Whenever I am down visiting Corpus, my father always suggests visiting Mexico. I've been trying to secure financing to visit my friends who are working in Mexico City, but I have been less than successful in that endeavor. Last weekend my folks decided that the next best thing would be to cross the border and arbitrarily walk around. So the afternoon of "Black Friday", we drove down to Brownsville, Texas.
We parked the car in a parking lot in Browsville and joined the hundreds of people crossing the border into Matamoros, Mexico. We paid the 50 cent bridge toll and walked across the bridge only to stop before we physically crossed the Rio Grande because the garage called my father with information about his car. There were a number of people who appeared to be returning to Mexico from Brownsville with shopping bags, but we were the only easily-identifiable tourists crossing the bridge.
Bienvenidos a Mexico, we made it, my mother warned us all to turn off our phones because there were people under the bridge that would steal our numbers, whatever that means. Someone told her that, at least, about the horrible cell phone trolls who live under the bridge.
We went straight through customs and immigration, no one stamped our passport or asked to see it. ...if we were going further into Mexico we would have needed to acquired tourist visas, but at this border they assume you are either a Mexican citizen or a day-tripper. As we walked further into Mexico we saw this miles-long backup to the US border and were thankful we did not take our car.
We got to a tourist map and then I asked what the plan was. We had no plan, and my mother did not want to take my Mexico guidebook in her handbag, so we had no idea what we were doing. I said we should walk to the plaza. My parents assumed there would be all sorts of attractions conveniently located along the river. As we walked a block into the city we started getting hustled by Taxi drivers for rides, a man claiming to be a guide came up to us offering his services and his abilities to get us a Taxi. He had a laminated ID-card around his neck, you can't counterfeit something like that! So we got a Taxi and he took us to the market.
The market sold all the famous trinkets that Mexico is famous for, Sombreros, silver, maracas, leather, wool ponchos, hammocks, et cetera. My mother bought a tacky silver wall crucifix and I bought a set of maracas with "Mexico" painted on them. We were brought around to every vendor in the tourist market, we saw no other shoppers. Although it was near closing time, it was Black Friday and apparently, according to our guide and the vendors, we were the only tourists in the entire city all day.
We parked the car in a parking lot in Browsville and joined the hundreds of people crossing the border into Matamoros, Mexico. We paid the 50 cent bridge toll and walked across the bridge only to stop before we physically crossed the Rio Grande because the garage called my father with information about his car. There were a number of people who appeared to be returning to Mexico from Brownsville with shopping bags, but we were the only easily-identifiable tourists crossing the bridge.
Bienvenidos a Mexico, we made it, my mother warned us all to turn off our phones because there were people under the bridge that would steal our numbers, whatever that means. Someone told her that, at least, about the horrible cell phone trolls who live under the bridge.
We went straight through customs and immigration, no one stamped our passport or asked to see it. ...if we were going further into Mexico we would have needed to acquired tourist visas, but at this border they assume you are either a Mexican citizen or a day-tripper. As we walked further into Mexico we saw this miles-long backup to the US border and were thankful we did not take our car.
We got to a tourist map and then I asked what the plan was. We had no plan, and my mother did not want to take my Mexico guidebook in her handbag, so we had no idea what we were doing. I said we should walk to the plaza. My parents assumed there would be all sorts of attractions conveniently located along the river. As we walked a block into the city we started getting hustled by Taxi drivers for rides, a man claiming to be a guide came up to us offering his services and his abilities to get us a Taxi. He had a laminated ID-card around his neck, you can't counterfeit something like that! So we got a Taxi and he took us to the market.
The market sold all the famous trinkets that Mexico is famous for, Sombreros, silver, maracas, leather, wool ponchos, hammocks, et cetera. My mother bought a tacky silver wall crucifix and I bought a set of maracas with "Mexico" painted on them. We were brought around to every vendor in the tourist market, we saw no other shoppers. Although it was near closing time, it was Black Friday and apparently, according to our guide and the vendors, we were the only tourists in the entire city all day.
We then ate at a local restarant, I had some very good fajitas and some Tecate (beer). I practiced my Spanish with our guide, I remember a lot more than I thought I would.
We took a Taxi back to the border and then walked across. At the US border, they inspected our passports but did not stamp them.
After nixing the idea to stay in South Padre, we drove home.
We took a Taxi back to the border and then walked across. At the US border, they inspected our passports but did not stamp them.
After nixing the idea to stay in South Padre, we drove home.
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