Originally Posted by SJOGuy

One would think, but people here don't view it that way. That's still their equivalent of our buying a pack of gum and paying with a $100 bill. The other thing that surprised me was that you could get colones in London at all. You had to have paid a hefty premium for that transaction. And for them to stick you with a couple of 50,000 bills was downright mean, although I doubt they are aware of the dynamics.

I always bring something to read when I go to the bank.