Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Tablet Tourism around Tijuana

The far North is a foreign country; they do things differently there. Amidst the more typical tourism of absinthe bars and cruise ship passengers sporting satellite-dish sombreros and waving aloft Happy Hour bucket-sized margaritas on the Main Drag, seeps in the brave new world of tablet tourism.

The grandeur of the pill-pushing posters dwarfs the natural beauty of the mountains and the palm trees, and deflects attention from the most classy and elegant of annual visitors, the true attractions of the area - the grey whales from the Bering Sea..


Everyone it seems can achieve true Nirvana in Ensenada from the 2 for 1 Happy Hour Discount Pharmacies that list their menus for the overly myopic at rockbottom prices, from antibiotics to painkillers, prozac to valium.....Come for an amoxycillin awayday, a mogodon minibreak, a viagra vacation!! Need a tasty snack?? First partake of the seafood cocktails....then move on to the dessert superdrug cocktails...they are never far away..


Fancy a read?? Picking up the morning newspaper??

Why not pick up something else for the weekend at the same time....a five dollar hit of viagra....satisfaction guaranteed Sir!!

If I was so inclined, I could pick up all the same drugs and the same range of medications, prescription-free at the same prices, at my local pharmacy, two minutes walk from my apartment here in Mexico City - without any of this drama or hype..

The far North border country truly IS a foreign country. They have to do things differently there...

Photographs - Ensenada, Northern Baja California, one hour South of Tijuana.

10 comments:

Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat said...

Wow! I am so clueless. I had no idea there was such a thing as "tablet tourism." I guess that is the land where two cultures/medical systems/legal systems collide. A sad state of affairs for both countries...

Catherine said...

Hi Cecile...Tablet Tourism is a phrase I have coined myself...but you are quite right...it only exists because of the border between 2 very different systems...and what a pretty horrific impact it creates!

kristine said...

its quite fascinating isnt it...I saw a documentary on this a while back. Myself, I get xanax for long haul flights in cambodia....but i am not a hard-core tablet tourist!

Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat said...

Catherine--I think that name is very clever and spot on!

I really do enjoy your posts! I have a small token of thanks for you at my blog....stop by visit!

A Cuban In London said...

Many thanks for such an informative post. And the images are very nice, too.

Greetings from London.

Wendy said...

You crack me up and good to know about the pharmacy near your place (ha ha). A lot of American's travel to Mexico and Canada to get legit drugs because the healthcare system here is messed up and makes proper healthcare unaffordable for many.

Catherine said...

Hi Wendy
yes the points of collision at a border are often so painful to visit because of the mess on both sides of the border!! but interesting to think about and write about as well..

Anonymous said...

Viagra $5.00?? WOW. I've always wanted to check out Tijuana! I hear it's craaaazzyyyy....!

Oman said...

pharmacy all around. looks like headache is not a problem there lol.

let me share my white water rafting adventure to you here

Catherine said...

Hi jess, Cuban and Lawstude...border areas are always crazy...