Old Timer Garage

Today is our last day in southern Arizona. Starting tomorrow, our road trip begins. We are going to take advantage of today to have a look at how things are on the other side of the border.

After a quick breakfast, we get in the car and drive the 10 minutes that separate us from the Mexican border. My brother has got a fast pass but for him to use the fast lanes, the car needs a pass as well as every one of the passengers which of course we don’t so we are going to have to use the standard lanes instead. Not a big problem as it is Sunday today and the border isn’t too busy. Besides, it is generally easier to go from the US to Mexico than the other way around, go figure ;)

We go through pretty quickly. The officer takes our passports, we lower the windows and take the sunglasses off and off we go. It is not always as simple as that. Sometimes the officers want to look a bit deeper and search the car and in this case, you need to leave your keys, ID documents and mobile phone on the dashboard of the car and you go into a cell while your car is being searched. This has already happened to my brother and generally, it is easily two hours lost in a common cell. It won’t be our case today luckily.

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Once on the other side of the border, the atmosphere is very different. I know South America for having spent quite some time over there and I find the same time of environment: the noise, the smells, the way they drive, the dirtiness, the music everywhere… and I love it!

 

We go and park the car next to the wall that goes along the border. The idea is to go and see the old hotel where my brother lived for a few months when he first arrived there and to take advantage of the bar to get a few margaritas. It is already hot so the air conditioning of the old hotel is more than welcome. I really like the way the hotel is decorated. The outside of it doesn’t have anything special to it but the inside looks really old with its leather benches, very dark wall papers and carpets, all of this barely lighted by old wooden lightings. It feels a bit like a saloon. Even the elevator is manual with its operator who goes in with you to start the elevator and stop it right in front of your floor. A big jump in the past.

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Another detail that I love with this culture is how welcoming they are. These people are happy to live and like to talk. A few words in Spanish with the elevator man and I made a new friend. He explains me the history of the hotel and the area around it.

The bar of the hotel is of the same taste with its long and curved leather benches. Our margaritas are brought to our table and the waitress starts to talk with us.

I take advantage of the conversation to try and get an idea of the living conditions of the people who live next to the border. Those who are lucky enough and wealthy enough get a visa to go to the US, the others are left to stay in Mexico and look through the gaps in the wall that makes the border. It is quite sad to watch.

After having finished our margaritas, we walk around in the shops next to the border. There is pretty much everything everywhere. A lot of colours and a way of selling stuff very latin… People shout at us to come and have a look inside, sometimes in Spanish, most of the time in an aproximative English. Prices can and must be negotiated. It is a game I learned in my previous stays in South America and that I came to enjoy. Most of the time if you can’t speak Spanish, you can safely estimate that the prices will be at the very least doubled for you so you really must negotiate hard even if you have to pretend that you are leaving to go and find your luck somewhere else. It is a real game, both parties try to get the upper hand. But as the saying goes, the right price is when both seller and buyer are happy.

 

One thing to buy in Mexico if you fancy it are cowboy boots. They are of very good quality and cost around 80-100 US dollars. They are much more expensive than that on the US side of the border. I didn’t know it at that time and I paid 150 dollars later on for a pair of boots when I could have had them much cheaper in Mexico.

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Anyway, after having walked the city centre of Nogales, we get back to the car to go and get lunch in a small restaurant further inland. Mexican restaurant of course and we make sure that our waiter understood that we want our food as mild as possible… It won’t be enough but at least we will be able to swallow what we are served. The place is very nice with a thatch roof and wooden walls (a few months later, we will learn that this same restaurant caught fire and burned all the way to the ground). The place is really authentic and the food is delicious… The whole peppers will stay in our plate untouched.

After lunch, we drive further inland again to go and visit the plant where my brother works. Like many European and American companies, they have their headquarters and design offices in Europe and North America but production sites are in Mexico to take advantage of the cheap labour prices. Very interesting visit for me since I work in the same industry as my brother.

After the visit, we drive again but in the other way. The end of the day is getting close and it is time to queue to cross the border again.

I take advantage of the waiting time to have a look at the cars surrounding us. A nice electric green Camaro passes by us.

Children walk between the lanes of waiting cars trying to sell snacks to people waiting in the lines: chewing gums, snacks, water bottles or fruit juices…

Once on the other side, we drive to the top of the neighbouring hills to get the view with the sunset. We are next to the border wall and it is impressive to see how much surveillance there is. CCTV cameras are everywhere and border patrols waiting every 200 meters pretty much.

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Nogales counts 20,000 inhabitants on the US side and 200,000 inhabitants on the Mexican side. If you have a look at it on Google maps in satellite mode, it looks like a mushroom with its foot on the US side and the head on the Mexican side.

Right on the other side of the wall is an invasion. We can hear the noise of it from where we are and my brother tells us it isn’t rare to hear gunshots coming from this place.

The length of the wall is impressive. It goes as far as the eye can see on both sides following the relief of the hills.

Once the sun has set, we go back to the house for a nice dinner. We already have to pack up our stuff because tomorrow is the start of our road trip. If they hadn’t started yet, the holidays will get serious tomorrow.

To be continued… here: 5- Saguaro National Park

 

 

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