A day in Progreso, Mexico

Our time is Texas is wrapping up.  So a trip to Progreso is in order since this is the main experience Winter Texans have with Mexico.  We went with Tom and Lolly and just looked around.  

A view of the Rio Grande river.  Not very wide at this point but a potent political symbol.

Where are we?

The border crossing when one wants to use a car.  Most of us park on the US side and walk across.  

There are no checks of any kind going into Mexico here in Progreso.  Crossing back to the USA is a different matter.

Many dentists and pharmacies, perhaps in the hundreds, offer their services and products to Winter Texans.  

The sidewalks are crowded with products and vendors on both sides.

Puppies for sale.  

Shops rich with color.

A tortilla factory.

A coffee and roll after shopping for a while.

We had lunch at a restaurant that Al first visited with his parents in 1985 when they lived each winter in Texas.  The restaurant still serves a good meal.

Finally, a salute to Oscar and Aralie who were our friends and chauffeurs to Mexico when we were language students in 2000.

A Weekend in Mexico, Second Day.

On Sunday, most of our activities centered on the church.

This church facility is the result of many years of labor by Carlos and Ana.  Land was purchased, buildings built and the congregation grew over the years.  The violence along the border has restricted flow over the border and some members who live in Texas no longer attend each week.

A youth meeting on Saturday night.

Sunday morning bible school for adults and children.

Dancing to the Lord in the evening worship service.  Abi is seen on the piano.

Pastor Carlos in introducing us to the congregation.  Both Sue and Al spoke briefly to the congregation in Spanish.  Carlos' daughter Abi and son Joel in the background.

Joel's wife Deissi, (pronounced Daisy), son Benjamin and daughter Ana.  These are grandchildren of Carlos and Ana.

From the left, Ana, granddaughters Carla and Belen, Carlos, daughter Carla, Al and Sue.

An English lesson.

A time of relaxation before returning to McAllen.

A Weekend in Mexico.

After meeting Carlos and Ana De Leon at the radio station, (see earlier post), we were invited to visit them in Mexico.  

We met them first when we were part of a group from a bible school in St Paul that visited the church in Rio Bravo in 1996.  Sue and Al came again in 1998 and stayed in the church as we did this time.  In 2000 we attended classes for six months in McAllen, TX, for Spanish language instruction.

We visited the same restaurant shown above and had the same fajitas.  The man with he guitar has died and Abby lives in Rio Bravo and participates in the worship team.  Joaquin now lives in Michigan.

While we were there in 1998, we often walked from the church to this store which is the size of some Walmart stores in the US.  Now, however, due to safety concerns, we only went out with Carlos into the community.

In 1998 Carlos introduced me to the gordita, something similar to a tortilla but a little thicker, hence the name,  "Little fat one".

Carlos visited with some of the members of his congregation.  This man runs a Christian bookstore called "The Lamp".

This man is president of the board of the church and has a pharmacy.

A typical street scene.

A bakery.

 "Pan-American Public Library" with a statue honoring Padre Hidalgo who was foundational in the formation of the country of Mexico.  McAllen is located in Hidalgo county of Texas.

La Quinta Mazatlan

We visited a place that is hidden in plain view.  We looked for this place once before and drove right  by the entrance.  This time we looked for the street name leading to it, there were no other signs directing one to the place.  But we were glad that we found it.

Just a mile or so south of Expressway 83 and the location of our motel and the photo of a very busy 10th Street shown a couple of days ago, sits a bird sanctuary.

This is the entrance of La Quinta Mazatlan.  Built in 1935 by an eccentric world traveller who happened to marry into wealth, this adobe mansion was the home of Jason and Marcia Matthews.  The main house has 6,739 square feet of area and additional 3,325 square feet of buildings.  

The main house.  Today the property is owned by the city of McAllen and was purchased at auction from a family that purchased it from the Matthews.

The front doors recreated the doors of the Spanish Governor's Palace in San Antonio, TX.  

Pools built by Jason Matthews.

The entrance to the home.

Example of the Spanish influence in the design of the home.

A sun porch.

A bronze wild cat for teaching about birds and animals to adults and students that visit the sanctuary. 

An example of an irrigation gate to let water into an area.

A beautiful young woman was posing in the driveway.  The site is used for weddings, concerts and other forms on entertainment.

A ferry and some pancakes

We visited the hand operated Los Ebanos ferry crossing the Rio Grande river.

Up until the new passport regulations for crossing the border in 2009, it was common to simply walk down a road to the ferry landing.  Since then a new building was erected for the Customs and Border Protection officials.  Now a passport is required even if one only walk to the US side of the river and returns.  This and some other rules are enforced without any signage to inform visitors beforehand.  A Canadian woman ahead of us had only a credit card with her and the customs agent finally let her go through.  The gift shop that this sign advertises for is closed.

The river is not very wide at this point.  According to a historical marker nearby this site has been used as a crossing since Spanish times in the 1700's.  The name Los Ebanos is the Spanish name for ebony trees that once were nearby. 

The ferry.

Some mesquite trees, large cacti or nopales and a couch.

_____

We traveled to the Lemon Tree RV park where Tom and Lolly live to have pancakes.  

People come from all over to enjoy these pancakes.  

Twenty four pancakes at a time on this grill.

Want a sausage?  These are extra but one may eat all the pancakes they want.

The line ringed the room.  Tom, Lolly and Sue are in the center of the photo.