Not So Fat

The original plan was to go to Studio 29, as it looked like almost everything else in Nogales was closed. For some reason, Studio 29 is listed as being in Heroica Nogales and Obsession is listed as being in Sonora Centro. Must be a dividing line somewhere that I cannot divine.

Friday I parked in a $2 lot near the 9 North Grand Ave. border. That is $2/hr or $16/24+. It was a bit odd, because the signs at the lots just say $2 or $5, so I am assuming that the $5 lots are $5/hr. I say that it was $16/24+(plus) because I parked about 4:00 pm and the receipt said I was good until 11:59 pm the next day. The brain cells kicked in and I remembered that I had parked in this same lot the last time I was here. I crossed the border at 9 North Grand Ave. with no issues; just walked across without having to show any documents or answer any questions.

Looking at the GPS, it indicated that for Studio 69, I should cross the border at 210 North Mariposa Road. I figured that there had to be another way for a pedestrian to get there since I was already on the Mexican side, but the GPS would not provide any route except to exit the North Grand crossing and reenter at the North Mariposa crossing. I walked down the boulevard until I stopped feeling safe, about ¾ mile. So I wandered around looking for a way to walk to Studio 69 with no success. I would have to breach a substantial hill if I didn’t want to cross the border and that neighborhood in that direction did not look Gringo-friendly. I could have taken a cab, but my past experience in Cuidad Juarez was with a cab driver who disappeared upon arrival, because, I suspect, that the club gave him a propina for bringing me. When I was ready to leave, surprise, his was the only cab available. For the return trip he charged me a substantial sum. So I wasn’t going to cab it this time and it didn’t look particularly safe for a Gringo off the main drag. Indeed, on the main drag I was approached by multiple beggars. I refused all of them, but suspect that they would have been better able to “convince” me to be generous in remote areas after dark.