Caught in the act
It was 2009. I hopped on a plane to visit my high school bestie, Anthony, after catching my sleazy ex in bed with another woman. I flew down to San Antonio, Texas, not realizing it was another 4 hours until we reached McAllen (Texas really IS big). My time in Texas was an emotional blur. Bless you Anthony for putting up with me.
McAllen, Texas is very close to the border of Mexico. We hopped in the car and drove to the point of entry. We parked somewhere Stateside & walked over a little bridge & just like that, we were in Mexico.
Borders come in all shapes and sizes
What I remember most about the border, was how epically SMALL the Rio Grande felt. I grew up in Metro Detroit, so I’m used to the Detroit River separating me from Canada. Comparatively, the Rio Granda felt much closer in size (across) to the Rouge River in Detroit, Michigan (for my local folks). The Rio Grande in this spot was unimpressive. Granted I know that it is very, very long. I just had never fathomed how narrow it could be.
Tanks and affordable health care
We were visiting Nuevo Progreso. I remember there was a tank on the Mexico side, just hanging out. My friend & his roommate showed me around town. My friends pointed out their dentist office. It was (& I believe still is) a lot more cost effective for people local to the border to get their dental work done in Mexico. Nuevo Progreso was also popular for the “snow birds” to travel to in the colder months.
I didn’t have much of an appetite with the emotional rollercoaster I was on, so I never did really get a good taste of the food. This was during my pre-celiac days, so I could have had ANYTHING. Ugh.
short but sweet
I wish I remembered more & had immersed myself in my environment that day, but my head just wasn’t in the right place.
We headed back, I showed my enhanced license to border patrol, & we made our way back to the US, by foot.
Hasta luego, Mexico.