Algodones, Mexico

Somehow we didn't think we were at Lake Tahoe!

There are many eye clinics there.

This was the chiropractor's office. It was very neat and clean.

The dentists had some interesting artwork. This shows a crown. It hurts me just looking at it.

This is the place we ate our big meal for $7.50. The owner was great and showed us how they use tortilla shells as their bread. He took one of mine and put some salt in it, then he said you can put rice, beans, chicken, beef, pork or donkey meat in it. He said they eat tortilla shells every day as a main staple and anything can go into it. Painted on the wall in big letters it said "If you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it."

We drove 20 miles west of our Yuma campground and walked across the border into Mexico today. They have a huge asphalt parking lot on the US side and it is $5 to park there. Going in to Mexico there was no border check. The cars had to stop but there was nothing for us walk-ins. I should mention that there were hundreds of cars in the parking lot. Coming back there was a walk through check for us at the border. There were about 100 people in line for two inspectors. We met some nice people in line and they were informative – like when they call us to the inspection table, only one person at a time. They also told us that sometimes the line is much longer to get back in the USA. We only need a drivers license now to get back into the USA but starting Jan. 1 people will need a passport or application for a passport.

One must understand that this town is not like most towns in Mexico. It is a town that thrives because of the US people who shop and come for medical treatment and prescription drugs. If you need prescription drugs, they will write one for you and sell you 3 months worth. That is what our customs will allow in. There are maybe 50 dentists’ offices. There are also chiropractors and other doctors. I went to a chiropractor but he wasn’t in. The receptionist said he may be back in an hour and a half. We ate at the street side vendors and the food was very good. Their veggies are fresh and the seasoning is good – a bit spicier than the Mexican food we’re used to. One of the guys saw us coming and pushes some kind of meat off to the side of the grill where we wouldn’t notice it and then offered us beef and pulled it out of a pan already cooked and warm. We got a beef taco and afterwards asked him what the other meat was. He said it was tripe. According to a web search, tripe is usually made of one of the first three stomachs of the cow, but it can be made of pigs, goats or sheep also. It didn’t look too good. My friend Doug Moore would have probably tried it. I was with him in Goshen when he tried tacos with some strange animal body part or organ in it. I spoke with my friend Kevin Sommers by phone while we were there and he said he generally stays away from eating organs – makes sense to me.

The people there were nice and friendly and helpful. Our son Ben collects Harley Davidson T shirts so we bought him two for $16. We didn’t haggle much on price as everything seemed inexpensive already. The one restaurant we ate at I got chicken, beans and rice with chips, salsa, three kinds of dip and also a shrimp taco. Kim also got a shrimp taco and we each got a large bottle of coke that tasted kind of fruity and all was $7.50.