We visited the southwestern most point of the U.S. and the border fence. According to border agents, because of all the rain yesterday there’s toxic runoff from Mexico including lead, mercury and raw sewage. So they told us to be very careful walking along the beach. You’re not even supposed to touch the water let alone swim in it for at least 72 hours. You could see the brown sludge on the water, some of which we had to walk through on a one-mile trail to the ocean. (Hopefully, we don’t end up with stumps at the end of our legs from sludge-foot)! Walking down the beach felt like being in a scene in the forbidden zone from Planet of the Apes.

At the border, there’s a double fence, and a single fence that goes out into the water. There were people on the other side waving to us, but you’re not allowed to go right up to the fence. Anna was very disappointed because she wanted to practice her Spanish with people living in a different country (according to Anna, much cooler than just talking to the Latinos in Maiden, Grammy). There’s an International Park there where they hold church services on Sundays, and they allow a cultural exchange where they let you mingle with the Mexicans under highly controlled conditions. The whole thing was interesting to see.