General newbie questions

Thanks for the replies eveyone. You have answered a few of my questions.

Yes the \"E\" stands for Edmonton. Thanks again eveyone for the info!

I would recommend travelers checks instead of credit/debit cards. I have been to PV every year since 99 and one year I forgot to get travelers checks before I went. I used teh ATMs and credit cards instead. A month later I got my CC bill and noticed someone had gotten a hold of my credit card number and went on a shopping spree at a Radio Shack in Mexico. I had to go through the whole fraud department thing and they advised me not to use credit cards in Mexico again.

I have used my bank card for several years down in PV, and my pin # is about 7 digits long, and I have never had a problem.
But the service charges from the bank at home are ridiculous!!!

\"Do you tip on a daily basis? Do you hand it directly to the maid or simply leave it in the room?\"

We tip daily. It is possible to have the same person clean your room for six days, and then someone else come in on day seven and pocket the whole tip.

If we see her before we go out for the day I hand it to her, if not I leave it with a note that say \"gracias\". If you know her name you could put that on the not also.

Do you mean Las Caletas boat tour? It is great. I just did this in Oct and it was wonderful. You spend the whole time there, You can swim, snorkle, kayak. They have mini cooking lessons, nature walks pottery making. And you can get massages (for a fee). You have a typical lunch. It is totally relaxation, the have hammocks scattered around. Water is beautiful. I would reccomend this to everyone.

For Chow Lady, Yes I tip daily. I leave 10 or 20 peso on the unmade bed. At the end of the trip, I usually leave something extra too, maybe 100 peso with a thank you note in my best Spanish. I stay at the same hotel most trips and am on a friendly 1st name basis with Rosa. This is not the reason I do it, but I found out early on that even my modest tipping got me more towels in the bathroom than my non-tipping friend in the next room! Susan