|
The apparent advantage of Ristorante Machu Picchu is that it is across the street from Oasis “massage†parlor, one of my favorites (Calle 32, 150 meters north of Paseo Colon). A week ago in the early afternoon, I enjoyed a great session with a gorgeous, young, hard-body, multiorgasmic red-head (dyed of course) who claimed it was her third day in this line of work after quitting a job at the Internet Casino. At 17,000 colones for one hour, I remembered why I go to Costa Rica – she was surprised by her own hotness. So I was in a very good mood and well-showered when I went across the street to Machu Picchu, which was full of families, daters, and groups of friends (no other foreigners). I always seem to get the same waiter, perhaps because he speaks English. I ordered a half-liter of wine off the menu, but he insisted multiple times that I try a full bottle of the house wine for the same price. I repeatedly said that the price was not the same – 9,300 does not equal 12,000. But he insisted that the tax on the half-liter bottle would make the price equal to the full bottle. So I finally gave in on his wine recommendation (a Chilean, not bad), and ordered the brochetas (grilled skewers) of beef, chicken, and shrimp with some veggies. I then drank wine, ate a little bread, and waited-waited-waited for the disappeared waiter to re-appear. People who came in after me were served complex courses of food while I waited. Finally in my broken Spanish I asked another waiter to find my waiter and food. In a few minutes my waiter re-appeared with the food and complained that the cooks had taken too long. The food was hot but obviously overcooked, so that the shrimp was tough and the beef was dry and black. My theory is that my waiter took a break, returned to find my cooked food cold, and asked the cooks to nuke it. To top things off, the bill stated that the wine cost 12,500 colones not 12,000, and (you guessed it), tax was added on top of that, as well as a 10% “service†fee. I told the guy I would call the police if he didn’t reduce the price, and he did, while complaining.
Overall, this is the kind of gringo-ripoff game that turns me off to Costa Rica. Clearly this place with its substantial prices would not be full of Costa Ricans unless they were treated well, with great food. But the gringo gets the shaft. These moments remind me of the C. R. cops who shook me down on the highway while waving the locals by, of the girl at New Fantasy who gave me 2,000 in change when she owed me $5, of the taxi driver who claimed to know where Hostel Marruecos was and drove the wrong way to a place that pays him a fee, and the list goes on and on (e.g., the new pricing and rules at Pantera Rosa). It’s impossible to feel secure from being ripped off unless you stay on the grounds of the Sportsmen’s for the entire trip, with transportation supplied. I say all this while knowing that I have been well-treated in many places by many people in Costa Rica (and that includes the red-head, the Hotel Castillo, and the dancers at Key Largo). One final clarification: because of the Machu Picchu set-up with covered windows and empty doorway, no one saw me come out of un-marked Oasis, so the bad treatment did not have to do with negative feelings about prostitution or johns (maybe I could understand this). No, this particular waiter simply hates Americans, and he is the guy who is going to wait on you if don’t heed my recommendation to go elsewhere.
_________________
Same river, new water
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Calendar
