Shopping In Algodones, MX

We walked over the border to Algodones, Mexico to get a few chores done for the year. Norma and I both needed new glasses so the first stop was at Algodones Optical where they took us right in. Norma got some new Progressives for $170 and they were ready in less than two hours. My $240 Progressives were a little more complicated and will take 10 days to order some special glass. They will mail them home when they are done and my old glasses will work fine until we get home in April. Norma's brother in Victoria gave us his prescription and asked us to get two "regular" pair made for him so we did that and his were on sale with the second pair at 50% off so his bill is only $190 for two pair. They will mail them home to him.

Next, Norma's three year old $40,000 Canadian dental implant job had developed three chipped teeth so we went to get an opinion on a repair job. We stopped at Dr. Sandra Ochoa's Dentist Office where we were told they could replace the whole upper plate for $125 or replace the individual teeth for $20 per tooth. She was a little nervous taking the full new plate deal because the manufacturing process would require destroying the old plate to get the parts out of it to reuse so she went for just having the three damaged teeth replaced. An impression was made and a runner took everything to the Lab. We were told to come back in an hour and a half when everything was perfectly done. Cost? $60 with no charge for the impression. No self-important "specialists" huffing and strutting around showing off their Degrees and delays of days or weeks in the Lab. You just walk in off the street, sit right down and the job is done in a couple of hours. No Problema! Welcome to Mexico!

It was an expensive day but if we had these jobs all done in Canada it would have been several thousand dollars instead of several hundred! The savings today will finance a good portion of our winter in Mexico! I have the feeling that we are being ripped off at home. Viva Mexico!