Mexicali and Nogales Border Crossing Easy Peasy into Mexico. Coming Back…Not So

Seems crossing the border with Mexico is very different in different locals. I crossed the borders in Nogales and Mexicali. Four times at Nogales so far. And three times in Mexicali. Most know what it is like to cross at San Ysidro/Tijuana. A few TUSCLers have asked about locals other than TJ, so here are my observations. In Mexicali and Nogales, crossing into Mexico is simply a matter of walking across the borders through the turnstiles. There are airport-type X-ray machines at both crossings. I have never been asked to fill out a visa form or even show my passport. When I didn’t have any luggage, I just nodded at the agents and kept walking. Exiting Mexicali, the USA return is next to the exit for the border crossing into Mexico. However, there is a new building at the Mexicali/Calexico border on the US side that is under construction. Likely it will be a new border crossing. Once crossing back to the USA from Mexicali was about a 10 minute wait mid-day. A second time was a weekday early afternoon and again it was 10 minutes. A third time was mid-morning on a Saturday during the same week as the USA Memorial Day holiday and took over 90 minutes to get through the regular line. That might be normal for a Saturday morning. Mexicali has a Sentri line to the left of the regular line that allows you to go to the front of the line, but once you get up to the agents’ windows, so far, I have not seen an agent dedicated to the Sentri line. Crossing into Nogales is similar to Mexicali. My three crossings have always been late afternoon or early morning (1:30 am most recently). At the turnstiles, the Sentri line is segregated from the regular line. Stay left for Sentri. At the turnstiles, an agent screens travelers. My crossings were all fairly swift (under 20 minutes). Of note, during my 1:30 am crossing, there is a wide spot on the Sentri side at the turnstiles where a number of people (35 maybe) who are apparently homeless have squatted, likely for safety. The next day, there was still a fair number (maybe 14+) of people still squatting there. Harmless. Speaking of which, Mexicali and Nogales are moderately safe for Gringos. I have walked around both cities at 1:30 am or so, and not had any issues. (OTOH, I don’t drink in Mexico and friends tell me that I give off an air of being a nasty person, which is a vibe that might be getting picked up on. Or maybe I am just full of shit and have just been lucky.) Mexicali is quiet at night and there is the occasional homeless person encountered, but none of them have ever interacted with me. In Nogales, the street person population seems to be much higher (although nothing like the numbers seen in TJ). In Nogales I have been approached by some homeless after having been recognized as a Gringo (which can be accomplished from up to 100 meters, line-of-sight). They ask for money, but I ignore them or wave them away and they keep their distance. Note that if it is someone with a small child, often I will give them a few of the peso coins from my pocket. At 1:30 am in Nogales there is still some street activity with taco and hotdog stands. The locals bars and nightclubs (of which there are many) in the city are still jamming. In both cities, the streets are well lit. Walking to Studio 69 in Nogales requires travel through a few dark corners, past some abandoned buildings. Walking over the Nogales pedestrian bridge at 12:00 midnight, I encountered a few apparent drug addicts. They were sitting in their stupors and no threat. Spoke to an “entertainer” in Studio 69 about the safety of walking to the isolated club. Told her that I had heard stories. She assured me that was in the past. Nogales had some crime problems, but it has been cleaned up and is very safe. (Take this for what it is worth.) In neither city were military patrols observed. There were some police, but nothing like Tijuana. Most are in cars. Few are on foot, but they are patrolling frequently, even late at night.