Day Trip to Algodones, Mexico

 

I'm staying in Yuma, Arizona, but California is only a short ride across the Colorado River (not at all impressive at this point), and then you're automatically in a different time zone - they're an hour earlier than Arizona is.  There is a huge parking lot just on the State side of the border, owned by an Indian tribe, they have tourists parking there for $6 so we can visit this Mexican city.  They're making quite a nice little income from this huge parking lot.  There were hundreds of vehicles of all kinds in the lot today, including numerous RVs.  The tribe has posted signs prohibiting parking along the side of the road on the way in, even though there is plenty of space.  You can park on the road about a mile from the border, but most people don't want to walk that far.  And of course, there's always that warning about declaring all your money over $10,000 to Customs when you come back.  I've always wished I was well off enough to carry that amount of money with me for spending cash! 

 



 

I met up with another solo RVer who had been over to this border city, so it was nice to have a guide who knew somewhat where we were going.  She took me by her dentist's office so that I could get a card for future use - and for just in case.  It's always good to have a recommendation from someone who has actually been there - and was happy with the work.  We walked around town, looking at all the jewelry, blankets, backpacks and other items for sale.  They were bargaining heavily and kept giving us a lower price when we started walking away - one young man started at $50 for a blanket and kept lowering the price until he was at $15.  That was a great discount, but I decided I didn't really need it and didn't want to carry it around all day.  So, in these Mexican tourist towns, don't always expect to pay the price first quoted, and sometimes not the second or third, especially from street vendors.

 

 

 

After we got some items that we decided we needed, we had lunch at a busy restaurant that had outside tables surrounded by various shops.  Of course, we ordered Mexican food, and it was quite good. 

We had heard that crowds lining up to enter the States started lining up at the border in the early afternoon, so we were headed to Customs before the line got too long.  It was a fun day, I always like those trips to foreign countries.