“A Little Nip & Tuck, Senor?”

A street of Optometrists and Dentists

Never could determine if this guy was a Surgeon or Dentist

All the Spanish I ever learned was acquired during multiple viewings of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and, since “Esto es un robo” (This is a stick-up) and “Los manos arribas” (Put your hands up) would likely not accomplish much of a positive nature during a visit to Mexico, we made a point of sticking to English during our visit “south of the border”. No problem! We expected to be hassled by street vendors and…. we were. BUT, we did not expect to be approached for dental work, plastic surgery, eye glasses and exams, or pharmaceuticals!!

Los Algodonas, Mexico is a Mecca for Americans looking for cheap (very cheap) medical and dental procedures and prescription drugs. Street after street are lined with medical clinics and pharmacies, all with the requisite “smooth talker” outside, extolling the virtues of each particular medical practitioner and, announcing “today’s special”. Many of the clinics are clean and modern looking, occupied by staff in crisp tunics or medical “scrubs”. Others ……..not so much. Remove the large garish signs and, many of these facilities would not look out-of-place in any Canadian community. As for the quality of the services offered………who knows? Somebody must keep them all in business.

Of course, one can also buy Mexican blankets, local silver jewelry, leather goods, and just about anything else you can imagine. (Yesterday, there must have been a special on large, carved, wooden turtles judging by the number coming back across the border????) Which brings us to…….crossing the border. We (and several 1000 others) parked on the US side and walked across into Mexico. We did not show ID and, in fact, no-one even approached us as we entered the country. No border guards of any kind. We could have been walking down any street anywhere. No hassles. HOWEVER, coming back was slightly different!! The queue of people and cars attempting to get back into the US, snaked down a street, around a corner and off into Los Algodonas. We patiently entered the “people lane” and inched our way towards a typical US border entry point. Surprisingly, the whole deal was relatively efficient and, we were back in the “Land of the Free” in about 30 – 40 minutes. We also found out why it is recommended to walk across…….the US Border Guards really search the cars. An interesting experience but….been there….done that (No T shirt)