Impressions from TJ

The complete lack of zoning is startling to an American eye. The houses are packed on the mountainsides, the streets wind crazily around islands of buildings, the architecture is, for the most part, drab, and simply unpretty. One side of a hill may be the wealthiest section of town, but the other side features a deeply rutted, dirt road dotted with large trash (refrigerators! dead animals!) and tire construction (structures made out of used tires).

We poked at a furry "log" on the beach. It really did look like wood, even if the flies seemed to find it inordinately interesting. Luckily, I wasn't the one who touched it, only to find out that were were harassing a poor, dead, seal.

The color palette is different. Lots of browns and reds and oranges. Very little green, as there are no trees and very little vegetation, except on the golf course. Also, the dust! Is everywhere! Coating everything, including your tongue.

Mexican food in Mexico is good. The variations in the endless tortilla and the salsas are surprisingly satisfying as a table snack and stewed meats can be tasty and delicious.

The prostitutes were surprisingly ordinary. At least in Amsterdam, there is a sort of glamour (or at least, better lighting) in working your own window. Some of the women working the street were dressed rather conservatively, and others were working the same streetcorner, within several feet of each other. I wonder if that leads to catfights? Or if it is better for gossip and passing away the boredom of the day?

Illegal crossing of small children! Guess the lone jeep on border control wasn't as concerned about kite chasing-induced crossings as adults making a break for the border.

Mariachi abounds, from the street bands that approach with business cards in hand while you're driving along the city streets, to the loud blasting from restaurant jukeboxes. Since I don't particularly like this genre, even to the point of finding it difficult to understand why other people do, I find it interesting that bands can sustain themselves by hanging out on street corners much like...day laborers, waiting to be whisked away to play at a party at a moment's notice.

The border beach is beautiful and kind of deserted. There is a boardwalk that is mostly empty of customers, which I find odd on a lovely weekend day. A brief rainstorm comes in from the islands, but blows over quickly, leaving behind gorgeous, sunny weather sparkling on clean, damp sands. The pylons marking the border seem only to serve as a token barrier, and a night swim seems like an easy way to cross the border.

Travel, even day travel, in the company of a child is daunting. A brief glimpse is all it takes to appreciate the fortitude of seasoned parents. On the other hand, sharing the sights with a cute child makes for a ton of picture opportunities and completely changes the experience of site-seeing, often bring it down to a 2-and-a-half-foot level.