Viva Mexico! - The Arizona show is going along great! Tips are up and our concessions sales are better than ever! We even got to perform the old "Edwina" show for the first time in 11 years! We dusted it off to get it ready for "Tortugapalooza". But, I�ll talk more about that in the next update.
The big event this month was our trip to Mexico. Nogales to be exact. It�s about 3-1/2 hours south of Az. Festival site. We actually made two trips down but for the sake of brevity I�ve kinda combined the trips into one. Sam - the guy that sells jerky at the shows - was already there. He told us to meet him at this scary pool hall him and a friend were at. We crossed the border and found the place. They already had Tequila and Cervezas ready to go. We got there late and wanted to get some shopping in so we headed out to the street. We weren�t done with the beer yet but they told us it was ok to leave with them, so off we went.
enounter with La PoliciaWe hadn�t walked three blocks when two Mexican police officers approached us. They stopped us and started speaking Spanish and broken English about the beers we were carrying. It was quickly obvious that we couldn�t have open containers on the street. The funny thing is that from my knowledge of border towns, all the police have to speak both languages. That left me rather suspicious about their intentions. Soon, the street vendors were involved, complaining that the police were bothering potential customers. They said they were going to have to bring us before the judge to decide what was going to happen. There was no way we were going to get in the ratty old police car that just pulled up. We just kept asking them what it would take to make this all "go away". Finally, one of the vendors that spoke English very well pulled one of the cops away and motioned Sam over. They chatted for a couple of minutes and then Sam walked over and said "Let�s go!" We quickly walked off to continue our evening�s events.
We asked Sam what happened and he confirmed my suspicions. He had given the officer $50 and all was well. I figured it was just a squeeze for cash but it should have been resolved much quicker than that. Leave it to us to be in Mexico for only 30 minutes before almost getting arrested. There�s never a dull moment where the Twin�s are involved.
Next, it was off to our next stop, La Pharmacia! If you ever get to Mexico I highly recommend stopping by one. All of the over the counter drugs there are one half to one tenth the price. We got Amoxicillan an antibiotic and Zantac an antacid in 100 tab bottles for less than $10 a piece. That�s what you�d pay for 6-10 tabs in the U.S. You can also get other cool stuff too. Like Xanax and Vallium. They�ll write you a prescription right on the spot. Of course, it�s only good in Mexico and you can�t bring them across the border unless you hide them somewhere. Something I�ve heard that people do from time to time. But far be it from us to endeavor in such underhanded practices.
While the gang grabbed a bite to eat, I decided to go back to the Pharmacia to see if they had Sharon�s birth control prescription. She pays $38 per month for her pills. I showed the prescription to the doctor and he checked his books to find the nearest equivalent to Sharon�s pills. He pulled a box from the shelf and said that this would do just fine. I asked how much they where and he pulled out his calculator to covert the pesos to dollars. He said they�d cost $5.00 American. I was floored! Then he opened the box and showed me that the box contained three months worth. Three months for $5.00! My jaw hit the ground. So, I bought a years worth of B.C. for Sharon for about $21.00. Less than we pay for one month in the states. FYI - When we got back I checked on the internet site of Sharon�s B.C. pills and they listed what we got in Nogales as a valid generic equivalent. I always do my homework.
Our second trip was similar to the first but without the Mexican police. We hit the Pharmacia again and drank lots of Tequila but decided to hit some strip clubs and a really beautiful restaurant called "La Roca".
Nogales sign�gang at La Roca�in front of the strip club
Let me tell you something about Strip clubs in Mexico. There are no rules! The girls can do just about anything you�re willing to pay for. I got one of the scariest yet most enjoyable table dances in my life. Somehow Ronn managed to loose his Cell Phone during his dance. God only knows how. You can get a totally nude dance for $10.00 or get a private executive dance downstairs for $20.00. (Something I wasn�t brave enough for) Maybe next year. Anyway, it�s also an experience I highly recommend.
dinner serenadeOur last stop for the night was dinner at "La Roca". I guess loosely translated, it means "The Rock"? The restaurant is built into the side of a cliff. It�s actually carved out of the rock face. It�s absolutely beautiful! The dinner menu consisted of standard Mexican fare but also had some really creative dishes as well. The highlight of the dinner had to be when the mariachi band came to our table to serenade us. That was rather surreal knowing this was happening in Mexico as opposed to some cheesy bar in the states. I got some great pictures as well as a little video of the band. I�ll try to include some of it with my journal (You ask, and your webmaster will do - watch the video either on�Windows Media Viewer - 1.97MB�or for�RealMedia player - 135KB�).
On our way home we hit another local casino and managed to loose a little more money. Again, something we�ve been excelling at lately. I think our next trip out of the country should be the islands or maybe Europe. It�s just so hard to really get away with our tour schedule. Especially, with Tortugapalooza on the horizon.
Mexican pit stop�more cocktails in Mexico
