The Next Mistake

My two weeks in Costa Rica are nearing an end.  I think I should start by saying I had a lot of fun, because I do need to mention the next mistake.  This one is my cousin's, who is traveling with me.  He wanted to rent a car.  I was against it, but agreed specifically to renting one on our way out of San Jose.  So of course he picked me up in an SUV from the airport on our way into San Jose.  And of course it got promptly broken into our first night.

The car was more expensive than we discussed, but the insurance was even more.  You may be thinking, “You’ve met with a terrible fate, Haven’t you?  Good thing you got that insurance.”
 Unfortunately it didn't cover “accessories” like radios, antennas, and windows.  You know, not a single thing that was damaged or stolen.  Here's hoping his American Express is more helpful.

Just the cost of parking this thing was more than it would have been to take Ubers around town.  And that's not counting the ticket he got for reckless driving.  In my opinion he should not have gotten a ticket for reckless driving.  He should have gotten many tickets for reckless driving.

We spent six days roaming the Costa Rican countryside, looking out on beautiful vistas, and swimming in the ocean on beautiful beaches.  The reason for much of this was the SUV.  I would have been able to get to any and all of these places, but the truth is I wouldn't have if my cousin hadn't wanted to, and the reason he wanted to was that he enjoys driving.

After six nights exploring Costa Rica, we arrived back in San Jose.  By then I had convinced my cousin to surrender the vehicle early.  He even got some money back for doing so.  The whole trip he had described the SUV as freedom.  What surprised us both is that after dropping it off, he too was glad to be free of it.