Down Mexico Way

This morning I mentioned on F*cebook that we were going to Mexico. I received several "be careful, be safe" comments. I have to admit, I was a bit floored.

I didn't really think about the possibility of problems until we actually walked across the bridge that spans the Rio Grande River and saw the armed soldiers in a small tank-like vehicle and armored car sitting on the Mexican side of the bridge. Ten years ago Denny and I came here with friends and the worst thing we had to deal with were the beggars who stood shoulder to shoulder at the end of the bridge holding out styrofoam cups for the tourists to drop their coins into. Today the four of us stayed on the main street leading south into town, hitting the big tourist shops, browsing the stands of jewelry, purses, DVDs, dolls, more jewelry, purses, DVDs, etc that line the street. Not much has changed in ten years, except back then there were street performers for the "winter Texans" and today the only performers we saw were the exotic dancers riding around in a golf cart to advertise the gentleman's club down the way.

Not to make light of the drug situation in Mexico, but it's not like that in every border town. Granted, there are towns I wouldn't go near and I wouldn't wander too far off the main drags of the towns we do visit. But there is safety in numbers and Nuevo Progresso is a town you can still visit without too much worry if you use common sense. So we went, we wandered, we had lunch and a couple of Tequila Sunrises to drink and we spent some money and we walked back across the border with no problem. And chances are we'll do it again before we leave Texas. I might even buy some Chiclets the next time around.