
We went a day early and flew into San Jose. The Hampton Inn near the airport was very nice and certainly up to the company standards. We had not been able to get the local money, colones, at the airport. Either we didn't recognize an ATM machine or there just wasn't one in the arrival area. The receptionist at the Hampton (who by the way was very sweet and helpful and spoke excellent English) suggested we go to the casino across the street next to a Denny's where there was an ATM inside.
On our way, we saw a restaurant sign, "authentic Costa Rica food" and decided we were hungry. The place was called Rostipollo. I knew pollo meant chicken. I don't know what the rosti might have stood for. It is a fast food type chain but table service. I had what looked like a taco salad but was called something else. It was delicious! The refried black beans in the bottom were a little sweet. Different than anything else I've had.

We were about to go back to the hotel and try to figure the whole thing out (I forgot I had a converter app on my phone) and it began to pour rain. We looked at the 5 MIL bill in our hand and decided to play some slots while we waited for the rain to stop. Bob went to the cashier to get the 5 MIL changed into something smaller. She looked strangely at us but gave us 5 1,000 colones bills (worth just under $2 each). By the time we had played several machines, we finally figured out how much to withdraw from the ATM to get around $50. The afternoon passed pleasantly in the casino as we waited for the rain to stop. Cost of entertainment was only $8 and we got free coffee.
Welcome to Costa RIca.
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