Mexico!

Now a lot of people would say you have to be crazy to cross over and visit a Mexican border town what with all the drug cartel violence.  We would not have gone to a major city like Matamoros or Reynosa, but there is much smaller town across a far less commercial bridge called Nuevo Progreso.  A couple of bloggers who we follow recently had gone across to this little town and felt it was safe enough.  Moreover, we didn’t want to come all the way down to the tip of Texas and up to the Rio Grande River and not make at least a quick crossing into Mexico.  We did not drive over.  You have to obtain special insurance to drive in Mexico.  There is a $2 a day parking lot right at the foot of the bridge and you just walk over.  You would think the Rio Grande River would be well, Grande, as it is completing its near 2000 mile journey to the sea at its mouth at the nearby Gulf of Mexico.  Well it is not so Grande.  The areas of the country that it drains are just so dry that the river is not as huge as you might think.

So what is this particular Mexican border town about?  It is all about dentists, eye doctors, pharmacies, traditional Mexican souvenirs, knock off goods, and some restaurants and bars.  There is probably more to if you get off the main drag, but we weren’t about to leave the main drag area to explore it.  We did thoroughly enjoy our afternoon there and we were glad we went.  We wandered through a few shops and had an excellent late lunch at a place called Arturo’s that had been recommended by our friend John.  And we can cross it off our list that we now have traveled in three countries during our full-timing travels.