Tuscon 11/1/2004 Richard

Friday was Anita’s and my anniversary and also Anita’s Birthday. She would tell you never allow a man to marry you on your birthday.

We decided to go to Mexico. Nagoles is the border town less than an hour south of us. We had been in the US part of the town several times in our trips to AZ but we had never been across into Mexico. We got there about 1 p.m. and parked about a block from the border on the US side. The lines of cars going in and coming out were very long. The foot traffic going in was very heavy, but coming out people were backed up a couple of blocks. I felt some hesitation as I went through the iron turnstile. We were in Mexico.

Our plan was to look for a replacement of some kind for the plaster sun/moon plaque that was hanging on one of our outside walls. Anita has never liked it.

The first couple of blocks out of the gate were pretty bad. There were street hawkers trying to sell all kinds of things. One shoe shire guy had a special "Baby-Boomers" shine. There were pharmacies with I’m sure great prices on all kinds of medicine (viagra, or you name it). We walked on. After a couple of blocks we either got used to it or it got better. We slowed down and actually went in some of the stores. Anita’s guide book for AZ said that the best bargains were in rugs and some of the glassware. It also said people often paid more here than they would across the border.

We were finally in a store that had a large collection of fine pottery, masks, and various other handcrafts. The pots were signed by the makers and very beautiful. They also had metal hangings of all types. When we showed an interest in the hangings the owner directed us up some rickety stairs to a second floor that was full of bronze, brass, and copper metal works of all kinds. We were offered special prices on each thing we showed an interest in. We finally choose a large sun/moon metal hanging and agreed to take it. I pulled out my master card and there was an extra 5% for using it.

By that time we were hungry and asked for recommendations for lunch. Leaving our purchase to pick up later we proceeded. A little way down the street was a little patio restaurant with table near the street so you could watch the people going by and the other patrons. We took a table near the street and ordered a couple of beers, cheese enchiladas for Anita and pork burritos for me. We had a pleasant lunch. These were not those huge plates of food like one gets in the US Mexican restaurant, but very good. Salsa & chips, rice, beans, salad, and entrée. As we sat there street venders came by selling every thing from gum, flowers, and trinkets. Some singers came by and serenaded some of the tables. When we were ready to leave the bill was $16.

We wandered some more blocks looking in windows, checking out baskets, pondering cast iron gates, and generally enjoying ourselves. The variety and quality of shops was great. Finally we wandered back picked up our purchase and followed the streets to the border crossing. On the way back, Anita wandered into a small shop and ended up buying (for half price) a small metal star like one she had see at a neighbors. When we got to the border it was around 4 PM and the exit lines were much smaller. After about a 10-minute wait in line we passed the border patrol and walked to our car. We figure later we will go to Tubac (a local tourist place) and see if we paid too much for things, but we did have a good time.