Our RV site was about 10 miles from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. We wanted to go across the border to do some sightseeing and decided to check with a few people first to find the best way to cross the border and places to explore.
One of our neighbors in the RV park cautioned against it. He is a lifelong El Paso resident and asked why we wanted to go to Mexico when there was so much to do around El Paso. Andy asked several coworkers at the hospital and received mixed responses. Some said, “No way, there’s nothing to see there”. And others said, “I don’t see any problems with it.” We decided we couldn’t be this close to the border and not go across.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we drove to downtown El Paso. Based on the advice we received, we decided to park our car there and walk across the pedestrian bridge. We weren’t comfortable driving across the border and finding a place to park.
After driving around a bit, we found an open space close to Stanton Street. We fed the parking meter enough to cover a few hours and headed south across the bridge.
The Stanton Street bridge, also known as “The Good Neighbor Bridge,” was not busy. In fact, there was only one other person walking on the southbound side. We soon approached the border crossing sign on the bridge, and we were in Mexico.
The gentleman working at the border crossing was very helpful. After asking what we wanted to do and see during our visit, he directed us to walk a few streets west to Av. Benito Juàrez to a large outside market being held in the square. There are many shops there, as well as street entertainers. He also let us know this bridge was not open for entry back to the US. We needed to cross the Paso del Norte Bridge, just a few blocks away. We put our .50 tolls into the turnstile, thanked him for his help, and walked into Juàrez.
There are exchange “banks” all along the street, converting dollars into pesos and back again. It didn’t take long to convert some spending money into pesos. We were ready to shop!
We took our time walking towards the marketplace. Along the way, vendors were selling food, souvenirs, clothing, and various other items. They wanted us to buy their wares, but we declined. We hadn’t had a chance to look around, which we want to do before making any purchases.
The square was full of vendors selling food, blankets, baskets, and souvenirs. As we walked through the market, we saw entertainers on boxes, working for the crowd’s approval and money in their jars.
This “Abrazo Monumental” sculpture of an angel embracing a dying woman by artist Jorge Marin was a bit controversial when it was first installed. We learned the original placement was close to the Cathedral.
After walking through the market and into the Plaza de Armas for over an hour, we needed a break and started looking for a restroom. There were no free public restrooms, and we were hesitant to pay 5 pesos to use one. Especially after watching people go down an alley with the few sheets of toilet paper they received after paying. We decided to keep walking and find other options. Across from the Cathedral, we found a Wendy’s – with restrooms for paying customers. We bought a couple of Frosty’s and got into the restroom line.
After our Wendy’s break, we continued our stroll around Plaza de Armas.
Soon it was time to head toward the Paso del Norte Bridge. We used Google Maps on our phones to point us in the correct direction. As we walked along, we put dollars into the buckets of street musicians and entertainers. We also stopped in a shop and purchased a blanket.
When we got to the bridge, we discovered exact change was needed for the turnstile. We had no change left and no dollar bills. The smallest bill left in our wallets was a $20. We needed .50 each for the toll, the same amount we needed on the United States side of the bridge.
We quickly (the meter was ticking in downtown El Paso) walked to the first exchange bank we saw, and asked the teller if she could break the $20, rather than exchange it for pesos. We explained we needed the change to go back across the bridge. She was hesitant at first, then gave us the needed amount of coins, and the balance in US currency.
After arriving in the United States, we followed the pathway into the customs lanes. After showing our passports, and answering a few questions regarding our purchases and purpose for going into Mexico, we were allowed back into Texas. We quickly walked back to our car, with a few minutes to spare.
We are using the blanket we bought to cover a recliner in our RV. It looks great!
If you would like to see more pictures from our day in Juárez, check out Photography by Andreas Facebook page.
