On Avenida Constitucion we caught a bus to the playa or beach. The bus ride was an adventure, passing first through crowded streets, then up hillsides affording open vistas of the surrounding countryside, until finally we were at the ocean. We exited the bus not far from the old Plaza de Toros, or bullring, and walked along dusty streets and expensive tile-roofed houses until we found the restaurant. In the front was a health food store selling granola, honey, and other staples. In the rear was a spacious restaurant, with tables along a circular rim and hub, the space filled with plants, tropical birds, and huge windows that overlooked the border fence. We ordered our lunches, selecting one of the specials, a zucchini and cheese casserole with noodles, tabouli, a fresh mushroom and vegetable soup, toasted wheat bread,salsa, and fresh squeezed strawberry orange juice. Everything was delicious, and the check came to less than $5.00 for each of us.

After lunch we walked along the beach, looking at the new construction. Across the border on the U.S. side is a park. I think it is called Friendship Park. Before the border fence was extended recently out into the ocean, Mexicans would cross the fence along the beach with their families for a Sunday picnic, joining families from the nearby community of San Ysidro on the American side of the fence. Now however the park was deserted. So much for “friendship”. Well, not quite deserted, because a U.S. Immigration Services van patrolled the beach, aided by cameras and other sensors. At night, swarms of Mexicans and other Latinos from Central and South America would cross the fence and swarm the hillsides, many of them eluding the INS patrols and successfully becoming “illegal aliens”.

We cut through the empty bull ring parking lot and caught a bus back to the center of town, were we walked to a large park that had signs in Spanish warning everyone to “Keep Off the Grass”. Parks in Mexican cities always have benches with people sitting in the overhang of large shade trees, ice cream and snow cone vendors, pigeons, and children chasing after the pigeons. In the distance bells would chime, car horns honk, and the breeze would rustle the leaves. Such was the music of the city, mixed in with the music coming from radios and ghetto blasters. It was very pleasant and relaxing to be sitting there discussing the meaning of life.

Finally we roused ourselves up and caught a red jitney, or communal taxi, which traveled along fixed routes, and got off at the steps of the Grand Hotel. The ExpoCom ‘96 was interesting. It was aimed at the business market, and displayed systems, software, and Internet access. Of special interest was a wireless satellite dish modem that provided access at 450 kilobytes per second, about 150 times faster than my 28.8 modem. I was impressed. There was also free coffee, soft drinks, candies, and beautiful hostesses. What more could any nerd want? We picked up some brochures, disks, chatted with vendors, and stocked up on refreshments. Then we left.

Our next destination was the Cultural Center, a government operated complex containing an IMAX theater, concert hall, art gallery, folk music and crafts center, bar and restaurant, and bookstore. I wanted to see the new exhibit that had just opened, “European Instruments of Torture and Capital Punishment”, and we were both deeply in need of something in the way of an alcoholic beverage. Across the street from the Cultural Center is a small shopping arcade filled with shoe stores, bakeries, bars and restaurants, and a used CD music store. First we browsed the CD bins. There were three albums by Tori Amos, all of which I had, and music by Sarah MacLachlan, Sinead O’Connor, Sade, and other performers that I recognized, as well as an array of Latino talent. We then bought some baked goods in a natural foods pastry shop, check out the bars, and decided to have drinks at the Cultural Center.

The atmosphere in the large dining patio and bar at the Cultural Center was tranquil. We were seated along one wall, near the plants. The other tables were filled with businessmen and shoppers, all of them Latinos. My friend had a beer and I settled on a margarita which turned out to be excellent, and warranted a refill. After our refreshments were finished, I bought a ticket to the torture exhibit. It cost only $2.00. The display area was crowded with visitors, and the gallery also had a cameraman for a local Mexican television station and a beautiful anchor woman who was carrying a microphone and was interviewing people in front of chairs with nails in the seat, back and arm rests, and other devices that were painful to look at. Torture is a subject that is both fascinating and repulsive at the same time. Many of the signs were in English, or at least of variation of English that often lacked grammar and syntax, but was understandable. It seemed that torture was in wide use throughout Europe and the rest of the world right through the 20th century between the two world wars. I suspect that it is also still used today in some many countries. During the inquisition and later, if a person was tortured and still didn’t confess to their crimes, the courts were obligated to find them innocent. Of course, that verdict didn’t really help the accused, who usually died of infection and gangrene. The various devices showed such methods as water torture, genital mutilation, the rack, appliances to crush one’s skull, burn the feet, tickle, impale, and produce very nasty results. I found it hard to take my eyes off the woman with the microphone from the TV station, but finally had my fill of the torture and left.

I found my friend who was in another part of the museum, looking at a display of comic strips in English and Spanish. We decided on having dinner in Tijuana, and settled on Chinese food at a nearby restaurant called the Golden Dragon. Inside we found the walls intricately decorated with carved and inlaid teak, mahogany and tiles, embossed with gold. It was one of the most beautiful settings I had ever seen in a Chinese restaurant. The food was good, as was the service, and the chop sticks were first rate as well. With beers, the bill came to $5.00 for each of us, another good deal. After dinner we did some shopping in the Plaza Rio Tijuana Mall. I bought a bottle of sweet anise liquor that was made in Mexico and set me back about $3.00. Then we walked for about 20 minutes back across the border, caught a waiting trolley, and soon were back in San Diego. The total cost for 12 hours in Tijuana, lunch, dinner, two margaritas, a beer, a museum ticket, some pastries, and a visit to the computer show, including all buses, jitneys, and trolley rides came to about $23.00. I was impressed by the economic value, filled by the experiences, delighted with the food and drink, and ready to collapse with exhaustion. It was just after midnight when I got home, and I can tell you for certain that I did not check my email that day.

For another view of Tijuana, and beyond, see John & Linda Lipman's excellent perspective of a more traditional tourist visit.