Beauty Shop / Little bottles of Coke

As you know I was sick with the flu during December and a good part of January and had not been able to take my mom to her favorite beauty shop in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico.  While I recommend going on a Monday or Tuesday, I did not take her with me on my two prior trips because it was just too cold for her.

Can only show you my haircut because mother got upset
the last time I posted a picture of her on my blog.

I was dreading it because one time I took her to get her hair done on a Friday and ended up spending more than three hours there.  I usually get off first to see if she can fit us in...was very surprised she did not have any customers.  Later learned her dad had passed away last Saturday and she did not open her shop until today.

$6.00 pesos is .47 American cents

A while back a reader wrote to inquire if they sold little Coke bottles in Mexico because he owned an old fashion dispensing machine.  I no longer have his e-mail or for that matter even know if he still reads me. At the time I did not find them, today I saw them at Gutierrez (a grocery store).

$4.90 at today's exchange rate is .38 American cents

I also saw this little washboard and thought....humm it just might work in Terlingua :-)

30.30 pesos is the equivalent of $2.37 US dollars

A reader wanted to know what exactly the rates I put up on my blog mean.  So an explanation is in order. The first number on the sign is the rate you will receive if you change $1.00 US dollar.  In the picture below, if you were to go into that Exchange House you would come out with $12.80 Mexican pesos.

Say you did not find anything to buy and wanted to sell back your Mexican pesos...you would only get back $0.9846 American cents.

12.80 divided by 13.00 = 0.9846 USD

I put up the dollar exchange rates for my benefit as I will buy Mexican pesos when the dollar is high and get more bang for my buck. I do not recommend you do this unless you live along the border like I do or visit often.  I try to pay for everything in Mexican pesos and if I do not use all my pesos...no big deal, I will use them the next time I come to Ciudad Acuña.

I get a lot of inquiries asking if Ciudad Acuña is a safe place to visit.  From my experience and my point of view it is...but ultimately only YOU can make that decision.  Mexico gets a bad rap in the American media and granted some places in the interior of Mexico I would never even consider venturing into.

However, you never hear in the same media about the good things Mexico has to offer, like affordable health care, low grocery prices, excellent travel destinations and the warmth and generosity of its people.  That is what I try to portray on my blog.

Take for instance this afternoon as we were heading back to Del Rio...the lines to cross into Mexico were so long they extended beyond the toll booths on the American side.  That gives you an idea of how many people visit this border city during the weekend.

By comparison when I got to American Customs...there wasn't even a line!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.