Mar. 20: First Day of Spring in Mexico

Got up and made sure we had all our paperwork. We don't have a passport so we had to have an original birth certificate and our driver's license. Made sure we had mostly cash - divided up between us and a credit card. I wore my capri's that have numerous pockets with zippers. I had everything zip into a pocket somewhere. It was a beautiful day. In the 80's with a nice breeze although it did get hot a few times (or was that just me).

First picture is where we crossed over the Rio Grande and set foot on Mexican soil. This cost $.25 to walk thru the turn style. We parked on the Texas side for $2 and walked across the bridge. Larry and I aren't used to foreign travel and we'd heard so much about the drug lords screwing up the border towns that I was still pretty nervous at this point. It was reassuring to see so many other gringos (hundreds) in the same border town.

This picture is of a side street - that we didn't go down - but it was full of food vendors. Larry was sorely tempted thinking he could find some good tamales but we held off.


This picture is of the sidewalks we walked down. There were tables set up in front of the stores and tables set up on the curb side of the sidewalk. Therefore, there wasn't much room to walk down the middle. Then you had vendors walking up and down those same sidewalks selling their wares so if you stopped to buy from them and then stopped to look at tables, you pretty much blocked traffic. Pretty slow moving but we weren't in any hurry. Lots of side stores to slip into and browse around in. Then there were side walk ways you could walk down for more stuff and some of them led to other shops in more walkways ( I was visualizing us getting lost and ending up at the American Embassy - embarrassed). Also available were barbers, beauticians, pedicures, manicures, body waxing and massages. I don't know about Larry, but I was kinda overwhelmed by all of this stuff.

And then there were the pharmacies. We priced some stuff and found we could get it cheaper with our insurance co-pay than we could there. Apparently Mexico has some equivalents that are cheaper but I didn't want to trust that. So we'll return to the VA and Wal-Mart for our drugs. These pharmacies were everywhere. If they removed the pharmacies and the dentists, the town would almost be a ghost town.

You could buy adult beverages in any of the local bars and walk down the streets drinking them. I was still holding out for lunch since I only allow myself one. There was silver, bracelets, necklaces, belts, hats, rings, and more stuff inside the stores. Smells of Mexican food, Seafood and Steaks, garlic and bay leaves filled the air. Music was coming out of some of the stores - mostly American country - occasionally some good Mexican music, but not often.

We ended up in a restaurant called Arturo's. Pretty swank for the area, I thought. Waiters in black slacks, maroon jackets with black lapels and white shirts with bow ties. Actual linen napkins and table cloths, silver ware and crystal glasses. The wait staff was always johnny on the spot to fill up the water and tea glasses. Tip and all ended up costing $48 - I thought a little pricey, but I had two margaritas (they were soooo good) and Larry had a drink too. Then we shared a desert. Probably not too bad considering all of that.

We ended up buying some souvenirs and gifts (apparently about $70 worth). We headed out for the border to see if they would let us come back. Paid $.30 to go thru the turn style to get out of Mexico and stood in line to prove our citizenship. Then paid taxes on the little tequila and Kahluah I purchased ($2.25) and headed for the parking lot. In the parking lot there was a little store selling lemonades and other cold drinks. With good intentions we marched in and ordered ice cream. And oh the lemonade went well with that. Will have to go for a long walk tonight.

These pictures are right at the border checks just as you're leaving. The local police were visible in town directing traffic and strolling around. These are Federales with machine guns - made me feel safe.










And here we are at the border right over the middle of the Rio Grande River. Notice Larry has a different hat than he entered with. Found a nice Air Force hat that he latched on to.

I think that will be our Mexico experience for a life time. It was great to get to do this but not something we'd make a habit of doing as so many down here do. However, the dental work is really cheap (dentures for $250) and, I hear the work is pretty good too. When the time comes, who knows, maybe Mexico is in our future - but we'll have to have a passport by then.