Stan's Travels: Palomas, Mexico (1/22/2020)

Any rumors regarding my demise are somewhat premature. After a nice visit with family and friends in Florida, I am now back in the saddle, as they say. Driving across Interstate 10 in January is an iffy proposition to say the least. Last time I did it, I was in snow for two days along with cold temps. This time was much warmer, but heavy rain on and off affected my plans. Rather than making the stops I had planned, I drove through the rain and didn't stay more than a night until I reached Deming, NM. Even there, cloudy and rainy weather kept me inside until the third day. Once the weather was decent, I drove to Palomas, Mexico, a border town some thirty miles away where many Americans go to shop, fill prescriptions and get dental work...all at lower cost than in the U.S. I had no interest in any of those, just wanted to look around.

I've been to quite a few Mexican border towns but I have to say, Palomas is among the worst. Dirty, littered, squalid, you name the adjective. It is easy to see why any self-respecting Mexican would want to leave and come to America. Even some who aren't so self-respecting.

Here are some of the businesses downtown. I've tried to eliminate as much of the litter and neglect as possible, but not all can be hidden. The Pink Store is where many Americans shop for a variety of goods made in Mexico.

Few hotels in town, here are two.

Two "convenience" stores seem to specialize in beer. I've never tried Tecate, but am told it's pretty bad. The advice I got was to drink it with lots of lime and shots of tequila. Thanks anyway.

A plaza downtown honors Pancho Villa and his "invasion" of America in 1916. Pancho and his merry men stormed across the Rio Grande and attacked the tiny village of Columbus, about four miles from the border. Since Pancho was at the time engaged in overthrowing a Mexican presidente, I wonder why he felt this was a good thing to do. He retreated into Mexico having done little damage. General John J. Pershing, "Black Jack" to his admirers, went into Mexico and chased after Pancho for nine months. Pershing was called to higher duty when the U.S. entered World War I. It's interesting that Columbus has also recognized Pancho with a state park named in his honor. Pancho and his "army" finally suffered some defeats and he retired. In 1923, when he was thinking of entering politics, he was assassinated.

A pair of Indian women were at the plaza making and selling crafts. They looked puzzled when I gave them a dollar each, but smiled when they saw the camera.

Residential areas start near downtown. Some of the homes look quite nice, but have dirt and litter all around them. All have wrought iron fences and many have bars on windows and doors. I don't blame them.

The main streets are paved, sort of, but have lots of rough spots and mucho dirt. Side streets are not even paved.

I saw only one church in town, probably enough since most people are Catholic.

There was a small baseball stadium with advertising on its walls, just like in America. I could not see the field without getting out (no way, Jose), but I'm guessing there was no grass, and probably no clay. Still, Mexico has sent a few players to the big leagues.