June 2022 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - Part 2 - UPDATED

Click on the pictures to enlarge

This is the second part of the trip I took to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila this past Tuesday, June 21st. This post covers my shopping at Soriana a large Mexican store on the outskirts of town. I don't shop here often since it is a bit pricier than my go-to stores of Bodegas Aurrera, Gutiérrez, and Merco. Another plus of shopping at the aforementioned stores is that they have stores in at least two locations...near the central part of Acuña and in the outskirts where Soriana only has one store although its size makes up for it.

First a little background on Ciudad Acuña, it is the safest border in Texas you use to see a lot of tourists dining in restaurants, enjoying the nightlife, and shopping. There were numerous liquor stores in the tourist section of town since most tourists bought bottles to take back home as well as an ungodly number of pharmacies where you could buy prescriptions far lower than you could in the USA. However, after 9/11 and the requirement that American citizens now had to present a valid passport to return to the United States including at land points, the 2008 economic downturn, and the killing of a Coahuila State Police Commander said to be drug war-related brought tourism to a halt not just here but in all border towns.

When the tourists quit coming many famous restaurants like Mrs. Crosby's, bars, nightclubs, liquor stores, and pharmacies at the entrance to Ciudad Acuña (the tourist section) were forced to close. In the above picture, you can see the iconic sign still remains but alas the famous restaurant and bar are no more.  However, that was then and now the tourists are back in full force.

You are probably saying..." what does this have to do with shopping at Soriana? "...don't get impatient just wanted to give you a little background information first.

With the demise of liquor stores, many grocery stores picked up the slack, and one with the best selection of liquors, wines, and anything related to that is Soriana. If you want to know what these prices are in dollars simply divide the peso amount by $20.00 which was the going rate that Tuesday. Also, bear in mind that you have to pay Texas Liquor Tax when you bring it back and you are only allowed a one-liter bottle per person.

YouTube preppers tell you to buy Vodka to barter with...

Who knew that they had different flavors of Vodka?

Plenty of Tequila...

Guess what I found? If you have been reading me for a while you know that I have been trying to find Kahlua since 2019 at the other grocery stores I shop at and here it was. For a mere $200.00 pesos or $10.00 USD.

They also had Don Pancho Kahlua for $141.00 pesos or $7.05 USD.

Bailey's...I have never tasted it before...$3.95 USD

Clamato...$3.35 USD

I had never heard of Cuban-style Clamato...it did not have a price.

Now we are going in the opposite direction and focusing on tetra pak, regular, and powdered milk.

I bought a six-pack of Lala milk for $5.70 USD

$3.75 USD

Lots of powdered milk...

Well, we were going in that direction but my pictures are failing to upload for some reason 😠😖 Gosh, I hate technology...grrrrrr!!!!

I had no idea that they were having a special where you can buy three items but only have to pay for two. I purchased three 10-liter bottles of water for only $37.50 each or $1.88 USD.

I also bought my favorite hair color by Nutrisse for 56.00 pesos or $2.80 USD. At HEB they sell for $7.97 each. The savings just on this paid for the two tolls to cross the border and then some...I love to save money 😊

Folks, I think I am going to cut this post short as my computer and/or my pictures are not being cooperative. I started this post at 8:15 p.m. and it is now almost 11:10 p.m. and I am tired.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

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.