Tijuana

 Tijuana is an intense city, bustling and busy. 

Narrow streets are packed with different businesses. Fancy restaurants, food vendors pushing carts, auto mechanics, optical shops, dentists, frame shops, ironworkers, pharmacies, shoe stores, clinics, and so much more can all be found within steps of each other. 

Tecate and Bohemia are local beers. I prefer Bohemia, with a twist of lime!

 Tijuana is a place of contrasts. Pockets of beauty are to be found in unexpected places. 

Numerous walls are painted with very bright colors. Images of Mary are highly revered and scattered throughout the city. 

This friendly fellow was rescued off the streets and is now the proud guardian of his owner. He's big but gentle and loves being petted. 

His owner saved him some nice pieces of chicken and meat left over from our outing. 

 As luck would have it, we went out to a terrific hole-in- the-wall called Al-Manara. Al-Manara means lighthouse, but it is also the name of the neighborhood in which the main lighthouse of Beirut stands. We ordered kafta (ground lamb with parsley), shish-taouk (grilled chicken that has been marinated in yogurt and garlic), hummus, baba ghannouj (eggplant dip), Lebanese salad, and tabbouli. Delicious! 

The food was as good as the best restaurant in Beirut and certainly better than most restaurants (any type of cuisine) to be found in San Diego. I chatted briefly with the owner, who visited our table. 

We stopped at this busy mall on our way back to the border, but it was super crowded and a real chore for us to get out of the parking lot. 

I had never seen this before--the red unit is a portable car wash. For a few pesos, your car can be given the works while you shop. 

We couldn't find where to pay for our parking and drove around in circles inside the crowded lot. Turns out, we had to pay at a vending machine near one of the entrances, jump back in the car, AND THEN the card worked. 

Detail of "some party place" on the way to the border with San Diego.

Because of the slow traffic nearing the border, vendors find opportunity to hawk their wares. Flags, blankets, sugary treats, and kitschy statues of everything from roosters to Jesus can be bought along the way. 

Johnnie Walker, perfume, or a churro treat? 

There is what is called the SENTRI lane for people who have already been vetted by U.S. security and the FBI. It's the "fast lane" for trusted travelers. Both U.S. and Mexican citizens can apply for the SENTRI pass, which works like a passport. It makes going back and forth a lot easier. You have to be careful, though-- fruits, vegetables, all meats, as well as a long list of other items, are prohibited. A turkey sandwich is enough to make you lose your SENTRI pass!