Mexico

Here is an event from a couple of months ago. Ian and I took a trip to Mexico. Sounds fun until you find out it was so I could go to the dentist. I needed a root canal and in conversation with Nathan Carmack, I learned that he has an endodontist that he trusts and the cost is 60% less than I would pay here. Ian wanted to go because he has never been to Mexico before. Nathan, Diane (his wife), Ian and I took my car and left on a Friday. We bought insurance and took my car across the border into Tijuana. Nathan drove- good thing it was crazy. Often I just sat in the back seat with my eyes closed. Nathan especially liked the sound of my horn and used it as liberally as the locals. Tijuana is a huge city; I had no idea.

When I asked Diane if the motel we were going to stay in was nice, she said not really, but it was clean. We got there late, after 11 PM. When we checked in we got the key to our rooms and the remote to the TV. Nathan was hungry, so we took a walk down the street and found an outdoor food vender. It is a kitchen on the sidewalk. We got fresh tacos that were great. My tooth was really hurting so I asked Nathan to order me something soft. It was very tasty (my tooth was so tender that I hadn’t been eating much for the past week), “tongue” was the answer to my inquiry as to what I was delicately chewing.

As we were packing up the next morning, I saw two women mopping the sidewalks at the hotel. Yes, it was an older complex, but it was clean. They don’t mop the sidewalks in the USA.

The first place we went to was a charming restaurant. When we pulled up there was a parking valet who greeted us with “We have been waiting for you!” We had such a great breakfast, that we went back after our appointments. Eating there was worth the trip!!! I took a picture of the parking lot- look closely, the parking lines go all the way up the fence.There is a picture of Poncho Villa on the bathroom door!

While I was at the endodontist, Nathan went to a periodontist, somewhere across the city. Everything went smoothly, but there was decay beneath the gum line which required some gum surgery. My dentist made arrangements for the periodontist to see me that afternoon, so when Nathan got back, we all drove across the city and I had gum surgery and something called a crown lengthening. I was still numb from the root canal. Nathan discovered that the procedures he was going to do would not work, he had to see another specialists. We drove to that doctor’s office and Nathan was able to have a consult with him. I already told you that we ate at the restaurant again. This time I could only have soup (awesome!) I think I look pretty happy for just having a lot of dental work done!

because of the root canal and gum surgery. If you are wondering, the root canal came to $245 and the gum surgery was $180- worth the trip.

Crossing the border back into America was an experience in it’s self. It can take hours to wait in line. For a mile there are beggars with the longest, sorriest faces and vendors hawking all sorts of food, clothing, ceramics, toys, etc. If you make eye contact you are a marked man. They will not leave you alone. We asked about a blanket and in a flash the car was surrounded with men holding up all the variations of that design you could think of. Crazy! As we were driving home, we considered the miracles we experienced that day. We were protected; I got the work I needed and not expected, the periodontist was available to see me on very short notice; the specialists Nathan dropped in to see told him he is not usually in the office, he is semi-retired, so he was very lucky to have caught him. You need to realize that this was a Saturday- how many dentists do you know that work on Saturday?

If you decide to make a trip like this, I suggest that you take an interpreter. It was so nice to have Nathan and Diane. They are a delightful couple and it was fun spending two days with them. Ian said it was a bit boring, he only sat in waiting rooms; we had no time for sightseeing or shopping. The only sightseeing was along the Avenue of Heroes. There are huge statues very few blocks in the center of the roundabouts. One of them is Abraham Lincoln! Ian concluded that the food was the best part.