Mexico

We made it back from Mexico! It was a fantastic experience, but…it is funny what a difference a few steps can make. We drove to Nogales, Arizona, parked the truck in a Burger King parking lot (which we paid $4.00 to park in), we walked across the street, down one block, through two-8 feet high turn-stiles and presto we were in a whole new country. It was easier than crossing the border from Canada to the USA and took way less time, however what was on the other side was so very different. 20 steps into Mexico Jay and I gave each other the look…like-“what were we thinking, bringing the kids here? Should we just turn around and go back now?” After almost 16 years of being married that’s all it takes-one look and you are having an entire conversation. We held little hands harder and continued forward. After making our way through the crowd of waiting taxi-cab drivers who were asking us (all at once) if we needed a cab- we continued down a block to be asked continuously if we needed medicine and if we could come into the pharmacy. We weren’t sure why there were so many “pharmacies” only a few steps into Mexico (although we did figure that out later) and we were sure wondering where the tourist items were. Hats? T-shirts? Mexican Jewelry? Tequila? One simple turn was all it took and there we were ---smack in the middle of tourist heaven. Shopkeepers were coming at us like bees to honey. It didn’t take us long to get into the bartering and we enjoyed a few hours of high intensity haggling. The kids were a little mortified at first, “Mom, come one- it’s a good deal” and “Dad, you always get your way!” In the end, I think Triana was mostly impressed by her Dad’s ability to get a $65.00 blanket for $15.00. If we had stayed any longer I am sure Kassidy would have been negotiating on her own silver jewelry. Ry was happy with deals and his very cool sunglasses, but just didn’t appreciate the high pressure sales. We certainly did not get to see much of Mexico, however it was a neat experience and we all came away with a little treasure and some cool memories- Kassidy also came away with braided hair.

p.s. the pharmacy stores were for Americans who had prescriptions for medicine, but no healthcare coverage in the States. One more reason to be thankful to live if Canada.

p.s.s. Vanilla is a VERY popular item to buy in Mexico- they said it was because it made good cookies, but we didn’t really believe that!