Mexico

We went to Mexico on Monday.  We don't go across near Brownsville where the sister city is Metamoros.  Apparently it isn't very safe.  We went west in the valley and crossed into Nuevo Progreso. We parked on the Texas side and then walked across a bridge.  We had to pay 25 cents to go each way.  The Mexican authorities are there but do not look at your passport.  On the way back,  the Americans only wanted to know if we bought alcohol or cigarettes because there is a tax to pay.

This picture was taken by our friends Arlie and Ron that we went with. It marks the boundary.

This is the Rio Grande which is the boundary between Mexico and the US, taken from the bridge.

This is the north bank.  The fence to keep the illegal aliens out of the US is in the background.

The town of Nuevo Progreso is very touristy where we were, with lots of street stalls and little stores.

Everyone is trying to hawk something.  Even the little kids are trying to sell you a stick of gum.  When we sat at a street level bar for a beer, we were constantly bothered by people eager to shine our shoes or sell us a basket.  It wasn't very busy.  Since the drug wars, trade and tourist traffic  is WAY down and so the locals are very anxious that we should buy something.

Three of the big items are prescription drugs (no prescription needed), dental work (crowns for $200) and glasses.  One lady who goes to the dentist in Metamoros has a car sent for her from the dental office to pick her up on the Brownsville side.  She would not go otherwise.

We didn't buy any of these services, but did buy a few Christmas presents.  Some things are considerably cheaper than in the US.

We thought it seemed quite safe although our friends remarked on the lack of police presence.  Other times they had apparently been more in evidence.  It just seemed like the tourist markets that we have seen in other places in the world.

 On Friday Dec 2 there is a Winter Texan Day there with street music and lots of free stuff to try to lure the tourists back.  Our friends want to go back so we may do that.  I imagine that the crowds will be bigger.