Wednesday – March 18, 2015
Visit to Mexico
Los Algodones, Mexico
Time for us to check off another item on our To-Do-List. We had read blogs and heard from other people about Los Algodones, Mexico, so we just had to go there and check it out for ourselves.
We parked in the Quechan Indian Nation parking lot ($6.00 for all day) and walked across the border into Mexico. There is no passport check on the entry into Mexico. Visitors merely enter through a one-way, turn-style gate.
Los Algodones is an unusual small border town, about four square blocks in size. It is populated with numerous doctors, dentists, pharmacies and opticians. There are probably more pharmacies, doctors, dentists and opticians packed into this four block area than anywhere else in the world! Snowbirds flock here primarily for low cost dental work, heavily discounted prescription drugs, and low cost eyeglasses. There are a couple of open-air restaurants and numerous vendors selling jewelry, hats, leather goods and pottery.
Entering the U.S. from Mexico, on foot, can sometimes be quite a long wait to clear Customs. We have heard it can take an hour or more, depending on the time of day and number of visitors to Mexico that day. We were fortunate on our visit. We entered the line at 11:20 a.m. and were processed through U.S. Customs by 11:35 a.m. Make sure you have your passport with you to facilitate your entry back into the U.S.
We’ll chalk this visit up to a one-time visit; unless we need emergency dental work or are in need of prescription eyeglasses on our future winter visits to Yuma, Arizona.
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
No comments:
Post a Comment