Caro went back to the beauty salon she went to yesterday and got a pedicure (hard to turn down at $19!). There was a tremendous downpour this morning but it had finished up by the time she started walking there.
After lunch we caught the bus (9 pesos/ 65 cents) to the downtown where Caro left off a pair of shoes at a shoe repair place to get stretched a bit more (estimated cost $3.60). We will pick them up next week.
We needed more cash and so began a couple of stressful hours getting money. First stop was a huge bank called Santander (corporate head office is Spain). Several of their ABM's were broken and the lineup in the bank was huge so we carried on looking for another option. Next stop was a smallish Mexican bank called Banorte. Their ABM refused both my ATB debit card and ATB Mastercard. Also we couldn't tell from the ABM screen if our bank account had been debited the withdrawal or not (and hadn't given us our money-now I am stressed!!!!).After that we decided to forget the small Mexican banks and instead caught a bus back to the area of town where there are lots of expats and banks should be set up for foreigners to get cash (i.e. the shopping area near Soriano's and Walmart). First stop; Scotia Bank. A Canadian company-should be no problem. Hmm ....Rejected my debit card and then when I used my ATB mastercard, IT ATE IT!!! No chance of getting the card back and there was nothing the bank people could do about it. Told us that all cards "eaten" are destroyed. DAMN!!!!!!!!
OK now I am angry (and we still need to get money). We walked a couple of blocks to a mall that we knew had a Banamex location. Unfortunately their machines were out of service so we were out of luck. The bank fellow told us that Walmart had an ABM so off we went. We walked into Walmart and sure enough they had two different bank ABM's. We tried my ATB debit card and it WORKED!. Hallelujah!
This photo is taken from the beach behind Walmart. Our place is located where the beach curves over to the far right (at the right hand side of the photo).
After the bus ride home I got on-line and confirmed we have had only had one withdrawal today from ATB debit. I also tried to contact ATB to ask for a new card but their website does not seem to allow e-mail contact. I will monitor my Mastercard account very closely to confirm all is OK (we will be using Caro's ATB card for the rest of this trip-and we have other cards if needed).
We had leftovers for supper to clean out the fridge as tomorrow we are going to the city of Colima to meet up with Fernando/Edu and Tete/Ruben for a couple of nights.
This was our sunset tonight. Absolutely stunning!
Tonight Caro kicked my butt in rummy. Sigh : (
We left our rummy game with the Quebec folks for them to use until we get back on Saturday.
How frustrating, my friend, Linda, and I had a day like that in Mazatlan. I am so glad that I bank at Scotiabank so I know their machines will work for me but that day we weren't near one of the 2 Scotiabanks in town. I'm surprised that Santander didn't work for you, maybe because ATB is more like a credit union? I hear your pain.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. We didn't try Santander because there were too many people.. I just tried my Westjet card and it worked fine.
DeleteHow is your winter in Mexico going?
Ugh! Sorry to hear about the bank fiasco. Definitely stressful. Enjoy your time in Colima. We are headed home tomorrow. Had a great week despite the rain. Monday we hiked in it but it was warm. Tonight we had a a great dinner at a new rooftop restaurant called Casa Luna. It is on the peninsula between Las Hadas hotel and Hotel Tesoro. One of the most astounding sunset views we have seen in our travels. If you are looking for a special night before you leave we would recommend it. Open We’d to Sun 6pm onward.
ReplyDeleteWe are back from Colima. Thanks for your reply and we will look into your restaurant recommendation. I hope your trip home went smoothly.
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