Re entering the U.S. from Tijuana and walking through customs...

Now that you've spent an entire day spending your hard-earned tourist dollars (dollars are easier to spend on Av. Revolucion than pesos,) now how do you get back to the U.S.? Basically, there are four ways:

* Take a taxi
* Ride one of the tourist shuttle buses to a U.S. border parking lot
* Walk, which is the method that I prefer, assuming it's still daylight
* Walk, with care, if it isn't daylight
* Drive your car, but we're not going to get into that

If you choose to take a taxi, the cost to the border is $5.00, in U.S. dollars, from anywhere along the main tourist area of Av. Revolucion. Tijuana taxis don't have meters, so make sure you and the driver agree on the price before you jump in the cab. Prepare for a wild ride! If I get caught after dark on Av. Revolucion, I always take a taxi to the border.

Left: Av. Amistad, with the white fence crossing over Av. Puente Mexico which will lead you to the U.S. border. Right: If you're hungry, there are many fine taquerias on Av. De la Amistad.

Shuttle buses are cheaper, as of this writing, only about $2.50 in U.S. dollars, and leave from a mall located in the middle of the block on Av. Revolucion, between Calle 4, and Calle 5. The shuttles leave every 20 minutes or so and if you catch one, they will take you right up to U.S. customs. The problem is that they seem to have an unpredictable side to them and sometimes cease operations at odd times.

Left: The flagship McDonald's restaurant, one of your last sights before crossing the border. The border walkway over Av. Puente Mexico is just past the left of the photo. Right: Signs will guide you to the border walkway, but they are hard to see at night.

Assuming it's daylight, I prefer to walk. So what route do you take from Av. Revolucion back to the U.S. border and eventually negotiate U.S. customs? It's a cinch, as for most of the way, you simply hike back to the famous Tijuana arch, turn right, or geographically east, walk the several blocks to the bridge, cross the fast road and the Tijuana river, descend the ramp or the stairs on the other end, and enter the Plaza Viva Tijuana. It's three short blocks to the large McDonalds, located on Av. De la Amistad. Now, here's where the going gets a bit different, as you have to walk over busy Av. Puente Mexico, which will undoubtedly snarled with mostly stopped traffic, each car, bus or truck waiting their turn to cross the line.

I have also walked back at night, as the City of Tijuana has recently upgraded lighting, so the entire route, from Ave. Revolucion to the U.S. border, including the river crossing, is well-lighted. The route is very heavily travelled by tourists and locals, and patrolled by Tijuana police. I wouldn't recommend walking back during the wee hours of the morning, when pedestrian traffice is very light, as there are too many things that could happen.

As you stand at McDonald's, located at the north end of Plaza Viva Tijuana, cross Av. Amistad, and while you're crossing, watch out for cars and taxis and be careful to make eye contact with the drivers. On the other side of the street, turn right; you'll see several souvenir vendors and small, semi-open air restaurants, but more importantly, you'll see a metal fence, a little over a yard high, painted white. Turn to your right, follow the fence for about 1/2 short block and turn left at the first street you see, which is named Av. Frontera. You can't get lost if you simply follow the fence and keep it to your left! You'll also see a series of green signs that say "To U.S." and will point your way to the border. Av. Frontera will take you on a bridge overlooking Av. Puente Mexico, which will undoubtedly be clogged with traffic heading north toward the U.S. border, about three long blocks in the distance.

Photos: Traffic heading north to the U.S. along Av. Puente Mexico is in a typical later afternoon traffic jam. The photos clearly show the shops to the right that line the street.

As you're walking over Av. Puente Mexico, look down at the northbound traffic, which will be mostly stopped in their attempt to cross the border and negotiate U.S. customs. Mexicans are quite adept at commercial enterprises and you'll see this characteristic manifest itself in that you'll see souvenir hawkers peddling their wares to stopped motorists, children scampering out with a bucket, rags and a squeegee to clean windshields for a couple of pesos, and push-cart food vendors. Actually, it can be quite entertaining to stand up on the bridge and watch the action. You can look down on the sidewalk of Av. Puente Mexico and you'll note that it's lined with vendors and shops, as that is the way that pedestrians will walk north to the U.S. When pedestrian business is slow, the vendors will dart out into the stalled traffic to make an attempt to sell their wares to the stopped motorists. It's really quite a show...

Left: A taco vendor sells tacos to persons in vehicles heading north in the border traffic jam. Right: I'm walking on the sidewalk of Av. Puente Mexico. The building in the background is U.S. customs.

After crossing Av. Puente Mexico, you turn left, keeping the white metal fence to your left, and descend down the ramp on the east side of the street. As soon as you're at street level, you're in vendor and small shop territory. As you walk north on the sidewalk towards "La Linea," you have your street vendors to your left, and travel agencies, souvenir stores, liquor stores and farmacias to your right. On the street, there are buses stopping to unload passengers, mostly-stopped cars honking their horns, and the ever-present street vendors attempting to make a living. Then there are the children who will dash out into the street with a pail of water, a squeegee and a not-too clean rag to give your windshield a wash for a couple of pesos; never mind some other kid just gave you the same treatment just a few car lengths to the rear.

After you hit the sidewalk, it's about three blocks to the U.S. line. The border is marked by a plaque, with a line through the middle, marking the exact demarcation line between the two countries. Naturally, you're channeled through an ugly steel fence, but after a few steps, into the U.S., you come alongside customs buildings, which are complete with green grass and shade trees. Then you enter the building through double plate-glass doors and hike down a long corridor. At the end of the corridor, you come to a series of lines that snake around and twist and turn, like the lines you wait in to ride a primo ride at Disneyland. Pick any line, as it really doesn't matter, as they're all about the same. Unless you're heading home on a Saturday, Sunday night or a late holiday afternoon, the wait is minimal, in my experience, only about 15 or 20 minutes.

Left: Blurry at best, this monument marks the U.S./Mexico border. It also featues a yellow painted line across the sidewalk. Right: Back in the U.S. at sunset, traffic is funneled through concrete barriers, to be interviewed by a customs agent. This post 9-1-1 stuff makes honest folks feel like criminals...

The stone-faced customs ask will ask you several questions:

* Are you an American citizen? Show me your driver's license or passport please.
* How long have you been in Mexico?
* What are you bringing back with you?

These folks also have the authority to detain you at will, and search any camera, laptop computer, purse, or anything that you're bringing into the country. If they're in a particularly nasty mood, they can even take you into a office and strip-search you. In my opinion, the U.S. customs agents are well-schooled in Nazi Germany gestapo people-handling techniques.

Note: As of June 1, 2009, you MUST have a U.S. passport to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico. There are no exceptions, and the U.S. customs agents are a very humorless, unforgiving bunch of Nazi-wannabees.

You'll have to show the agent what's in your backpack or shopping bag, if requested, and show your driver's license or passport. After taking our turn with the stern, umsmiling agent, you get to put your belongings on a conveyor belt so they can be scanned for contriband. If you pass inspection, you head toward the double doors, open them, and viola! You're free, and you're in San Ysidro, U.S.A.!

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