One night stay at Hotel Cascadas

I recently moved to San Diego so I decided it was time to try out TJ. I also tried out the trolley in San Diego and it worked perfectly for me although it takes a trip or 2 to get used to the way the ticketing works. But the trolley deposited me right at the San Ysidro land crossing into Mexico. I had filled out my FMM online for just 7 days because the government site said that a visit of 7 or less days was no charge.

There was only 1 lady ahead of me in the "non-citizen of Mexico" line but an immigration guy came out of his office and told me he would take me. He walked me into his office and immediately raised his voice and said, "This is for only 7 days. There is a Covid emergency and your travel is indicated as tourism. You can't sign up for 7 days. It must be 180 days." I stayed calm and didn't know why he was getting so agitated except that I knew I was probably going to get fleeced. Then he got quiet, looked down at the paperwork, and said, "So you can either pay me $35 or go back to the states. It's your decision." I took out $35 and he had me sign a document and he waved me on my way. It was just a short walk to the taxis and the taxi driver charged me $7 for the 5 minute ride to Cascadas.

I was actually fairly impressed with the hotel. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The Azul restaurant was excellent and fairly priced I thought. I did have fears about whether or not the water in TJ is safe so I oredered bottled water, or whether the produce is properly washed so I didn't eat salads. But a grilled tuna steak was fabulous and breakfast the following morning was good. I would bet that all of the food in Azul is safe. Watch out for the tip. I punched 15% on the phone the waiter handed to me but I swear I wound up paying about a 30% tip. I'll watch that closely next time.