Affordable Travel

In the San Andres Valley of Mexico, you can escape into a geographical and cultural world that is able to draw you back into previous centuries, in the same way that a good book by Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes can, by invoking the vivid colors, smells, tastes, and complex history of the place. The people here are down to earth, friendly, and proud of their long heritage in the San Andres Valley. Tourists can explore for days or weeks, and in the words of Hector Diaz, a Puerto Rican national and celebrated chef “the place is so alive and romantic, just like the people who live there.” You can find the legendary cigar factory by the name of Te Amo here. In Spanish, Te Amo means “I love you”, and in the cigar world, the name is also another term for excellence in hand made long filler cigars, like the style of cigars that made Cuba famous for its Havana smokes. You can also find the world class and famous tequila known as Patron here, named after Don Patron, the senior member of a family whose skill at making fine tequila has made it the most renowned in all the world. Although the spirits are made in small batches and there is a limited supply produced each year, it remains the “cream of the crop” of all the world’s tequilas, selling for as much as $15 an ounce in some bars. The cuisine is spicy, exotic, and tasty, and one woman’s recipe for a simple meat dish so inspired Hector Diaz that he included it in a list of his favorite recipes from around the world, adding that when he prepares the dish for his own patrons, it steals their hearts.

The customs offices of the world are great places to lose things, not by accident, but by deliberate and vigilant customs officials who confiscate those things that are not allowed into a country. If you are traveling with agricultural products, for instance, you might be surprised to find out that they can’t be imported, because of government regulations intended to help prevent the accidental importation of pests, bacteria, and other undesirables. After all, it is believed that some of the world’s great plagues were started by the transportation (unknowingly) of disease through agricultural products or the rodents and insects that tag along on them as little stowaway passengers.

Customs officers will usually require that you hand them a written document, filled out before you land and then turned in when you cross through customs, that states whether or not you are carrying such products. And they are willing to forgive innocent mistakes, without coming down on you as if you were a criminal smuggler. But that doesn’t mean they will let you break the law, either. If you have packed yourself a nice ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato for the arrival snack, you might end up handing it over - and the customs people will perhaps eat it for you at their own lunch break. Similarly, if you are carrying a dozen roses that your boyfriend gave you in the departure lounge, those might end up on a customs officer’s girlfriend’s breakfast table by morning, thanks to your losing them at the border. After all, they are agricultural products. So what if you want to bring some Holland bulbs back to grow tulips in your window boxes? The best thing is to have the florist sell them to you and handle the shipping themselves. And if you want to pack a lunch, bring one that is already sealed up, like an unopened snack bar or an unsealed package of nuts.

Nothing compares to the flavor of an old-fashioned, small town, country auction. They haven’t changed much over the decades, and they still depend on the natural-born charisma and well-honed linguistic skills of the auctioneers themselves. Professional “criers of the bid” know how to orchestrate their sales with the tempo of a sports announcer at a horse race - fast, intense, and unpredictable - creating a sense of exhilaration and urgency. Their showmanship and salesmanship combine in a way that harkens back to the vaudevillian era, when traveling merchants or performing artists would create an entire tent show to help captivate an audience.
And the bidders themselves are equally responsible for elevating an ordinary sales event into some of the best free entertainment a people-watcher could ask for. A fast-paced, spontaneous game of wits and wallets is often sparked between bidders, and it can be thrilling to observe.

Public auctions take place in rural communities around the USA all year round, weather permitting. Many are held on Saturdays, in a large building or under a big tent, with refreshments sold in the back, and attendance is free. And you don’t have to be a high roller to bring home a bargain. The last time I attended an auction, I bought a cardboard box containing seven clay flower pots, a screwdriver, a plastic coffee cup, assorted bolts, screws, and washers, two broken crayons, an empty shotgun shell, and a partial roll of duct tape, all for two bucks. (OK, so maybe it wasn’t the deal of a lifetime.) It’s a lot of fun, you can pick up items that you normally wouldn’t find at a yard sale or store, and it can add lots of flavor and excitement to a trip along the back roads and through small towns, that might otherwise seem uneventful or boring to you on a long trip.