The one place that I have traveled to many times, and thoroughly enjoy is Mexico. When going to Mexico we usually pass through Tecate on route towards Santa Veronica, which is where my uncle’s ranch is.

I will first begin as we cross the border and finally enter Tecate. The first thing I always notice upon entering Tecate is the smell, I don’t know whether it is the bad exhaust fumes from old cars or the many taco stands that line the streets. Hopefully it’s the taco stands making the best food ever. Simply put though, Tecate has a sort of weird smell to it. The streets are full of vendors and people walking. You can hear loud horns, and the sound of the buses breaking and accelerating as they continue on their last whim. Cars are somewhat old and beat up, chugging along barely. There are signs everywhere of people in local politics and many telephone lines crisscrossing and zigzagging as if there is no organization at all. The one thing I always see when passing through this border town is the stone wall that my grandpa and his brothers built. It is just simply amazing that my grandpa had a life here and I can see a little piece of it. As we continue going through the city, we finally hit the open road that heads to Santa Veronica. It is simply a turnout, and then it is just dirt road for about an hour. Continuous bumps and ruts are encountered as well as lots and lots of dust, but we finally arrive at the ranch. When getting to the ranch it seems as if time somewhat slows or stops, as if I can actually watch the whole day go by, and be able to see it. That is what great about going out in the middle of nowhere, you simply lose the “get things done” mentality of back home. This is what I most enjoy about Mexico.