An Okay Time

I parked in the lot just North of McDonalds ($4 for 12 hours) and crossed over into Nogales Mexico. It had been at least 5 years since I had been to Nogales. I had been in Nogales more frequently in the 90s when I had business in Tucson, although I had been back in the early 2000s. Of course, it never has been and still is not Tijuana. The good thing is that you still cross into Tijuana without having to check in with Mexican immigration (unlike Tijuana where you need to show your passport/passport card). And as its small, things are all walkable. The downside is that there really is not too much there.

In the 90s there were at least a half-dozen strip clubs and things would be fairly busy particularly on weekends. By the 2000s, Nogales at night had become somewhat of a ghost town although there were still a few strip clubs (probably more than frankly). Now there are just two strip clubs -- Obsessions and Studio 69. I visited both on a Wednesday evening. Obsessions was not busy, but they still charged at $2 or 20 peso cover. There were probably about 8, maybe 10 girls on shift, and maybe half a dozen customers. The quality of the dancers are much below Tijuana quality, but there were a few that were worth buying a drink or a dance. Strangely, prices were higher than Tijuana prices. Ladies drinks were $12; dances were also $12. A back room was quoted at $100. A beer for me was $3.

The ladies were certainly friendly, but not pushy. The waiters/waitresses spoke English well. The dancers generally spoke a lot less English than the average dancer in Tijuana. I speak a little bit of passable Spanish so that I can get by if she speaks and understands a little English. I first visited around 630 or 7pm. The waiter told me that there was a shift change at around 830pm. After having a beer, observing the day shift dancers, I decided to leave, have dinner and return. The quality of the dancers improved somewhat during the night shift-- enough for me to buy a few some drinks and some dances.