Guess I was a little too drunk last night, there's a bunch of info I left out that I wanted to share... first of all, on disembarking in Juarez, I walked straight through to the West side of the terminal and immediately caught a bus into downtown Juarez for only 4.50 pesos; the taxi fare to the same area is 65 pesos! First big win. Of course I wouldn't have paid the taxi fare anyway, but the bus sure beats walking about 7 miles. I still walked maybe a mile to get to the bridge, but that's just because I don't know downtown well enough to know where to get off the bus.
Still didn't figure out the damned El Paso bus system yesterday afternoon, though I had a little better luck this morning. Turns out that the first bus "stop" you run into walking East on Paisano is a decoy; I don't think any buses actually stop there. You need to walk a few blocks north on Oregon to get to where the terminal is, at San Jacinto Plaza. Despite the signs, I still couldn't find Mills Avenue, however, where the 37 to Bassett Center Mall is.
Also forgot to mention the all-you-can-eat Prime Rib special every Wednesday night at the Steak & Ale, for about $14.00. They clean up on the drinks, though, at about $5 a pint for Fat Tire. Still, I walked out of there with an overfull stomach for just over $30 including the tip. Something there gave me GI problems, though; guessing it was the broccoli or bread, since I've never had such problems before with steak or beer, at least not immediately after drinking.
The Motel 6 wasn't my first choice; I got a weak wireless signal from AmeriSuites while at the bar, so first went over there to check out the price. $149 plus tax. Nope. Walked about a mile, and just before Motel 6 there was a Motel 8 (or something like that), and just for kicks asked their price; $48 plus tax. I asked if they could match Motel 6's price of $36 just across the street: nope. Imagine that, a copycat chain charging more than the original. Weird. So I got room 419, with free phone calls, and got my internet fix plus HBO (though nothing particuarly good was showing) for a fraction of AmeriSuite's charge. Still I'm kicking myself for throwing away that money though. At least I took a good warm shower, something I can't seem to justify in the desert.
This morning I got the number 65 bus from somewhere on Paisano Blvd to downtown, which is where I finally found out where to catch a bus East for next time. Then walked across the border, walked straight up Benito Juarez to the downtown bus station on Vicente Guerrero, and kept asking around for a bus to the Central Camionera. Turns out there are two lines that go there, the 1A and the buses marked "Permisionario". The Permisionario bus was only 4 pesos; beats the heck out of the $1 for the El Paso buses, though they aren't as comfortable.
You've probably figured out, if you're following this blog, that I used the money I'm supposed to be saving for the Dell in order to buy this Toshiba laptop; I'm still no good at controlling myself with credit. Damn. But if I don't go overboard this weekend, I'll still have $500 to send Dell on Monday, subjecting myself to a finance charge on only $149 of the balance.
last updated 2013-01-10 20:45:53. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com