We landed in Dallas, no problems. Wheelchair escort to the next gate. I generally Hate to be in a wheelchair, but, when traveling – bring it on! Next flight is 2 hours to Cancun. We spent a fair amount of time filling out two pages of personal info in order to enter into the country. It took all I could do, not to mention border crossings and why do we need to fill out this paperwork? We arrived at 4:00 local time. Okay. You need to know when we landed in Cancun, the hotel where we were staying had a Free courtesy shuttle to the hotel. But I had rented a car for the week (very cheap), thinking we would go exploring, etc. We arrived in Cancun, no problems. Problems started as soon as we entered the terminal. Young man helped with our luggage, pushed my wheelchair into the largest throng of people I have ever encountered! All pitching deals, sign here, come with me, free lobster dinner, free ferry cruise, sign here, sign here. Took us thirty minutes to get through this tiny airport to where our shuttle waited. Okay. This is the point in my story, the point in our trip, that is Totally on Me. We get outside and are confronted with two rides. The driver of the hotel shuttle has a large card with my name on it. So does the rental car guy! Okay, now what? My decision (remember; it’s My decision), was to sign off on the Free ride to the hotel and wait for our rental car. Outside the airport, was a Margaritaville Hut. Doug and I got a cold beer while waiting for our rental car.
Beautiful afternoon, cold beer, on Vacation! The van to take us to the rental car place pulled up. (Note to self: If rental car site is not In the airport, ie, Budget, Hertz, etc., use extreme caution!) We load luggage and ourselves into the van, which takes us about two miles down the road to the car rental place – Called, USafe Rental. The rental office was a small trailer. Parked inside of a gated 100 x 200 lot was parked in every direction, about 25-30 small white cars that looked alike. Whatever. We are in Mexico, and this is Not Hertz!
I stayed in the van while Doug went to pick up the rental car. I had paid for it at the same time I booked our trip, so, no problems, right? Do you remember where I said we were?
So, Doug is in the little trailer, our driver is unloading our luggage. I assume that means I need to get out of the van as well. I follow the driver to the trailer, where Doug is coming down the steps (he has NO keys in his hand), followed by a woman. I look at Doug and he says they want an additional $26 a day for insurance on the car. I tell the woman that my personal car insurance wll cover us. She argues that in Mexico, no insurance covers rental cars. We must take out a separate policy for $26 per day. I told her No. Give me my money back that I have already paid. She says the website where I booked has the car rental money. I have to contact them! She has no money! Fine! Can your driver take us on to our hotel? NO! He will take you back to the airport; that’s all! So, we got our luggage and climbed back into the van for the ride Back to the airport! Stay tuned!