We checked out of the room and got into the short lineup for the USA border crossing, declared our two bottles of booze (tequila and Kahlua) and drove back to the RV park. First check was the fridge and it is fine so I guess that particular drama is over.
I have to think out the teeth thing, it was quite a shock when they almost doubled the cost on me. We will stick around in the US and make plans.
Since we did not spend any money at the clinic we had to pay for our own room but at the 'patient' price of $35 US per night instead of the regular $50.
The whole peso/dollar thing was very confused. We always spend pesos in Mexico but that does not work in Algodones where only dollars are used which we had hardly any of. There is only one ATM in town and it had a sign on it indicating it was out of dollars and only had pesos. So here we were with nothing but pesos in a US dollar economy. Pretty much everyone was accommodating, using their smartphones to convert their prices to pesos, the only exception being the hotel and attached restaurant who objected to taking pesos and who charged us an unfair exchange rate.
The other problem in Algodones is keeping track of the time. Baja California Norte is in the Pacific time zone but because 99% of their customers come from Yuma, AZ all the medical clinics work on AZ time. Most other businesses run on Mexico time so you can see how confusion reigns.
Anyway, it is nice to be back to the RV and our own soft bed. We are paid up here until Saturday and there is nothing to do around here so we shall relax!
We've been in Mazatlan almost two weeks.
1 hour ago
Three years ago in Algodones and I bought new glasses and even had lunch paid in Pesos and both times came out better than the exchange rate the were a bit befuddled though, I had a couple hundred dollars in Pesos i wanted to use up and did pretty good.
ReplyDeleteArizona MarketPlace in Yuma is always interesting, as well as the Yuma Swap Meet (Mexican style fun), both Thursday to sunday.
Or enjoy relaxing, we love that too.
I know you started your work at this clinic on the border but maybe they are taking undue advantage of their location and the fact that they have started your work. A second opinion might be in order. The fact that they are giving away the room if you buy seems to indicate a fat margin. I had a beachfront suite last winter in Progreso Yucatan for 42 USD a night. A drive a little deeper into Mexico might save you thousands. The dental work I've had in Mexico has never been more than 25% of what it costs me here in Ohio.
ReplyDeleteAs for "giving away the room" they do 1 night for each $1000 spent so it's not really that big of a bargain. I don't think there's a fat margin when you consider how much cheaper they are than the US dentists.
DeleteI agree with Norm. Algodones isn't really Mexico, and you know that because you've been to the real Mexico! I don't care how much of a deal it is compared to Canada or the U.S....for that kind of money you could easily buy a plane ticket to just about anywhere in the world in order to save a couple of thousand dollars and still come out ahead of the game.
ReplyDeleteI would shop around some more.
By the way, when Ruth needed to have a crown done on her root canal work, we did it in Algodones strictly out of convenience at the time...but we paid in pesos and at a better exchange rate than we would have got had we done it in U.S. dollars.