Northcoast,
I understood exactly what you were implying and did not for one moment think that just say NO is being rude or impolite.

Rob maybe you are not familiar with the Nancy Reagan campaign of the 80's of JUST SAY NO. I certainly do not think that she was implying that we be rude or impolite <GRIN> She was just stating the obvious -that the most efficient way of letting somebody know that you are not interested in what they are offering is a FIRM but polite NO is all it takes.

You must remember that since you have been residing on the island for 20 years you are very comfortable with the culture. However, most AMERICAN tourist are VERY uncomfortable with being approched on numerous occassions throughout the day with offers to buy goods. And I have over 30+ years of traveling to foriegn countries and have in my almost 50 years of exsistence spoken to thousands of people who report that fact. That is just MY experience. So just as your experience is yours please dont insult others by insinuating that their experiences aren't true. It is very rude and impoliet of you to do so.