Tijuana

Tijuana, Mexico

Saturday, August 31, 2020.  A bright, warm and sunny day.  A great day for an adventure. 

Me - after walking across the border - now in Mexico

Downtown Tijuana - taxi 

Border wall from the bus - looking through to the US

Border wall ends in the water - other side, the United States

My daughter Teria, granddaughters Skye, Cherokee and I drove from Orange County down to San Diego to catch our tour bus.  After our bus driver picked us up in San Diego he dropped us off to cross the San Ysidro crossing by foot to the US - Mexico border.  Tijuana is located on the Pacific coast of northern Baja California in Mexico.  Confusing right.  

You walk up a ramp and follow the signs into the border patrol building on the pedestrian plaza walkway near PedEast to the San Ysidro Port of Entry.  It is known as the San Ysidro land border crossing with Mexico.  When you enter the building you fill out a tourist permit and present it at the Mexican Immigration department checkpoint.  Once you have cleared immigration you walk a little further and you will see a sign that says "Mexico" (pictured below).  You keep walking on the walkway and you will exit onto the street.  Our guide walked us about a block and that's where we met our driver, Juan.  Hold on to your hats, shoes, glasses, because he drives like there is no speed limits, no signs, no nothing, just full steam ahead.

Before Juan picked us up, we had about 20 minutes to look around in the shops in Tijuana.  You will see a lot of shops advertising medicine.  

After boarding the bus, Juan drives along the border fences that separates Mexico and the United States and he is giving us his history lesson.  It is something to hear about the iron fencing, but to actually see it, unforgettable.  You see mountains, hills, valleys, deserts while looking through the fence to California. 

When we were dropped off by the border fence it is a area where there are shops and restaurants.  I went to use the public bathroom but a gentleman sitting outside stated that I had to pay for the toilet paper.  As you can see from the pictures, people have written on the border fence.  

The beach is called Border Field State Park - San Diego and people were enjoining the beach.  I saw people swimming, children running around, families eating, laughing and music playing.  Now I have seen on National Geographic a border fence that ends in the water.  And here I was standing just a few feet away from that same border fence, that same fence I have seen countless of times.  You can just walk around it and enter the United States.  Nope.  There was a  United States border patrol agent sitting in his jeep.  But you can see how easy it would be.  But I actually got to place my hands on the fence and read some of the writings.  Most of the writings were names of people.  I also saw the Mexican police patrolling the area as well.  I found out later that this was not part of our tour but Juan thought that we should see and have that experience.  And it was an experience.  

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