January 2020 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México

I needed to make a trip to Ciudad Acuña but if you have been reading me for a while you know that the lines at the International bridges all over the United States/Mexico border grow significantly from November until January 6th.

Today was January 7th so I did not want to put it off any longer.  I believe I have mentioned that my uncle sends me letters and packages to a friend we have in common in Ciudad Acuña so he won't have to pay "international" charges :)

Went to deliver a present from both of us and had a nice visit.  Mexico implemented a new measure that took effect at the beginning of 2020...they have banned the use of all plastic bags...so if you are planning on a shopping trip to Mexico you better bring your own.

There is a channel on Mexican television that allows you to see a live feed of the International Bridge of the traffic going to the US.  When I crossed this afternoon the line was long and when my friend turned on that channel it was even longer so decided to return via the Amistad Dam Port of Entry.

I was not planning on stopping at a store but remembered I needed Nutrisse hair color and some Decaffeinated coffee.  I stopped at Bodegas Aurrera but they had no carts or I would have bought other items.

For some reason, stores seem to hide some of their merchandise at the beginning of the calendar year so they can raise the prices later on. I was not able to find my hot sauce or Nescafe Decaf had to buy a lesser-known brand.

Since I was crossing at the Amistad Dam Port of Entry went looking for my Kahlua and I will be darn if once again they did not have it!  I guess the Kahlua Gods do not want me to have any :-(

There is a shop within Bodegas Aurrera that fixes cellphones so took mine there and the young lady fixed it in no time flat. She did not want to charge me but I insisted so she said $10.00 pesos so I gave her $20.00 that is the equivalent of a little over a dollar.  I do not recall what the Exchange Rate was today since the phone was not working when I passed Exchange Rate Alley and you know how bad my memory is!

With a working phone and their free internet, I checked the Border Wait Times app.  The wait was 60 minutes...from prior experience that means closer to 90 minutes.  From Bodegas Aurrera it is 15 to 18 minutes to downtown and just about the same to Amistad Dam.

This time I stopped at the Mexican Customs side and took a couple of pictures so you could get a different view from high up top.

Their electric plant

Mexican Customs

Looking to the Mexican side of the lake.

This is looking towards the United States part of the lake.

In the background, you can barely make out our port of entry. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

This road leads back to Ciudad Acuña. If you are new to my blog there are no tolls charged if you use this Port of Entry.

I had a fourteen-minute wait to cross back to the USA because only one line was open. The Customs officer manning this line was polite and quite attractive :)

It was a beautiful sunny day with a low of 43 and a high of 69 degrees.


Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.