A day in OJ (Ojinaga)

OJINAGA, Chihuahua, Mexico – On a recent Saturday, the staff of The Presidio International and Big Bend Sentinel spent a glorious day in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico.

First thing we did was sit down for a delicious lunch at Los Comales, accompanied by Micheladas and cold beer. We ate different kinds of excellent tacos, de alhambre, al carbon, and the “especial,” with pico, guacamole, beans, rice and chile con queso. Resaurant owner Juan Anaya Coronel and his staff are always excellent hosts.Afterwards, we took a nice stroll to the town plaza, El Zocalo, where we admired the murals at City Hall, the new Ojinaga selfie sign, and a visit to the Catholic church, La Parroquia de Nuestro Padre Jesus.

Then it was on to nearby Panadería La Francesa Don Jose, where we purchased freshly baked bread from the wood burning ovens. We did some shopping at La Boutique de Juan then strolled down the hill to La Michoacána for paletas and our afternoon ice cream fix.

We enjoyed sitting outside La Michoacána watching the city get busier as the afternoon wore on.

We continued down the boulevard Trasviña y Retes to Artesanías de Mexico where owner Mari Martinez was watching TV as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, AMLO, was being sworn in as Mexico’s new president.

From there we went next door to Farmacia La Uni-ca where we purchased some items then crossed the street to Al Super for some shopping.

With grocery sacks in hand, it was a long walk uphill to our parked cars outside Los Comales for a drive to the Ojchim jewelry store on Bulevar Libre Comercio where most of us purchased jewelry.

Dusk had arrived as we left the store, and the city’s lights twinkled on, signaling the beginning of the evening city life, more traffic, more people on the streets, and more music coming from stores and shops and homes.

We ended the day on the terrace of Mexico de Ayer, the restaurant with a cool view of Ojinaga and a view of the Sierrita de la Santa Cruz, where we shared a nice mezcal and watched the night come into view.

All in all, it was a beautiful and very enjoyable day.