tijuana mexico

since i was so close to the mexican border, i wanted to set foot in that country. i had never been there. i was a little concerned about driving across with my van of everything I own. what a mess it could be if something went wrong on the streets or at customs! so, I opted instead to cross over by foot. it seemed less risky that way.


with a passport in my inside jacket pocket, I walked over the border to a town called Tijuana. how strange to experience such a change in culture in such a short walk! I was being exessively street-smart while walking around, which resulted in not many photos or off-the-path exploring. it would have been too uncomfortable to do that by myself. this was actually the first time I've gone to a foreign country by myself. it was pretty exciting even though I kept the visit very basic.

it was definitely mexico. a few of the particulars i observed were that baseball caps must be cool to wear, the vehicles don't look like they've ever been through inspection, a stray dog was policing an intersection by barking and chasing people and bikers, and musicians walk down the sidewalk with their guitars and other huge stringed instruments and drums.

I didn't know what to expect when returning to the USA. the border into Mexico required no ID of any sort. it was just a hallway with what looked like one Mexican border policeman and one USA border policeman standing to the side, each holding their big weapons. the USA customs was just like at an airport. it was so simple really, and a lot less intimidating now that I've done it. I'm so glad I did! the vehicle backup looked like a 30 to 60 minute wait, but there wasn't a wait for walking thru.


foreground is the customs wait in mexico. hills in the back are california.

this is from california looking south at tijuana mexico.

i tried to get to the southwestern-most point of the USA, but the border state park had construction going on and the road was blocked. the construction foreman twirled his hand in the air toward me indicating i had to turn around.


the border fence within a mile of the pacific ocean.