Reynosa is a city of nearly 500,000 in population, yet is hardly known outside of the immediate area.  It has every amenity that a city of this size can offer, yet retains the colonial charm of a 18th century Mexican town.

Photo:  Looking north on Calle Victoria from Calle Quintana Roo, toward the heart of downtown Reynosa.  Note the streeet vendors to the left of the photo, which is common sight in Mexican cities.

The downtown area of Reynosa has everything a city of comparable size anywhere in the world has, including department stores, specialty shops, electronic shops, street vendors, restaurants and endeavours associated with Mexico, namely street food vendors.  In keeping with other Mexican cities, there are no tall buildings, a six-story building is about as tall as it gets in Reynosa.  As I mentioned before, the streets are very narrow and congested so great care must be used when navigating the tricky environment.  You have to watch out for the cars, busses, trucks and the occasional horse-drawn wagon that will feature very bald automotive tires.  

Left:  Reynosa's downtown features many one-way streets, and Calle Colon is one of them.  Right:  The blue second story is a language school, which specilizes in teaching English.  Note that its above a department store.

We found a parking spot, alongside a mall, near the railroad station on Blvd. Quintana Roo (where did they ever get that name?)  Edna had a mission to procure some "fleecy" material at a fabric store; there are three fabric stores located in downtown Reynosa and she had to visit all of them to find the perfect material.   We walked up Calle Juarez, toured a few blocks and finally wound up on Calle Matamoros, the main tourist area in the town, featuring lots of specialty shops and a brick-paved street where no vehicle traffic is allowed. After touring a couple of fabric stores (very big with just about everything a fabric person could desire) Jerry and I coaxed the girls into getting something to eat.  Note: Various websites tout that some 3,000 U.S. citizens visit Reynosa each day, I doubt that as we didn't see any other "norteamericanos" in the several hours that we visited the city.  U.S. and Canadian citizens can be spotted by the "bullseye" painted on their backs, you know the big, red ones that read "I am an American or Canadian and everything is better back home; I have an attitude, and I'm only here to visit and laugh at your country and tell the homeboys about all the illicit things I did while I visited Mexico."  I speak enough Spanish to get by and I try to blend in, but I really stood out as a "gringo."  As relating to the aforementioned mentality, that type of behavior makes me ashamed to be a U.S. citizen.  I have nothing but admiration for Mexico and the fine people that live there.

Left:  The large gray building on Calle Matamoros is the telephone company building that houses all of the switching equipment.  Right:  Note the load on the back of the motorcycle!

Commentary aside, Edna, Jerry, Sharlene and I finally found a fabric store, on Calle Hidalgo, which proved to carry the material that Edna was looking for.  Since Sharlene knows I like cammo-colored things, she purchased enough material to make a camoflouge lap blanket for me, which proved invaluable in the coming winter.  

Since none of us wanted to carry our purchases around downtown Reynosa all day, I volunteered to hike back to Jerry's truck and store the materials there, and Jerry and the girls would head up Calle Hidalgo to Calle Matamoros, at the heart of downtown Reynosa, and I'd meet them there.  Everybody agreed that was a good idea, so they headed north towards Calle Matamoros, and I headed south, toward the truck.

Left:  Calle Matamoros, near the cross street of Portifrio Diaz.  Right:  Window shopping with a twist:  Look closely and you can read that you can purchase boots by "the each!"  I've never seen that before... anywhere!

Calle Matamoros is the centerpiece of downtown Reynosa, and it is lined with stores that sell everything you could want.  The street has been turned into a pedestrian mall and its brick paved, and features quaint, ornate, cast-iron street lamps.  Since the street is pedestrian oriented, it is fully landscaped, and featues benches where you can sit and people-watch, soak in the sun, or feed the many hungry pigeons that always seem to be looking for a handout. As in all Mexican cities, downtown Reynosa features many street vendors, selling homemade crafts, household goods and every sort of Mexican street food that you can imagine.

Photos:  Calle Matamoros is pedestrian-friendly, well-landscaped, clean and safe.  The merchants seem to be doing a brisk business and the mall is busy with shoppers.

Unlike downtown Tijuana, downtown Reynosa does not cater to American or Canadian tourists, despite the fact that Reynosa is a border town.  Calle Matamoros caters to locals, and the 10 blocks or so that encompass the core of downtown Reynosa will give you a good idea of what a Mexican city is like, as apposed to a border town.  In the several hours we spent hiking in the Zona Rosa, we did not see a strip club or a honky-tonk, but I did hear that Reynosa does have a few strip clubs in their small Zona Roja, locally known as "Boy's Town."  I heard that place has all the usual ammenities found in a border town; I guess in Reynosa they're a bit more discreet!

Left:  Jerry snaps my photo as I stand in front of one of El Centro's many department stores.  Right:  How could I resist getting my photo taken with two beautiful women?  Edna in the red, and my wife, Sharlene, in the blue.

After exploring El Centro for a couple of hours, our stomachs told us that it was time for lunch.  Jerry knew of a place, called Taqueria Paraiso, located on the corner of Calle Matamoros and Calle Hidalgo, in Reynosa's famous Mercado Zaragoza, which featues many craft stores, and even has a decent hardware store.  So we hiked over to Paraiso's and feasted on a delicious lunch.  Go back to the Reynosa home page, or click on this link to read about our dining experience at Taqueria Paraiso.

Left:  What a load this guy is pushing around on Calle Matamoros!  Right:  This repair shop, located on the edge of downtown, looks like it could fix anything.