plus, no unnecessary frills like central locking. Thank goodness for a hotspot from Claro, we lovingly call her "Klara", and an emergency phone that allows us to reach our travel agency around the clock.

After all the documents were signed, we set off. We actually wanted to go straight to Rincon de la Veija National Park via the highway. Distance is about 240 km. But without money, it's a problem.

We went to the first ATM, where I could do everything except withdraw money. Then to the next bank with a counter.

Here you have to take a number and wait. I had number 95... but the employees were only at 73 and apparently there is no online banking in Costa Rica... I waited for two people who made transfers, deposits, and withdrawals... half an hour had passed, then an emergency intervention... that's it, you can't wait for that.

Business people here come with plastic bags and deposit their money.

So we continued on Route 1, which is toll-free. We got off at the next bank and waited in front of the counter again. When it was finally our turn, it took 30 minutes until we held $300 in our hands. Now it was no longer worth getting on the highway.

We drove until we reached Hotel Hacienda Guchipelin, which is located in the middle of the national park.

Once there, we checked into our room, had dinner, and went to bed

Conclusion: Exchange money at the airport. Avoid banks. We really like the Waze app for navigation.