10 days in Yuma, Arizona

 

Walking across the border into Mexico with Dave and Edna

Yuma, Arizona is not a place I ever expected to be returning to and especially not returning to year after year. Why do I keep going back?!? I keep going back to take care of yearly routine medical appointments just across the border in Los Algodones, Mexico. This small Mexican town is almost exclusively medical and caters to Americans and Canadians who need, primarily, lower cost dental work. Most people don't have dental insurance and this town has found a profitable niche. There are over 500 dentists in Los Algodones which has the nickname of 'Molar City'. There are also every other type of doctor and medical office.

This year, my good friends Dave and Edna, who I know from Portland, met me so I could show them how getting medical in Mexico works. They spend winters in Tucson at an RV park and drove the 4 hours with their trailer so we could all stay together in Yuma. We got settled at the Riverfront RV park. There are hundreds of RV parks in Yuma and most of them are less than desirable. Aside from a couple of fancier RV resorts that are on the outskirts of Yuma, the Riverfront RV park is probably the nicest. The park is right on the Colorado River and butts up against a wildlife area in an undeveloped part of the West Wetlands city park. Dave and Edna got a site looking out at the wetlands and I was just in the next row. This RV park has a one week minimum stay with a cost of $175 plus electricity. 

Riverfront RV site

Yuma sunset

Edna had a crown she wanted replaced. I always get my teeth cleaned at the same dental office, Simply Dental, and we made early morning appointments so we could go together. We set these appointments up online. The dental office responded within an hour to confirm our appointments and they also called the night before. Everyone speaks English well which is very helpful and they were also very clear that the appointments were on Arizona (Mountain) time and not California (Pacific) time even though the border crossing is actually in California.

The drive from the RV park in Yuma to the border is about 15 minutes. We paid $6 to park in the border lot and walked across into Mexico. There are no requirements, proof of Covid vaccine or id necessary to enter Mexico. Once you cross the border you are in the town of Los Algodones walking passed nothing but building after building of dental and medical offices or pharmacies. Simply Dental, where we had our appointments, is only a 2 block walk from the border. The sidewalks are littered with stalls selling tchotchkies, trinkets and clothes. There are also lots of guys offering to help you find a dentist or medical office.

 

Edna got called in first and while Dave and I were waiting in the lobby, a couple of certifiably crazy Q-Anon Americans tried to engage us in a political confrontation when we responded to their simple question of where we are from. They proceeded to insist that the entire city of Portland is a smoldering ash pit after being burnt to the ground while simultaneously being taken over by communists and anarchists. We both told them it isn't remotely true and that we didn't want to talk about politics. The Q-Anon husband proceeded to tell us he pays $3 million per year in taxes to the IRS and he is outraged that his taxes are going up to $16 million/year. I quietly asked him why he is Mexico for dental work if his income is high enough to owe $3 million in taxes. He quickly changed the subject to tell us that Biden, Hillary, Bill and Chelsea Clinton along with Governor Gavin Newsom have all had tribunals at Guantanamo and have been executed. They and most other Democratic leaders are all dead. What we are seeing on tv and in the news are clones. Even though I kept saying I didn't want to engage with them they kept on talking. I've never been so happy to hear my name called for a dental procedure to escape from these creeps. 

Video from last year's Mexico visit

When I finished getting my $35 teeth cleaning, Edna was still in her appointment and I decided to go get my yearly lab work done. The lab is just 2 blocks away. I ordered complete lab work done including thyroid panel, vitamin d, a1c and cholesterol work up. I gave a urine sample and then the phlebotomist filled 4 vials of blood. This all cost $160 and took 10 minutes to complete. On my way out, I made an appointment for the next day with a very popular dermatologist whose office is in the same building. I returned to the dental office just as Edna was finished with her appointment.  She learned that her tooth that needs a new crown has an infection which needs to be cleared up before moving forward with any procedure. Off to the Purple pharmacy we went to get some antibiotics. 

 

Crossing back over the border is simple as long as you have your passport. Border patrol takes your picture and runs your passport through a computer scanner. They ask what you bought and let you walk back into the US. We left Yuma at about 7:15 and returned by 11:30.  My lab work results arrived by email 2 hours later - all 5 pages.

Old truck at the RV park

Ft. Yuma Mission church

The next day, I returned to Mexico to see the dermatologist. Dr Roberto Flores is a very cheerful man who speaks clear English. I showed him a few spots on my face and he quickly pointed out one that was pre-cancerous and the others are just small growths. He froze them all off in a matter of minutes. I brought my lab work results and asked if he could write a prescription for my thyroid medication. The results were the same as the last time I had them done and asked for a prescription of the same dosage. He said I don't need a prescription for thyroid medication. In Mexico, it is an over-the-counter medicine. I also asked if he could write me a prescription for a generic version of Ambien (Stillnox) to keep on hand when I have difficulty sleeping. No problem. I was in and out of his office in probably 20 minutes walking to the pharmacy to get my needed medications.  It turns out that Stillnox also doesn't need a prescription. But, because it is a controlled substance, even with a prescription you can't bring it back over the border. Some people will remove the pills from the packaging, put the pills in a baggy carrying them across the border in a pocket.

Yuma may not be the most interesting city to spend time but getting my routine medical appointments done hassle-free in Mexico and far cheaper than what I would pay in the US makes it all worthwhile. I had everything done that I came for  taken care of in 2 days. I decided to hang out with Dave and Edna until Edna got her dental stuff completed. We ended up spending 10 days in Yuma. Most days we would get our trikes out and go for rides. There are some nice paved paths that go through the West Wetlands and along many irrigation canals.

Photo taken from the Mexico side of the border wall

One of our 1st rides, I decided to take a road south out of the RV park that looked to be very quiet. Dave and I followed it for many miles along agricultural fields. Even though there wasn't a bike lane there was also next to no traffic. The fields were rows of bright green plants but we couldn't tell what was growing. After a few miles the road turned to gravel but it was smooth enough that we kept on riding. Eventually we were riding right along the border with Mexico and the famous wall. We were shocked to see big gaps in the wall where anyone could walk on through. These gaps were 100s of feet long. There was an irrigation canal on the Mexico side but we also saw bridges across the canal right where there were gaps in the wall. No one had to swim to get into the US. These gaps we passed were no more than 1/4 mile from the official border crossing we had used to go to our medical appointments in Los Algodones. 

Big thorn flat

Sponsored section of the bike path

Dave in historic downtown Yuma

Dave asked aloud how funny it would be for us to ride across one of these short canal bridges in Mexico. We both looked at each other, turned our trikes around and rode the very short distance through the border wall down to the bridge turning around on the other side of the canal. I, of course, used my 360 camera to capture and document this crossing. We had been to Mexico twice in one day. Once legally and once illegally.

Riding on unpaved area of the Wetlands

Snowy egret at the pond

Ghost bike for Charles

Turtle getting some sun on the rim of the pond

Yuma is big enough to have everything you need but small enough to get around easily. I appreciate the relaxed atmosphere. Getting medical stuff done in Mexico is so easy I expect to return next year again.  During our 10 day stay, I took Dave on many rides that included gravel and unpaved paths. Sometimes these unpaved paths were smoother than the paved ones. 

Pretty soon, Edna's infection cleared and she was able to complete her dental work. Once everything was finished we were ready to get hitched up and head out of Yuma. I decided to follow Dave and Edna to the RV park where they are staying for the winter in Tucson to do more riding. The Tucson loop has more than 130 miles of paved cycling paths and I was looking forward to seeing more of the cycling infrastructure as well as lots of other friends. 

Seems there is always more riding to do.