I’ve just received an email from a reader who visited the Yucatan very recently, and he reported several instances of short-changing at government-run spots: toll booths on the cuota, and at the archeological sites of Sayil and Uxmal. In most cases, he was able to receive the correct change just by raising an eyebrow or pointing out the (perhaps) mistake. But unfortunately in another case, he didn’t notice the problem until it was too late.
Considering how it happened at several spots in the same area and that so many of the people, when confronted, were very quick to offer correct change, the visitor got the impression that perhaps word had just recently got around that this was a very easy scam to pull.
I personally haven’t experienced this–I have found Yucatecans to be quite honest. But I am also not surprised to hear of this experience. In any place with a very high tourist trade (and many of those tourists accustomed to paying in dollars for things on the coast, and so dealing with pesos not as frequently when they head inland), I can see how it would be very tempting for a bored, underpaid toll-booth worker to skim 20 pesos here and there.
So, please don’t tromp around eying everyone suspiciously, as 99 percent of the people you meet will be honest. But please keep your normal travel smarts about you, and do always count your change (and make a careful note of which bill you hand over–the pink and red ones are easy to confuse!).
And if you notice a discrepancy, point it out politely. You will still get your money, and the person who may or may not have tried to scam you gets to save face. But the person still definitely gets the message that this is not an easy con to pull!
(And thanks so much to John S. for writing–I appreciate tips like these so much!)
