bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
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Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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Algodones, last time in Baja for some time to come
Upon moving back east, I wanted to stop one last time and walk across into Mexico. Hmmm, I can't remember the last time I only walked across. May 1
... international worker's day holiday. Bad day to deal with borders. Does a 90-minute walkabout count towards a trip report?
Mexicali ... Calexico was slammed with Mexicans shopping; bad idea to cross. The pedestrian return line was 2+ hours.
Moving on to Algodones was a blessing and a pleasant surprise, as I'd never been there. Neat, strange little border town. Dentists & eye doctors
hawking their services every 20 paces or so, 2-3 per block. WOW! 
I spent about 90 minutes there shopping 2 bottles of Kahlua, Rx's and a few gifts.
Pedestrian wait time you ask? Zero. Nada. None. Zilch. Non-existent. I was asked to step aside into secondary; was asked 3 questions. Not
searched/inspected. 12 minutes later, I'm on my way. Kewl!  I had way more
than I should have.
Here's a few pictures of the fast hit & run event.
[Edited on 2012-8-5 by bryanmckenzie]
[Edited on 2012-8-5 by bryanmckenzie]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
-Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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when i was working in yuma a bunch of guys would drive down to a sports bar with a, ahem, twist! supposedly it was a strip/hooker/caliente racing bar.
i never went. who wants to be hung over when it's 105 at 9am and you've got 2 houses of interior doors to install that day?
i can remember drinking 3 gallons of water a day and not peeing once. it all sweat out before it got that far!
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desertcpl
Super Nomad
Posts: 2396
Registered: 10-26-2008
Location: yuma,az
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any one remember the Green Door
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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Green Door? Do tell ...
| Quote: | Originally posted by desertcpl
any one remember the Green Door |
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
-Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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My late father hated Mexicans (my wife is from Jalisco)
Loved Algodones
His dentist was there,
his pharmacist
They never asked for papers on his dog when he crossed.
He would never, ever cross over into TJ or Tecate, but he treated Algodones like a second home town.
go figure....
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bryanmckenzie
Green Door? Do tell ...
| Quote: | Originally posted by desertcpl
any one remember the Green Door |
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hey! is that marilyn chambers back there?
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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How hot (temperature) was it when you were there 
Bob Durrell
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bajario
Nomad
Posts: 260
Registered: 1-7-2008
Location: Cardiff
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We put the bullet proof glass and windows in the extended part of the customs building there a couple of years ago. One of the guys put his bags down
on the floor and went to lunch. Came back and picked them up and found a scorpion maybe 7-8" long. It was straight out of a sci-fi movie. Never seen
one half the size again.
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desertcpl
Super Nomad
Posts: 2396
Registered: 10-26-2008
Location: yuma,az
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I some of you might have guessed I live in Yuma
and go to Alogones alot over the years, alot of great restaurants, dentists, street food, its easy to get in and out
we like to take in the Green Door, not for the treats, but to people watch, when we take company to Algondes we usually hit the place, its a hoot,,
its more of some thing to do and its different
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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I'm still not sure what The Green Door is.
I was being silly and just posted a graphic I found online, thinking it might be adult entertainment.
| Quote: | Originally posted by desertcpl
I some of you might have guessed I live in Yuma
and go to Alogones alot over the years, alot of great restaurants, dentists, street food, its easy to get in and out
we like to take in the Green Door, not for the treats, but to people watch, when we take company to Algondes we usually hit the place, its a hoot,,
its more of some thing to do and its different |
[Edited on 2012-8-8 by bryanmckenzie]
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desertcpl
Super Nomad
Posts: 2396
Registered: 10-26-2008
Location: yuma,az
Member Is Offline
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your right it is adult entertainment
bar , dance floor and cheap hotel above the bar
lots of hookers, one time alot of he/shes
in the after noons and evening the girls put on stripper shows
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8947
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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I *almost* visited Algondones on foot - at dusk. I walked up to the border gate, saw the hoardes of people standing near the entrance, the
dilapidated streets, and got a funny feeling to "keep moving along." It looks a bit like Mexicali on a smaller scale.
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daveB
Nomad
Posts: 244
Registered: 11-6-2003
Location: B.C. Canada
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Mood: wondering about Nomads!
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We visit Los Algodones every winter (that`s when the lineups get long) sometimes we do mulitple trips. Last time there the line to go north was again
looking very long... so we stood in line for the rickshaw (bicycle contraption) for the first time, not the fastest choice that day, but a bit more
comfortable. Once seated on one you by-pass all the gates and most of the officialdom to be met roadside by a Customs Officer then dropped off right
at the walkway to the parking lot. The rickshaw driver has to show his passport as well, as he crosses by a few yards into USA. I think we payed about
5 dollars each.
Tourism drops like a heavy stone once April begins to wear out and snowbirds are on their way home.
[Edited on 8-9-2012 by daveB]
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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Hey Ken, how do you "almost walk" into Algodones? From the casino? Otherwise, it's a car trip from the freeway and beyond, no?
| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
I *almost* visited Algondones on foot - at dusk. I walked up to the border gate, saw the hoardes of people standing near the entrance, the
dilapidated streets, and got a funny feeling to "keep moving along." It looks a bit like Mexicali on a smaller scale. |
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
-Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: thriving in Baja
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Evertime I go to Algondones A pick up at least one , but usually 2 or 3 CASES of very good quality vodka that they sell for around $3/liter. Of
course I drive home on the MX side via Rumrosa - Tecate - Ensenada. Makes it worth while not to mention Rx, glasses, dental or whatever else I need
[Edited on 9-1-2012 by durrelllrobert]
Bob Durrell
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