May 2018 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México

Tuesday I finally made my way to Ciudad Acuña to get my labs done.  I got a late start so the wait for the results was four hours versus the three it usually takes.  I am not complaining as the same tests at Val Verde Regional Medical Center (our local hospital) are over a thousand dollars while in Mexico I paid $1,145.00 Mexican Pesos at an exchange rate of $17.00 pesos for a grand total of $67.35 US dollars.

I had a lot of errands to run so the time flew by. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your vantage point Ciudad Acuña is experiencing vast growth much like Del Rio. Neither can continue to be categorized as "sleepy border towns".

The parking is a nightmare but at least they did away with parking meters to encourage tourism so the population is no longer subjected to fines...of which I  have been at the receiving end of a couple.  I found an out of the way parking spot and made my way around town on foot.

With the expansion of Ciudad Acuña to the northern part of the city, they moved the Palacio Presidencial (Presidential Palace) out of the downtown district several years ago.  I have featured its modern design on various blog posts in the past.

The former location by the old town square started undergoing a renovation recently. As I walked around I noticed that it was a smaller version of the current Presidental Palace.

There were vendors set up all around the square but I did not get a chance to check them out.  I am looking for a new cowboy hat as my old Terlingua one has pretty much bit the dust.

Finally was able to cash in on Tuesday specials of Martes de Cosecha (Harvest Tuesday) at Gutierrez. Even though most people go early there were still crowds in the afternoon with long lines to check out.  Customers were buying cartons of tomatoes, onions, and other produce which leads me to believe that they probably have a small restaurant or taco stand.

The line back home was long, compounded by the fact that they only had two lanes open...the fast lane with nothing to declare...and a regular one.  They finally opened an additional one when I was about to reach customs and quickly switched lanes.

I took some pictures but unfortunately, I can not post them on this computer. I will have to try to do it from my old laptop.  Where is my tall weathered cowboy who is computer savvy?  :-(

A look at the line behind me. No wonder they opened up
an additional lane!

Forgot to mention that effective this month the toll rate went up to $4.00 to cross from Del Rio into Ciudad Acuña. That rate is set by the Del Rio City Council. The toll to cross from Ciudad Acuña to Del Rio remains the same $28.00 Mexican Pesos depending on the daily exchange rate about $1.65 USD.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Trip to the Beauty Shop - Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, México

If it was up to mother we would go see our favorite hairdresser every two weeks. Being that we have a tight agenda that is not possible so decided to humor her and took her yesterday.

We are now sporting shorter haircuts as temperatures have been in the mid to high eighties and will continue on that pace into the foreseeable future.

Being that Tuesday's are Martes de Cosecha (Harvest Tuesday) we made our way to Gutierrez. Picked up the usual papaya, melon, bananas, cilantro, serranos, tomatoes, yogurt, cheese, sweet bread, bolillos and some low-fat milk.

The bargain of the day were tomatoes. They were selling for $3.90 Mexican Pesos for a kilo. $3.90 divided by an exchange rate of $17.60 equals .22 American cents for one kilo divided by 2.2 lbs brings the final price to .10 US cents a pound.  We bought 2.92 kilos or 6.424 pounds for $11.39 pesos or .65 US cents.

On our last trip, I was lamenting the fact that I did not buy some baked chicken that the Gutierrez personnel bar-b-q on the parking lot.  I decided I would buy some today for dinner.  First I asked to see how big the chicken was since the price was remarkable one chicken for $20.00 pesos ($1.14 USD) or three for $45.00 pesos ($2.56 USD).

It wasn't a whole chicken but a hindquarter and it came with five corn tortillas and a big serving of Pico de Gallo.  A meal that feeds two people for $2.56 USD is a real bargain and we still have one hindquarter left for today or tomorrow.

March 21st was the official birthday of Benito Juarez one of México's most revered ex-president's but being that México has followed in the United States footsteps, it was celebrated Monday so people could have a long three day weekend.

The traffic around banks, municipal and state offices was very heavy.  It, therefore, came as a surprise when we were heading back home that there was hardly any traffic on either side of the bridges.  We pulled into an empty customs lane and were on our way in less than two minutes.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my readers and fellow bloggers for all the nice e-mails you have sent me regarding my dizzy spells.  I had not had the opportunity to go online until today but I promise to personally answer every single one of them but it may take me a while.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Martes de Cosecha - Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico

Last Thursday we made a trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila in order to go to the beauty shop. While I did manage to get a couple of groceries at Aurrera (owned by Walmart) they did not have a good selection of produce and the little that they had was expensive by Mexican standards.

A cold front and rain are on the way. Decided to take advantage of sunny skies and temperatures in the 80's and made our way back across the border.

The new toll booths are almost finished.  They relocated them for security reasons so they can be closer to new ICE and Homeland Security building.

If you have been reading me for a while, you know that I prefer to go to Mexico on Tuesday as grocery stores like Gutierrez, Merco and Soriana have lower prices on that day.  It used to be called "Martes de Frutas y Verduras" (Tuesday of Fruit and Vegetables" but it is now called "Martes de Cosecha" (Harvest Tuesday).

Was surprised at how many vehicles there were...many with Texas license plates sprinkled with some other states...Snowbirds looking for a good bargain?

I found excellent deals including the bargain of the day, tomatoes at $3.90 Mexican pesos for one kilo (one kilo equals 2.2 lbs).  To simplify this, let's use an example of $20.00 pesos to one US dollar.  3.90 Mexican pesos divided by 20.00 exchange rate equals .195 US cents.

.195 cents divided by 2.2 lbs ( the equivalent of a kilo) equals .0886 cents or .09 American cents per pound.  Now tell me that is not a GREAT deal!

I bought tomatoes, cilantro, onions, bananas, chayote, carrots, serranos, squash, papaya, and melon. Other food items such as Oaxacan cheese, turkey hot dogs, sweet bread, bolillos.  Non-food items at excellent prices...toilet paper and bleach.

$11.90 divided by $20.00 = .595 cents per kilo
.595 kilos divided by 2.2 = .27 American cents a pound

You will find better liquor prices at grocery stores versus liquor stores.

The same goes for beer...

A six pack of Bud Light goes for the US equivalent
of $2.98 

If you prefer to have a mixed drink at a local bar, they let you know up front how much they take your dollar for...

So how much is that in US currency?  The first number is the Compra number, which is how many Mexican pesos you can buy with your dollar. The second number is the Venta number which is how many Mexican pesos it takes to buy one US dollar.  For our purpose focus on the Compra figure. I used 20 to 1 ratio, had I had used the higher rate my bargains were even cheaper.

Here are some exchange rates down Exchange Rate Alley:

The line to return to the USA was just about the same as last week's but this time without cars being searched...12 minutes.

I have been asked in the past if there are some safe taxi companies to take you to Mexico. Yes, there are. To be fair all the taxi companies in Del Rio are safe at least to my knowledge I have never heard of someone having a problem with them.

Before they built the new ICE and Homeland Security building, the city offered free parking lots in case you wanted to walk across. Those are no longer available but you can park your vehicle in the taxi company's lot provided of course that you use them to transport you across the border. These establishments are open 24 hours a day.

There are two companies that have their installation close to the International Bridge...Border Taxi and Amigos Taxi.  However, most taxi companies will take you to Mexico.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.