A Quick Trip to Mexico

We finally decided that maybe it was time to go across the border and see for ourselves what the attraction was. A lot of our Winter Texan friends, many of whom are Canadian, have suggested going over and having a meal. We heard that the shopping was great and everything was inexpensive.

We've also heard about certain places not being safe due to drug cartels running things in some of the border towns. One news program reported on a university study that showed a drop in Winter Texans in recent years, with the number one reason given is fear of immigrants coming across the border. We were told by our Canadian friends that they were not fearful, but that many Americans are.

We were invited to go over with our next door neighbors last week, but then Ron had a bug and couldn't go. So, this week we decided to try it out for ourselves.

One thing we learned before going is that for $2.00 you can park your car on the American side and walk across. It costs 50 cents to go into Mexico, and 25 cents to come back. You walk across a bridge over the Rio Grande.

Interesting sign over the bridge crossing into Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. 

If you want to drive over it costs $3.00. There seemed to be lots of parking on the Mexico side. Also, you could apparently have your car washed while you shopped and had lunch.

They had a nifty way of getting bags of cement to the second story of a building...not.

You can buy bags of charred wood...I guess for cooking?

We ate lunch at a patio-dining type of place, although I didn't get a photo...the interesting thing was that one by one, vendors who were walking up and down the street, now paraded by us as we waited for our food, each one showing us what they had to sell. It seemed to me that if I just said no, they persisted and asked me multiple times if I wanted to buy. But if I showed a little interest, looked at their item, and then said no, they accepted it and left.

The most unwelcome person was a man who had a karaoke strapped around his shoulder, along with a microphone into which he sang too loudly, with the background music blaring. He also had a tip jar attached (taped?) to his shoulder. Happily, he left us after about three songs.

The food was good, and the service was also good. I drank bottled water (Ron had brought some with him), and no one got sick.

We didn't see much that we needed to buy, but the pottery was fun to look at. It reminded me a lot of Nogales, which I had visited a couple of times back in the days when I lived in Tucson.

We paid our quarter to leave and showed our passports on the way out. No one was harmed, and it was really not a big deal. Our neighbors still want to take us with them and show us their favorite place to eat. So, if there is time before we depart here next week, we may make it over one more time. I might have to get one of those colorful flower pots for a plant I brought along on this trip....

Going back to the United States.