May 2013 Return trip to Mexico

After just going to Mexico on Friday decided to make a return trip today.  Last Friday was primarily for my mother to go to the beauty shop and we really did not anticipate having to spend three hours there.  Live and learn...NEVER go to the beauty shop on a Friday or a weekend!

If you ever want to go to Mexico and not encounter long waiting lines on the international bridge or the stores...I highly recommend you go on a Monday.  Crossing both bridges today was a breeze and no down computers encountered today either.  Still wondering why the computers of the Customs offices of three countries...USA, Mexico and Canada...could all go down at the same time and practically all day Friday.

We hit three stores today Aurrera, Merco and Gutierrez.  We saw a marked jump on prices just from our visit three days ago.  All fruit and vegetables prices are through the roof in particular my serrano peppers...but they are still cheaper than at HEB.

Even my medication went up and they only had two boxes.  If you are new to my blog...I buy my medications in Mexico because I do not have medical insurance and also because it is 80 percent cheaper there.  I have found that if you buy prescription medication you get better prices in grocery stores than if you buy them in the tourist pharmacy section at the entrance of any border town.

At noon the dollar exchange rates down Exchange Alley were varied...

It has been my experience that either buying or selling dollars you get better rates in late afternoon after the stock market has closed...it was no different today.  Ended up with a very favorable rate for selling pesos at $12.00 Mexican pesos to one US dollar with my new friend at the furniture store/exchange house.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

May 2013 trip to Mexico

Mom had been hinting that she wanted to go to the beauty shop for some time...but we have had so many things going on that it was put in the back burner until today.  Friday's is not the best day to go to Mexico or to the beauty shop but what the heck.

Did not know whether to take the Toyota or dad's old car.  Both have issues...the Toyota was the recipient of half of the stuff I had in my Kodiak Canvas tent that I took down a few weeks ago.  If I were to empty it...where would I put it?  Dad's old car needed to have the new license plates installed...something I have been putting off since October (my face blushing).  Guess which one I went with?

Before going to Mexico had to make a quick trip to the post office to mail off some payments and then to get some gas.  Prices remain the same.

The lines going to Mexico were not long but they were searching everyone.  Got a polite young officer who asked me to pop my hood and also searched the trunk and my ice chests.  Asked me where I was going and I said Aurrera (grocery store owned by Wal-Mart) and he sent me on my way.

As was to be expected for a Friday, our hairdresser had a lot people.  We were there close to three hours...which I put to good use by taking cat naps.

Afterwards we went to Aurrera for our monthly shopping expedition.  It was getting late, it was hot and we were hungry so I did not go to Gutierrez (a grocery store) where they sell my medication as well as those yummy chocolate cakes.

The exchange rates down Exchange Alley (name I made up) were as follows:

Since today I was in the market to sell pesos I went with an exchange rate of $12.05 pesos to one US dollar.  This is the third time I have gone to this furniture store/exchange house and the gentlemen that runs it is a very nice man and always rounds my exchanges to the next dollar.  That is a gesture I very much appreciate :-)

On our way back home the lines to cross into Mexico were backed up to the toll booths but if you have been reading this blog you already knew that.  I have no idea why the media says that no one goes to Mexico anymore.

With budget cutbacks or without them I have never seen all the inspection lines open.  Today there were four open...three manned and one where you wave your Passcard but can only use if you have nothing to declare.

Overheard them say that the computer system kept on going down...so mother and I being the dangerous criminals that we are..were not detected by the inoperative computers :-)   However for the second time in one day I was asked to pop open my hood and my trunk.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

March 2013 trip to Ciudad Acuna - Part II

As is customary I had to drive by Exchange Alley (a name I made up) so I could see what the going rate at the local exchange houses were and pick the one that was most favorable.

The Mexican Red Cross was having its annual drive and we were happy to support the cause.

In Mexico the great majority of pharmacies have a license doctor on premises if you have a  minor illness such as a cold, sore throat, minor scrapes etc.etc...you can be quickly seen and a prescription written out if the medication so requires it.  The cost is nominal depending on the pharmacy it can be from $30.00 to $50.00 Mexican Pesos that would be in the neighborhood of $3.00 to $5.00 American Dollars at the very most and assuming an exchange rate of $10.00 pesos to one dollar.  I am lazy I can not do math in my head so here is a rule I hope is helpful...Rule of thumb:  just move the decimal point to the left and you will be in the ball park.

Here is a list of services their in-store doctor provides sorry for the bad angle
but the other one I took was out of focus.

For the reader who asked about the price of Viagra,,,I have no idea what it sells for in Mexico

I got an e-mail asking if Mrs. Crosby's was still open.  For decades this was a very famous destination for American tourists. Unfortunately they had to close its doors when their clientele base the majority American citizens quit coming.

Wanted to take a picture of La Presidencia Municipal (equivalent of our City Hall) without the Christmas tinsel for Trouble (one of my readers) but I am sorry to say that they have not remove it yet :D

A few pictures of the Mexican side of the Dam

Hope you enjoyed your cyber trip to Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico and that you might consider coming to visit one or both sides of these border cities.

Who says nobody goes to Mexico anymore?

We embarked on our monthly shopping trip to Mexico. As you might recall the last time we were there was on Valentine's Day.  After paying our toll on the American side ($3.00) we saw a LONG line of cars waiting in line to clear US Customs.  Definitively will drive to the Amistad Dam crossing station I commented to mother.

I know what you are thinking..the lines are long because of the cutback in personnel...true, but there is no denying ALL these people had been to Mexico.  I was happy to see a lot of American tourist everywhere we went, Ciudad Acuna could sure use the economic boost.

We first went to Gutierrez (a grocery store) they have two stores of this chain but I like the one in town better than the one in the suburbs as there is more parking and a lot less traffic.  We were only going to buy a few things that are normally cheaper here than in Bodegas Aurrera or Merco such as serranos, bananas, pastries and my medication.

However the prices were so economical that we ended up doing all our grocery shopping here and in the process saving ourselves some time but most importantly money.  We could not believe the number of people at the store specially since it was only Tuesday.

We stopped to visit a friend of ours that owns a photography studio.  He was delighted that his Del Rio clients were once again making their way back to Ciudad Acuna.  Speaking of traffic there is a Mexican channel that you can see the security cameras all over the city and he zoomed in on the main International bridge and we could tell that only two of the five lanes were open...that did it...would definitively cross at the Dam!

So off we went to cross back to Del Rio at the Amistad Dam Crossing.  Could not help but notice that a lot of other people had the same thing in mind but I was NOT prepared for what I saw when we got there.  I am not good at judging distance but here it clearly states we were 1/2 mile from Customs when we joined the long line :-(

It did not take long for more cars to arrive and the line to grow even longer.  I got out and started taking pictures and soon other people joined me, lol, including the lady and two girls in back of us who took out their tablet and cell phone and began snapping pictures of the line and what is left of the lake.

Looking toward the back of the line

We even had a chance to chat as we waited for the line to move :D

Looking to the front of the line

Happy to see we almost made it 

Not a good picture snapped as we were about to clear Customs

Even though we had to wait in line for one hour and 21 minutes I am glad we decided to cross at the Amistad Dam Border Station.  It sits high up on the dam and we had a constant breeze.  It was very warm yesterday and mom's van does not have air conditioning.

I took a lot of other pictures but I do not want to make this post too long and will save them for a future post.  So if you are wondering if it is safe to cross into Ciudad Acuna...judge for yourself.

Thank you for dropping by.

Feliz Dia de San Valentin

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day.  Since Santa Claus has ignored my request for "a tall weathered cowboy" for two years in a row...I do not have a honey to celebrate with...poor me :-(

I spent my Valentine's Day in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico.  I went to my dentist's office to pick up my night guard and it fits like a glove.

Since this is also my cyber journal I wanted to mention that as I was getting ready this morning the lights went out. What gives?  Last week it was the water and now no electricity?  It did come back on after 20 minutes.

Even though the morning low was 35 it warmed up to 71 per WeatherBug but I think it was much higher than that because I had to turn on the car A/C.  After we got through with the dentist we went to do our monthly grocery shopping.

Note the big banner advertising their Cuaresma Specials...that means Lent.

We shopped at Bodegas Aurrera, Merco and Gutierrez.  There were so many photo ops all along the way  but when driving in Mexico you really have to be alert because they don't bother signaling or slowing down like we are used to in the States.

Here is a helpful tip...if you hear cars honking, do not think they are honking at you...even though they may if you are going too slow :D  In Ciudad Acuna, taxi cabs honk at people who are walking to see if they need their services as opposed to the U.S.  where we have to flag them down.

For a while it brought back memories of when I lived in Houston and street vendors peddled their roses at the corners on Friday nights (though I have no idea if they still do that).  Every corner you looked there were people selling roses or Valentine baskets.

If you wanted to sell your Mexican pesos to buy dollars, today's rates were very favorable:

On our way back to Del Rio we were so surprised at the lines going into Mexico.  They were long and backed up past the toll booths.  On the other hand it was smooth sailing to the United States, no lines at Customs and I only had a one car wait.  I will call this my Valentine's Day present, you will seldom if ever find short lines to cross back to American soil.

These are the toll booths on the American side

Gasoline prices did not care if it was El Dia de San Valentin...gas went up .10 cents from yesterday. :-(

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

My Reward

Yesterday's trip to Ciudad Acuna was exclusively to get my dental work done.  So much so that I did not even take my mother with me which does not happen often.  I figured I would be in pain and in not so good of a mood and would come right back.

I was not photographing this store but the exchange
rates on this block

To my disbelief the opposite was true, I was in a good mood and had no pain (was still numb). I therefore decided to go purchase my medication for this month instead of waiting till next week.

I am always looking at the dollar exchange rates and if they are favorable I will buy or sell pesos depending on the occasion.  Today was an odd day, it seemed the exchange houses had different rates.

It was not a good day to sell dollars but it was a good day to buy them.  Since the Dentist charges in US dollars it was not an issue.  However this is also a Cyber Journal so I wanted to document today's rates.

A little known secret if you happen to purchase your medications in Mexico.  As you go further away from the main tourist district the price of medications drops even at the same pharmacy branches.  I prefer to buy mine at the pharmacies located inside of grocery stores like Gutierrez and Bodegas Aurrera.

As I made my way to the pharmacy...I happen to pass by their bakery and this cake called out to me...

Decided that I deserved a reward and what better reward than a chocolate cake with strawberries and slivers of white chocolate on top?  It was 115.00 Mexican pesos.

                                      115.00 divided by today's best rate of 12.45 = USD $9.24

The lines to cross back were not very long and I got a nice young officer to greet me back to the United States of America.  Home Sweet Home!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.