Nogales, Mexico
So, the delays to Phoenix early on made me nervous, because I just was not certain if we would make it to Mexico that day, and that meant I was not sure if we would make it at all, because the next day would likely be too complicated.
Yet, despite the delays (serious delays, at that), we did eventually make it. And surprisingly quickly, to boot.
We left Phoenix right around 3pm, roughly, right after landing maybe around 2:30pm or so. I immediately looked up the directions and headed towards I-10 towards Tuscon, where we would transfer onto I-19 towards Nogales, Arizona. On the other side of that town is the town of the same name in Mexico. We arrived maybe around 5:30 or so, and immediately parked and headed for the border crossing.
The drive was not bad, and for us, full of marvels. First of all, we enjoyed the newness of this desert landscape. The temperature gauge read 110 degrees, and we had felt it in Phoenix, as well as whenever we rolled down our windows and felt excessively, uncomfortably warm air pouring in. But we also enjoyed the site of all of the cactus plants that we saw on the side of the road, particularly the saguaros. This helped to make a decent length drive feel a lot shorter.
The drive was not bad, and for us, full of marvels. First of all, we enjoyed the newness of this desert landscape. The temperature gauge read 110 degrees, and we had felt it in Phoenix, as well as whenever we rolled down our windows and felt excessively, uncomfortably warm air pouring in. But we also enjoyed the site of all of the cactus plants that we saw on the side of the road, particularly the saguaros. This helped to make a decent length drive feel a lot shorter.
And here is where it got amazing! I had looked up the requirements for bringing a child into Mexico without both parents being present. I am the father, yes. But since he is still a minor, it required more than the standard passport or other documents. What we needed was a notarized letter in both English and Spanish, signed by both parents, specifically granting permission to enter the country. It was a struggle, but we did manage to translate and notarize such a letter, with considerable stress, at that.
But when we got to the border, we went through a turnstile, and just like that, we were in Mexico! There was a sign welcoming us to Mexico, and I took a picture of my son there. But there was an absence of lines or even officials. We walked through a hallway, and I was looking for whoever was going to question us. But we kept walking, reached a gate, and noticing that everyone before us simply walked straight through and onto the streets of the Mexican town, we did the same.
Now, we were in the city proper, and not just hoping to get past the border patrol, or anything. That really, really surprised me.
Just like that, there we were, inside of Mexico proper. But I had not stopped at an ATM, and we had limited money. I thought it might be nice to visit some sites, do a little souvenir shopping, and grab dinner. Despite it being later than I wanted it to be, we actually managed to do all three of those things, indeed.
I had spoken to a friend who had also visited Mexico (numerous times, in his case), and he mentioned that one thing that will stick out is the poverty. It is present, and it is clearly different from the still first world status that the United States enjoys (at least for now). Indeed, some homes and neighborhoods looked quite beat up, and even the touristy sections looked....well, more or less impoverished. Being so close to the United States, I thought it would have been a lot closer to looking and feeling like the U.S..
But it really didn't. I mean, we were just about the only white faces around, and hardly anyone spoke much English at all. Not sure why that surprised me, but it did. I had to flex my extremely feeble Spanish-language skills, and put myself to shame numerous times in the process. To make myself understood a little more, I sometimes spoke in French, hoping that would help.
It didn't.
Nogales is not a rough neighborhood like many seemed to expect it to be. Some Americans seem to automatically assume that Mexico is really run down and dangerous, but I did not really find it that way. There were run downs neighborhoods, and a lot of people approached asking for help, asking for money, or trying to get me to go into their stores. Several times, guys went up to me and whispered in a confiding voice that they had whatever medicine I was looking for. This, of course, is because Mexico, like Canada and many other countries, has cheaper healthcare products than the United States does. It is also the reason why Nogales, against all odds, is known for having a lot of dentists, because Americans can go there and get there teeth taken care of for cheaper than they can here in the States.
We walked around a bit, taking in the atmosphere. There was an attractive old church, or perhaps not even that old. There was a square with a monument that looked appealing. Mostly, though, there were just a bunch of closed places of business, and they seemed mostly geared towards tourists. And while we were there, it appeared that we were pretty much the last of the tourists in Nogales for that day, as night was fast approaching. In fact, we stopped to eat just before hitting the border, at a place where we could watch the cars flocking in from the United States being more closely examined once they were with Mexican border patrol guards, even though the people were still getting in very easily into the country on foot. Much like with us, these people were simply walking in, with no border guards present. I am guessing that they had some kind of cameras or something trained on pedestrians walking in, because surely it could not be as easy to enter this country as it appeared, right?
We walked around a bit, taking in the atmosphere. There was an attractive old church, or perhaps not even that old. There was a square with a monument that looked appealing. Mostly, though, there were just a bunch of closed places of business, and they seemed mostly geared towards tourists. And while we were there, it appeared that we were pretty much the last of the tourists in Nogales for that day, as night was fast approaching. In fact, we stopped to eat just before hitting the border, at a place where we could watch the cars flocking in from the United States being more closely examined once they were with Mexican border patrol guards, even though the people were still getting in very easily into the country on foot. Much like with us, these people were simply walking in, with no border guards present. I am guessing that they had some kind of cameras or something trained on pedestrians walking in, because surely it could not be as easy to enter this country as it appeared, right?
Having had such an easy time getting into Mexico, I thought that maybe we would be given a rough time upon trying to re-enter the United States. But this was not really the case. There was a line, sure. A long one, at that. But once we got to the border patrol, he just asked us the purpose of our trip, mostly focusing on the Arizona part.
Just like that, we were back in Nogales, Arizona. By then, of course, it had been dark for some time. Hell, it was dark while we were eating (well, I was eating, although my son shied away from the unfamiliar food, and simply had a fruit smoothie). We really had only been there for a few hours, while I had expected to spend the better part of an entire afternoon and into early evening there, initially. But under the circumstances, I could not complain. We had managed to get some souvenirs for folks back home, and had enjoyed our admittedly brief stay. For my part, considering all of the conditions that I had seen online that were supposed to be requirements for entry into Mexico, I was still just glad that we were there, however brief the visit, even though it still felt stunning that it proved as easy as it wound up being.
We got back to our car (there was a brief moment when I was unable to find the keys on me, but it turned out that I had placed them, for whatever reason, in my shirt pocket as we approached the car, and this had simply slipped my mind (yes, I can often be that forgetful, unfortunately).
After a bit of confusion in trying to find out way out and headed towards Sierra Vista, we managed to find our way. My son requested some rock music, and I pulled into some small gas station with a convenience store attached, and fished out the cd's in the back. Played some Temple of the Dog, and asked my son if he knew who this was. No answer. I asked again, then turned on the interior lights briefly after again getting no answer.
Lights out. The day had been long, and he was asleep.
The line trying to get inside of the United States was long prior to getting dark, although it for some reason shortened considerably once it was fully dark out. Not sure why, and if this was a fluke, or some strange, regular occurrence.
You can easily glimpse inside of the United States from the wall, although you cannot access it through here.
Viewing the wall across this stretch of the border dividing the two countries from the Mexican side.
This was our first real glimpse of Mexico as we rounded a corner. If you look closely, you can see the wall marking the international border, separating the two countries. Very close to us was Mexico, and off to the distance (on the left side of the picture) you can see the wall cutting across the landscape like a scar. I had wanted to spend a bit more time in the area initially, before all of the delays, in order to take more pictures of this wall, which reminded me a bit of the Berlin Wall. But, alas, I only got the views that I got while rushing to try and get into Mexico as early as possible.
A closer view of the wall, on the upper left corner of the photo.
Just like that, we were back in Nogales, Arizona. By then, of course, it had been dark for some time. Hell, it was dark while we were eating (well, I was eating, although my son shied away from the unfamiliar food, and simply had a fruit smoothie). We really had only been there for a few hours, while I had expected to spend the better part of an entire afternoon and into early evening there, initially. But under the circumstances, I could not complain. We had managed to get some souvenirs for folks back home, and had enjoyed our admittedly brief stay. For my part, considering all of the conditions that I had seen online that were supposed to be requirements for entry into Mexico, I was still just glad that we were there, however brief the visit, even though it still felt stunning that it proved as easy as it wound up being.
We got back to our car (there was a brief moment when I was unable to find the keys on me, but it turned out that I had placed them, for whatever reason, in my shirt pocket as we approached the car, and this had simply slipped my mind (yes, I can often be that forgetful, unfortunately).
After a bit of confusion in trying to find out way out and headed towards Sierra Vista, we managed to find our way. My son requested some rock music, and I pulled into some small gas station with a convenience store attached, and fished out the cd's in the back. Played some Temple of the Dog, and asked my son if he knew who this was. No answer. I asked again, then turned on the interior lights briefly after again getting no answer.
Lights out. The day had been long, and he was asleep.
Seal of Mexico on a park bench near the American border.
An attractive water fountain on the streets of Nogales.
The line trying to get inside of the United States was long prior to getting dark, although it for some reason shortened considerably once it was fully dark out. Not sure why, and if this was a fluke, or some strange, regular occurrence.
You can easily glimpse inside of the United States from the wall, although you cannot access it through here.
Viewing the wall across this stretch of the border dividing the two countries from the Mexican side.
This was our first real glimpse of Mexico as we rounded a corner. If you look closely, you can see the wall marking the international border, separating the two countries. Very close to us was Mexico, and off to the distance (on the left side of the picture) you can see the wall cutting across the landscape like a scar. I had wanted to spend a bit more time in the area initially, before all of the delays, in order to take more pictures of this wall, which reminded me a bit of the Berlin Wall. But, alas, I only got the views that I got while rushing to try and get into Mexico as early as possible.
A closer view of the wall, on the upper left corner of the photo.
One of the views of Phoenix from the air that we had. I think that I just missed one where there were a lot of blue pools in the backyards, which I imagine would be nice if you live in phoenix during this time of the year. What fascinated me also was the contrast between scenes such as this, where green lawns are evident, and the brownish that dominates immediately outside of inhabited areas.
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