Greetings from Los Algodones!

“Hey, pretty lady, you want a bag, a bracelet?”  “Senor, you like?  I have liquidation prices today!”  “You need dentist?  You need glasses?  You need Viagra?”

 

Welcome to Los Algodones, BC, Mexico!   Yes, this is the place where Canadians and Americans get all their dental, optical, and pharmaceutical needs met at bargain basement prices (teeth cleaning for $25; eye glasses with exam for $29, commonly-prescribed hypertension drug Toprol for $3).

 

We heard lots about this place, but decided we wanted to see it for ourselves.  We met up recently with our pals from Amazon, Jerry and Jack, who gave Claudia, Mike, and my family the tour.   What culture shock for me!  Every step you take, vendors accosting you to sell you something.  People hawking all sorts of wares, some very pretty, some pretty gaudy!  From jewelry, to Harley-Davidson knockoff t-shirts, from paintings to lawn ornaments, from asparagus to prawn!  And if a vendor doesn’t have exactly what you want, he/she will get it for you by visiting one of his/her “cousins” at a booth two blocks away.

 

 



Of course, Daddy could not resist buying the jumbo prawn!



We had lunch and cocktails at El Paraiso, The Garden Place, enjoying the live music and the camaraderie.  Burritos, booze, buddies, and a band—nothing could be better to round out our Mexican experience!

 

 



Me and my buddies Mike, Jack, Jerry, Claudia, and of course, Margherita!



That is nothing better except going through those border gates and arriving safely back in the good old U.S. of A!

 

 



Just a short distance more to get on the other side of that fence and back to my homeland!


Well, it's been a busy day and I'm pooped out.  Too much fiesta!  Time for a siesta!