{"id":8383,"date":"2025-05-12T19:02:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T19:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/?p=8383"},"modified":"2025-05-29T16:56:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T16:56:36","slug":"usa-tijuana-mexico-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/index.php\/2025\/05\/12\/usa-tijuana-mexico-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Tijuana, Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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11.-13.6.2024<\/p>

The drive from San Diego to the Mexican border took only 25min. We couldn’t take the rental car across the border, and driving in Mexico didn\u2019t sound very tempting anyway, so we parked our car in one of the long-term parks near the border, and walked to the Mexican border.<\/p>

Crossing the border on foot was really easy. First, we walked along a footbridge that lead to a gate. Above the gate there was a big \u201cMexico\u201d sign. We walked through the gate into a building where the officers x-rayed our bags. After that we continued our walk outside. We thought we\u2019d end up to a booth where we would show our passports, but no. Apparently that x-ray screening was the only official checkpoint on the way into Mexico. It seems like the Mexicans are not very interested in who comes across the border from the US side. The US border on the way back is a bit more strict, we were told.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Still on the US side of the border.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The entry to Mexico isn't exactly appealing.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Right at the border, there were a large number of taxis offering rides to those crossing the border. The taxi charged 15$ for the 3km ride to the hotel, which was clearly too much, but we didn’t want to argue about it, so we hopped in. As our accommodation is not a regular hotel, but more of an office hotel type of solution, our driver had a little trouble understanding where we were going at first. Fortunately, Jaana still speaks enough Spanish to explain where we wanted to go.<\/p>

Our apartment on the fourth floor was huge (two living rooms, open kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms). The apartment also had a balcony, which didn’t offer much of a view. In addition, the lobby in the middle of the apartment complex had a comfortable lounge area where the kids liked to play ping-pong and pool.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A tight match in progress.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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As our apartment had not yet been cleaned, we left our things at the reception and took a ride with \u00dcber towards the centre of Tijuana. This time the ride only cost six euros (120 pesos), so we really were overcharged when we got here. To be honest, there wasn’t really anything to see in the centre. It soon became clear that this city was not a sight to behold or a cultural cradle. Perhaps that also explained why we didn’t see many other tourists in the centre, apart from ourselves.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mexico was a new destination for all of us.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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This was probably the only tourist attraction in Tijuana.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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We took a peak into a local church. Almost 80% of Mexicans are catholics.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The streets were lines with all kinds of entrepeneurs. This booth was shining shoes.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This gentleman was selling ice cream. Ronja is bargaining for jewellery in the background.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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We walked for a while along the main street of the town, and at the door of every shop (even the pharmacy) we were invited in to see the selection of boutiques. We didn’t buy any tourist junk. Only Ronja bought herself a bracelet for three dollars. The local currency here is the Peso, but we don’t have any. Fortunately, at least here in Tijuana, the locals are happy to accept dollars. After our sightseeing walk, we went for Mexican food at a restaurant next to Plaza Santa Cecilia. The food was excellent. The tacos and tortilla sheets are made in the restaurant every day. The only downside was the mariachis who kept trying to perform to us, and we had to shoo them away from our table at regular intervals.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Plaza Santa Cecilia<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Restaurant La Tradicion offered delicious food and cheerful service.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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After our meal, we visited the local supermarket (which had a wide selection of tortilla sheets!) and took an \u00dcber ride back to our apartment for the rest of the day.<\/p>

Tuesday was the only full day we had here in Mexico, so we decided to go on a full-day guided tour from Tijuana south to Baja California. We wanted to see if the area was more beautiful than Tijuana, and what there was to see. Our driver, Eric, came to pick us up at 9am. He had offered to come even earlier if we wanted to have breakfast tacos together before the trip. We declined this offer, and started at 9am. Before we drove out of Tijuana, we went to the northwest corner of Mexico to see where the US-Mexico border meets the Pacific Ocean. For those wanting to cross from Mexico to the US, swimming is not an option. Two soldiers armed with assault rifles patrolled the Mexican side of the wall. We assume that a similar reception awaits on the US side.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Swimming across the border is not a good idea as the area was patrolled by armed soldiers.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The furthest point of our trip was “La Bufadora”, a blowhole south of the town of Ensenada. Blowhole is a place, where water enters a cave from the sea, but does not come out the same way, but spurts out like a geyser through a narrow opening in the roof of the cave. Before arriving, however, we stopped to admire the view from the Mirador Salsipuedes. The morning was very cloudy and foggy, so the pictures didn\u2019t come out very good, but on a sunny day the views are certainly spectacular. In addition to taking pictures, we also bought a small box of honey-covered pecans.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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On a sunny day the views would have surely been great!<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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After a couple of hours of driving we arrived at La Bufadora. The area was crowded with souvenir vendors harassing the tourists there. We managed to avoid the vendors selling boots and ponchos, but when it came to the freshly-baked churros, we could no longer resist. We bought a bag of them for six dollars, and dipped them in condensed milk. They were really good, by the way! We weren\u2019t the only ones there, because several busloads of cruise passengers from the port of Ensenada were there too.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The mandatory family portrait<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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We're getting some freshly made churros!<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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