Travels with The Rayman

March 30, 2015 We are back in our Dog House with the Beaumeister.  This morning I regained a crown in the town of Los Algodones, the Mexican dental down on the border to California and Arizona.  We had to cross the Colorado River in order to get there.  There is still a bit of water in that grand old river.  Such a sad sight to see, the trickle that’s left as it hits Mexico.  And one only look as far as Yuma to know why.  Yuma is an agriculture town with a military presence.  If it wasn’t for the government, it probably wouldn’t exist.  The water is guaranteed by the U.S. Government/state governments and the U.S. Government pays for the military base here.  So why the right hates the government, is beyond me.  It guarantees livelihoods for thousands of people in this sun-drenched and parched desert location.  The only thing green here are the miles of veggies growing in the fields. Here’s American freeway eye candy…not.  Why have one when you can do double decker? Yuma is the name of an indigenous American Indian tribe that occupied this territory many moons ago.  Apparently they were named Huma which means smoke in some language other than english.  Seems the Yumanians in those days burned a lot of fires which created a lot of smoke.  And there you have it. Yuma is home to 2 Indian casinos.  It also has a roadway named Giss.  Really, people.  Giss.  If my name was Giss I would probably change it so that no one would think to name a major thoroughfare after me.  Giss.  Giss rhymes with hiss and miss and piss and the list goes on.  It is very onomatopoeia-ish.  But I think I speak for many that think the name is a turn-off.  I am sure this Giss person and their family are pleased getting all that recognition.  But they might be the only ones.  Perhaps Giss was a previous mayor?  or he ran the Yuma Territorial Prison (one of the only tourist venues here).  I am guessing.  Guessing is far more interesting than looking it up and finding the truth.  Did I just say that?  Yes.  And so I tried to look it up.  Hidden history, I’ll call it.  Couldn’t find a thing.

The Giss “offramp” and The Dog House. I’m driving (eek) the toad.

But I digress. We jumped in the Fit and headed for the land of mañana at 8 a.m.  My appointment was 9.  We arrived at the dental office at 8:40.  My dentist was sitting in the waiting room watching TV along with several “patients”.  This office has many dentists.  And they share rooms with many dental chairs (at least 3 in one big room).  Funny.    But really, it makes a certain amount of sense.  Why should each patient have their own room?  Maybe they are sound-proofed so when a patient screams or bites the dentist, no one will know?  Just kidding.  After my appointment we walked by one dental office (not mine) and looked in the window while passing only to see a woman with her mouth open and dentist inside it with a drill.  No glamour dentistry here. Anyway, I checked in at the front desk which has 3 people sitting behind it.  See picture below.  That’s the front desk.  When I sat down, the dentist got up and disappeared behind the cleanest door I have ever seen.  We’ve gone here twice and twice I had seen the aids cleaning that door.  The place is squeaky clean.  A few minutes later, Dr. Lopez came out and got me.  That’s another interesting thing they do here.  Your dentist fetches you.  Actually a nice touch, I think. And then I got my crown.  Took about 10 minutes.  And all that time Dr. Lopez and his assistant chattered away in spanish.  I heard a “casa”, a “nada” and a few other words but that was about it.  And it must have been personal because they spoke in very soft tones.  But I digress. After we left the office (had to write a check to get out!!), we looked for Zebra, the veterinary store in Los Algodones.  I had emailed them asking if they carried a certain ear medicine for Beau.  They emailed back and said yes, si.  When we arrived we were greeted by a chorus of honking, crowing, chirping, tweeting birds.  Inside the shop, Zebra, I asked for the medicine.  “Two days.”, said the very short Mexican man.  Needless to say, we left without the medicine.  I am chalking it up to language problems.   And we left without seeing a zebra.  However, we did see some camels, right across the street!!  Here’s the evidence. Yep.  A traveling circus with camels.  Perhaps they had a zebra.  Didn’t see one.   I have to report that the Rayman stood on the corner, looking away.  My picture taking must have embarrassed him.  Poor guy.  The things I get him into!! The people of Los Algodones are warm, friendly and polite.  And going there early is the best idea as the lines to get back into the U.S. are long and slow.  Forget driving.  It must take people a hour by car.  It took us about 10 minutes by foot.  The other day, later, it took us about 45 on foot.  Early birds win. We didn’t buy anything other than a root canal and a crown.  That set us back enough. So.  Was this worth it?  Yes and no.  The root canal was $320.  The decay removal and new crown was $385.  There is the cost to stay here and get here.  I may have concluded that if implants were required, it would be worth it since they are only $1500 an implant.  For just normal dentistry, probably not because of the cost of coming here and staying here.  However, we have The Dog House and we made it a vacation so there is that. Rayman and I do not think they oversell or take advantage.  They could have recommended an implant where my back molar and his back molar were previously located.  But they didn’t.  And the dentist told Rayman that veneers weren’t a good option.  So, Rayman escaped the dental chair completely. So, that’s about it. As they say, newly crowned and homeward bound!!!