Taking off, final taxi scam
I left the Hotel Chalet Suisse, and made sure that I got a metered taxi out front. The meter started out fine, normal 35 cents. I ignored it until we were about a mile from the airport, and I saw that it was almost $5! No way. The cents were racking up like we were going 200 miles per hour.
I told the taxi driver, "No way". He said, sure, that's normal. No way, I said again. I had taken a taxi to Cafe Rojo from my hotel, which included the taxi driver going the wrong way, turning around, going back, sitting on the side of the road with the meter running, and it came to $3.80. I think it would have been about $2.50 if he had gone right that time.
He said he'd do it for $5, and I said, I'd have no problem talking to the police about it, while reporting his taxi #6114. I said $2, he said $5, I said $3, and that was the final price. Even when it's metered, you've got to watch out.
The checkin for the Copa flight was pretty slow. Even using the First Class line, it took me 20 minutes to get to an agent. I got free use of the Sala VIP, which has free internet, sandwiches and non-alcoholic drinks.
I stopped by a pharmacy the other day to pick up some Azithromycina. They have a generic version here, that starts with a "B", but I don't have a box handy. It's a strong antibiotic, three pills, one a day for three days. I've had throat infections occasionally that I think are from DATY, and this has always worked for it. Less than $5 for a box of 3, this is a very good deal. You can also negotiate a deal with small and medium sized pharmacies for a 10% discount if you pay cash or buy a few. You only want to take these when you really need to, so you don't build up an immunity!
Why they sometimes think we're stupid gringos
I will give a minimum of $1 on a short ride. Otherwise, I may round up to the next dollar, or not.
Your line, "Everyone is just trying make a living" makes me scoff a bit. The guys trying to rob you in the street are just trying to make a living too. That doesn't mean I have to go along with it, though.
I'd say that 50% of the ripoffs that are attempted on me (not physical robbery), are by taxi drivers. If a fare is supposed to be $3, and they try to get you for $7, that's a 133% rip off. If you're in the states, and the fare is supposed to be $50, but they charge you $115, you'd complain, eh? I always think like a local, when I'm some where. I'm sure a local wouldn't put up with this type of thievery. In fact, the chicas that I've been friendly with, always think "stupid gringo" when they put one over a guy.