Pedroza's Place

Weeks to the Half: 11
Weight: 305
Longest Distance Run: 7 miles
As you can see I am not doing so well on the whole weight thing. Not that it is a valid excuse, but Playas de Tijuana was really tempting. The taco you see here is a Marlin taco and it covered my whole plate. It cost me $1 dollar. Too much good food for too little of a price equals disaster on the waist line.
On the bright side however I did manage to do some walking while I was in Tijuana. Playas de Tijuana is a very off the beaten path in Tijuana. You don’t see many tourists there. The main reason for this is that Playas de Tijuana is the southernmost tip of Tijuana. You can take a taxi to get there, but it is going to cost you about $15 dollars. Which is not expensive in the US, but in Mexican terms it is a lot of money. The neighborhood is not really designed for tourists. I think there are only two hotels in this area. There are also not many “tourist attractions” in this area. The main one is the bull ring, but it is open only half the year. If you do visit Playas de Tijuana your main point of interest is going to be the beach (Playas means beach). When I was there I didn’t see many people in the beach, but it was kind of windy.
Here is a video I made while walking in Tijuana:
(video here)

We walked about 3 miles. Denise stopped in the middle of our walk and got a haircut while AJ, my dad, and I continued walking to the beach. The streets of Playas de Tijuana are not very well kept, but as you get closer to the beach the scenery does improve. I particularly enjoyed looking at all the daisies in bloom.

When I was a teenager I remember coming down to Tijuana and visiting Calle Revolucion with my mom. Back then Calle Revolucion was a party hub for American tourists. On the weekends the bars would be going 24 hours and the tourists would crowd the streets for cheap souvenirs, beers, and velvet Elvi. My mom and I would go to restaurants and fill up on cheap fish tacos until we were stuffed. After gorging ourselves we would walk up to the Jai Alai building and watch the competitors throw the tiny rubber ball. Then came the drug wars, 9/11, and strict border laws that would require every American to have a passport to come across the border. It would be many years before I would see this street again.
While we are here in Tijuana we are staying in the Centro (center) district. Our hotel is about a block and half away from Calle Revolucion. Since we were so close I couldn’t help but to visit this old haunt. The street is still there, the restaurants are still there, the bars are still playing the music, but it is not the same place I remember from my youth. First of all the American tourists are no longer there. I took a walk down Calle Revolucion and during the two days I took a walk I only saw two other Americans (both were there doing dental work too). The Jai Alai building is still there, but there are no more competitions. The Hotel Caesar is still a hotel, but the restaurant that created the famous Caesar salad is now a Carl’s Jr. The music still plays but no one is dancing. It is very surreal. It is almost like someone declared the party over, but forgot to tell the host to turn off the lights. As we walked down the street we were swarmed by very desperate vendors. The prices are posted, but you would be ignorant to pay the listed price, reasonable bargaining is between 20-30% lower than the listed price.
As far as safety goes we felt very safe the entire time we were there. The city has done a lot of work cleaning up this part of the town. There used to be a lot of beggars on Calle Revolucion, the police has run them out off the street. Also, the police has declared no open containers in public, I didn’t see any passed out drunk people on the street. I don’t drink or go to dance clubs, but I doubt even if I did, I would be leery of Calle Revolucion, the bars still look kind of shady to me. There still is a red light district, but it is much smaller and kind of hidden (HINT: don’t go past the aqueduct unless you are looking for trouble). Whenever you travel to an unfamiliar area you need to be aware of your surroundings, and Tijuana is no different. That being said however, a tourist taking proper precautions should not be too afraid.
Calle Revolucion is not the same place I remember as a youth, but that being said it is no longer in my opinion a place to avoid. The place has changed quite a bit and as long as you know what to expect you can still have a good time. As mentioned the prices are very low and there are plenty of bargains to be had. If you are looking for cheap food or cheap souvenirs this is the place to go. If you go on a weekend my suggestion would be to walk down to the aqueduct, there you will find a free amateur concert. Find a good restaurant (don’t worry they will come to you), order some fish tacos, and enjoy the new atmosphere.
For a preview here is a video we made:

When I told my friends that I was going to Tijuana my friends told me I was crazy. In the San Bernardino Mountains Tijuana is known as a dirty, drug invested town that is the birth place for wannabe illegal aliens and drunken Americans. Knowing this one would have very little reason it seems to go to Tijuana, but here we are. The question then becomes why are the Pedrozas in Tijuana, Mexico?
Ok, here is the deal. I work for a local city government. When it comes to my paycheck I make very little, but when it comes to insurance I have some of the best in the state of California. I went to my dentist in the USA for my regular checkup and I was told I have 5 cavities. Metal fillings are completely covered under my insurance. Problem is metal fillings to me look horrible. I could go with white resin fillings but they are only 50% covered with my insurance. With the 50% insurance coverage, white resin fillings were going to cost me $200 each. With an extra discount my US dentist was willing to give me, my total was going to be $800.
After mulling over my problem for awhile (talking to friends, searching the Internet, etc.) I started to find myself drawn to the multitude of dentists found in Tijuana, Mexico. In Tijuana the going rate for white resin filling is between $40 and $75 US dollars. After doing some more research and a little bit of email negotiation I settled on going to a place called Sam Dental in the historic center of Tijuana.
The quote I got over my email was $275 for the 5 fillings. Saturday morning came, and after buying some Mexican car insurance, we found ourselves at Sam Dental in Tijuana. I picked this place because it had a lot of good references, it had the latest equipment, and it looked very clean. The first thing the dentist did was look at my teeth and say, “I see some cavities there, but they are really small. We better take some x-rays.” She took the x-rays and she said that she saw the cavities, but they were so small that they were not worth worrying over. In the end she filled one tooth that need two surfaces done and took out an older metal filling and filled it with resin. Total cost was $100, which according to the representative I spoke to at the IRS is completely deductible as a medical expense since we have a receipt. The whole visit took an hour and half. As far as the procedure goes it went fine. The teeth look good and the only thing I felt was a slight prick when they injected the anesthetic.
Something is wrong in the US when I can get better dentist work in a foreign country for 1/8th of the price in the US. I think there are various things contributing to the discrepancy. The major one is malpractice insurance. While doctors and dentists in Mexico have to carry insurance, the laws are much different over here when it comes to malpractice liabilities. In doing my research I found out that if something goes wrong with a procedure it is very difficult to sue in Mexico. The other thing I found is that here in Mexico doctors and dentists education is majorly subsidized by the government. Basically, if you can pass the entrance exam, the government here will pay for your University degree. There are other contributing factors as well: less overhead costs, lower staff costs, and lower maintenance requirements.
Anyhow, we are now here in Tijuana and we will be staying here until Monday. We have decided to make a little vacation out of it. Over the next few days our hope is to show you what we found.

If you mention Mexico the first thing you will from most of my friends is a fantasy story of them sitting on beach, lounging in a beach chair, sipping some kind of exotic drink. Mexico certainly has a lot of beautiful beaches, but most Americans in my view have missed the boat when it comes to Mexico. From a traveler’s standpoint, right next to us is a country in which you can explore a 3000 year old archeological dig in the morning, have lunch in a French Colonial building, and go shopping in one of the most modern malls in the afternoon (which is exactly what I did the last time I was in Mexico City). It is because of this diversity that I love visiting Mexico City. It also doesn’t hurt that my dad owns a travel company based in Mexico City and I spent most of my teenage years in Mexico City. Having said that however I have to say that if you haven’t been to Mexico City you should really check it out.
This is a video I filmed in one day. I appologize in advance for the choppy quality, it was on my old camera:

Many Americans I think have been put off by the news of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Virus and the daily reports we get about the drug trafficking trade. All I can say is that I was personally in Mexico last May at the height of the H1N1 epidemic in Mexico and I didn’t see a single person so much as sneeze. The only crime that I saw was committed by then 1 and half year old son who stole some poor kid’s soccer ball in a park. Luckily, my son doesn’t run that fast so it was retrieved rather quickly. I am not going to say that Mexico City is a harmless city. It has its areas you want to stay away from and pick pocketing is something you will have to watch out for in Mexico City, but with most things it is just of matter of being aware of your surroundings. If you look around the neighborhood you are in and you don’t like what you see then it is time to get out of that neighborhood. All of the places most tourist go have high amount of police surveillance anyhow, so the chances of a major crime happening in a tourist area are very slim.
I have to say I am a big fan of Mexico City and I was very happy to hear that Mexico City was named one of the Top Ten destinations for 2010. Mexico City in my opinion definitely deserves this distinction and I hope that because of it, Mexico City will see some more tourists visit the city this year. Due to the economy Mexico City is a real bargain right now. Prices on almost everything are down and like everything else in Mexico, it’s highly negotiable. If you are interested in more advice I would advise you to talk to my dad. His name is Arnold Pedroza and he has been running his travel company for over 30 years now and knows Mexico like the back of his hand. His main business these days is doing tour groups for universities, but he does have tours for the general public. You can check out his main tours and contact him at www.panoramasmexico.com. It doesn’t cost anything to ask him for advice and he likes to give it, trust me I know! If you do talk to him tell him his son John sent you.