mexico

Last Sunday I visited the ruins of a mission built by Franciscan priests at the Tumacácori National Historical Park, about 60 miles south of Tucson. Construction originally began on the adobe mission around 1800 but the project was later abandoned. I enjoyed walking the grounds around the mission and reading about its history. I even managed a few good photos which I hope to get online soon.

After exploring Tumacácori I went to the nearby town of Tubac and wandered through some of the local gift shops and art galleries. Unfortunately most of the town was closed down since it was past 5 and there wasn't much to see.

Leaving Tubac I decided to drove down to Nogales, Mexico. Since Tubac is only about 20 miles away from the border of Mexico I figured it was a good opportunity to go. I was soon passing through Nogales and was across the border. Visiting Nogales was my first time leaving the United States. It was very much like stepping into a different world. I found a place to park my car and tipped the security guard to keep an eye on it.

Crossing the border into Nogales, Mexico was like stepping into another world. The signs were different, the buildings were run down and the streets were dirty. I wandered around Nogales, taking it in, shooting some photographs and getting myself lost. When it started getting dark I tried heading back to the car but I was turned around and didn't know where I was going. So I heralded a taxi, but the driver didn't speak much English and wasn't any help. I kept walking, hoping I was headed in the right direction, but I wasn't. Awhile later I heralded another taxi and to my good fortune him and his wife spoke pretty good English and knew were I needed to go. They drove me back to my car and I happily paid the fare. But getting back to my car wasn't the end of my Mexico adventure.

Crossing the border checkpoint back into the United States is an ordeal. The line was very long and it took me an hour to get to the start. While I was waiting in line I noticed cars speeding by in a lane at the right. The sign seemed to say something about solo vehicles, it was in Spanish of course so I wasn't sure about it's meaning. I figured it was an express line for people traveling by themselves. So I pulled into the lane and got up to the check point, only to find out I'd make a bad mistake. It would so happen the line I was in required some security pass and since I didn't have one, the Federal Agent had to send me back to Mexico and through the correct line. So I pulled my car around, making a U-turn back into Mexico and waited another hour in that god forsaken line. When I got through the check point the second time I was flagged to have my vehicle searched. Thankfully the search was over in about 10 minutes and they let me go on my way.