December 2013 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico.

I have stated many times on this blog...the best days to go to Mexico are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Monday's in my opinion are the best.  There were no surprise ICE stings at the International bridge, no traffic...no nothing.

Not that I keep tabs or for that matter care...but I could not believe the City of Del Rio had already put up the annual Christmas decorations on the U.S. side of the International bridge.

You will note if you are ever in this Del Rio/Ciudad Acuña border...that the U.S. side extends for a longer ways than does the Mexican side.  It is clearer during the Christmas season as the U.S. ends where the decorations do.

The Domino's Pizza place went under after so many years!  Now they have Azteca Micro Negocio in its place.  It is owned by TV Azteca the second largest television network in Mexico who unlike the number one station promotes small businesses.  It owns banks by the same name Banco Azteca where one can open an account for very small amounts to help encourage savings. They are not just located in Mexico but have a presence in other Latin American countries as well.  Their goals are to promote free enterprise and help small businesses in particular those owned by women, the lower income class and Mexico's forgotten indigenous population.

While a block away from Exchange Alley (term I coined) this was the going rate earlier today at this particular Exchange house.  Later on that afternoon they took down the sign with the rate to buy dollars.  Must have been heavy speculation as the price shot up.

The sun was shining on my face when  I spotted a place that sells piñatas and for a moment I thought Santa was a piñata as well.

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, as my windshield was dirty.
I also wanted to photograph the guy peddling the street vendor cart.

When I got in front of the establishment it became clear that Santa was not a piñata but an inflatable doll :-(

The bicycle vendor did not seem to appreciate that I was photographing him for my blog, lol !

All of Mexico's gasoline stations are owned by Pemex (owned by the Mexican Government).  This is the first time I see one with the actual price in Mexico, the U.S. price for comparison (most Mexicans with proper documentation fill up when they cross over to Del Rio) and the exchange rate that they will take your dollar for.

On this Boulevard they put up holiday wreaths and each one has the name of the local business who sponsored it.

The tree going up in front of City Hall was being decorated on this day.

Across the street from it...a Circus was setting up.  This mall known as Plaza Bella is where Aurrera (owned by Wal-Mart) is located and where we shopped today.

Later on that afternoon as we cruised down Exchange Alley...we noticed how much the price of selling dollars had spiked.  What does this mean?  It means that Mexican citizens have to pay a lot more to buy US dollars.

On our way back to Del Rio, Texas....

Hardly no traffic crossing back to the U.S.A.

Got a real nice agent, asked me what I had to declare...told me to pop the trunk and I was on my way. Need to emphasize that if you are planning a trip to Mexico, now is the time to do it.  Pretty soon the Mexican holiday shoppers will swarm the American side of the border...no matter what the dollar exchange rate is!

You can expect to be in line from one to two hours on both sides.  You might ask...why the Mexican side?  Mexican authorities try to crack down on people that bring more than they should without declaring it, to avoid paying taxes.  Others will go visit their families during the holidays.

Someone asked me why I did not go to Mexico during November 2013.  Actually I did, but I did not blog about it because it was a quick trip to the beauty shop as my mother and uncle were going to an event.  I had also recently returned from Terlingua and I was beat!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.