MEDICAL TOURISM: Yuma, Arizona - 2010

In part 1 of this trip, we introduced you to the little Mexican border town of Los Algodones, a very popular destination for medical tourism.

We came for the eyeglasses but there are many other medical options in town, especially dentists who seem to operate an office every twenty feet or so. Touts will sit out in front of practically every business but instead of offering strippers and other unsavory fare, they will be trying to get you in for a low-price dental or optical exam. Many pharmacies also line the streets selling brand name drugs for less than their U.S. counterparts. Other medical services abound here from normal general practitioners to plastic surgeons but opticians, dentists, and pharmacies pretty much rule the roost here.

Watch the video for this trip!

It’s 2 ½ hours until we need to go back to Algodones Optical to pick up our new glasses.  Another thing we like about Mexico is the abundance of really premium tequilas at low prices.  Although there are many liquor stores here in town, we end up at twin purple stores of the Liqui’s empire.

On the east side of the street, the largest of the two stores offers a literal supermarket of booze attached to its pharmacy.  Across the street, a smaller version of the purple monster offers a slightly more relaxed version along with its own pharmacy and furniture outlet.

Tasting bars are set up in each store and the staff is more than happy to pour out a few drops of any tequila in the store to taste so you can know if you like it before you buy it.

The uncles, Heliodoro and Hector, are two of the finest tequila aficionados I know.  I’m getting there, beyond a novice, but not quite there yet.  Tim’s just starting out.

Before you think too judgmentally about me, know that a fine tequila is as tasty, smooth, and delicious as a fine cognac.  It is not to be guzzled in quick shots down your throat before the gag reflex sets in for a quick buzz.  If it is really good, it is best enjoyed by itself…no lime or salt…sipped slowly for the smooth warmth of its taste.  Try a shot of Cuervo Gold followed by a shot of Hornitos Reposado…both similarly priced mid-range tequilas…to see what I’m talking about sometime.

We taste a few samples, some good, some not so good, and a couple of outstanding examples.  Since each adult can bring back a liter of alcohol duty free, we buy six bottles of various platas, reposados, and añejos (see our Cocktail Hour for October 17th…Tequila Tasting with the Tios…to see how they turned out).  Since the bottles are 750ml and we’re allowed a liter, we fill in the gap with 100 and 200ml bottles of various brands. 

An example of how much you save is the Clase Azul reposado I bought.  This is the unanimous pick for the best tequila we tasted today.  At Beverages and More, a 750ml bottle is $90.  I got two 375ml bottles for $30 each, or $60 for 750ml…2/3 the price of BevMo.

After our tequila shopping, we continue on for a few blocks because Letty wants to buy a galvanized bucket at the local hardware store.  Nearby is a nice, little town park with a few taco carts along the perimeter.  We take a seat at a nearby table and the cook comes over to take our order.  Some fresh cooked-on-the-spit al pastor, quesadillas, and the delicious Mexican Coke take the edge off of our appetite.

On the way back to the downtown area, we make one more stop at Liqui’s so we can pick up a supply of various prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs at deep discounts (if your prescription is not a controlled substance or easily abused, it’s not a big deal to bring back a few months worth of drugs – otherwise you’ll need an ironclad prescription from your local doctor.  Check the U.S. Customs web site for more information).

With that, it’s time to go back to pick up our glasses.  Once we’ve got them adjusted properly, we head back across the border.  Luckily, it’s the off-season for the snowbirds (who should be starting to arrive as you read this) so there is no line at the border.  One time we came here right after Thanksgiving and the walk-across line was over 4 hours.  The line for cars went way beyond our vision.

Today, there’s no wait and the border guards are friendly (that is not always the case).  A quick glance at our passports (mandatory now), tequila, medicine , and we’re waved through.

At the exit of the checkpoint, a hundred feet or so north, is an old canal.  It’s worth noting that 105 years ago the levee on the side gave way and it flooded for two years.  The waters settled 70 miles away and created the Salton Sea which, of course, is still with us today.

The uncles want to do a little gambling, so we make a stop at the Quechan Resort back up the road.

It’s a big casino, mainly slots and poker.  I take the time to go have a cup of coffee in their café while the rest of the group feeds the slots and plays a few hands.  Gradually, one by one, we gravitate to a nice little sports bar, watching baseball playoffs while waiting for the others to finish. 

It’s a nice little casino and an even better looking hotel.  I’m not much of a gambler so the games don’t leave too much of an impression on me.

After the casino break, we run to the border.  Crossing over the Colorado River, we head to Yuma’s big historical site, the old territorial prison. 

In use in the era before Arizona became a state in 1912, the prison was the facility for many of the West’s outlaws.  If you remember the move 3:10 to Yuma , this is where they were heading.

A Picture in the Museum Shows What it used to Look Like

It’s $5 to get in and, no, there is no discount for the disabled.  Seniors, military, students and kids do.

Once inside, there are great views of the Colorado River back across to California, a nice little park, a guard tower (inaccessible to wheelchairs), and a time line of the prison leading up to the old Sally Port.

What we look like now...

The museum inside has many displays about prison life, how they were processed, punishments, prison crafts, and so on.  One display explains how when prisoners were processed, they had their mug shots taken in front of a special mirror so that both a front view and a profile of the prisoner could be captured in one shot.  There is a mirror on display that visitors can use to make their own mug shots…

...and what it would have looked like back then.

Outside of the museum is the actual remains of the prison.  Heavy iron doors are mounted on 4 foot thick walls made of either iron reinforced adobe or rock.  One cell is unlocked so visitors can go inside.  Although the path along the cell block is accessible, wheelchairs cannot get inside of this cell.

Down the path to the end of the cell block is the dark cell.  Here, prisoners served discipline time when being punished in this interior, windowless cell.  With a little effort, wheelchairs can get inside here.  It is very dark and the remains of an old iron cage are on the floor…watch where you roll or step!

At the end of this building, a low passageway leads to the exercise yard and some newer cells.  We noticed iron rings in each cell that prisoners could be chained to.

Outside on a rocky hillside are piles of rocks marking the graves of prisoners who are buried here in the cemetery.

After our prison tour, we head back to the hotel and hang out in the patio having hotel pizza and beer, along with tasting a few samples of our newly acquired tequila (see the video of that here).

One more night of rest and it’s back on the road back home, stopping for date shakes in Mecca.

Our sight restored, medicines and liquor well stocked, and our bodies rested up, we end our trip early in the afternoon when we arrive back home.

Darryl
Copyright 2010 – Darryl Musick
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