If there's one constant when it comes to my March trips, it's that my plans are always subject to change. I had an uneventful drive to the Phoenix area, although I left later than expected, and got into town about 9pm local time and started hunting for a hotel. The night was uneventful, but the next morning I started making some calls, and revised (read: shortened) my plans for Arizona and Nogales, due to some new plans back in San Diego.
After a hearty IHOP breakfast, I headed over to the CJS Film Studio, the location for the Arizona Models Day photo shoot (http://www.amd-photoday.com). This was a fun photo shoot, which I definitely plan to attend again. While our photo shoots in Southern California have a usual turnout of about 15-20 models and 30-40 photographers, the Arizona shoot had upwards of 50 models, and only about 20 photographers! Definitely weighted much more in my favour. All told, I ended up shooting 12 of the models, and hopefully will get some good pictures out of that batch. If you're an aspiring photographer (or aspiring model!) and will be in the Phoenix area (or can make the trip) I recommend giving these photo shoots a try. The setting is a film studio that looks like it specialised in Western movies; there is a large outdoor area with plenty of Western-style buildings and props, and indoor sets such as a saloon and a general store. A great time indeed!
I was going to stay in Phoenix Sunday night, and move on to Nogales by Tuesday, but as I said, I cut things a bit shorter and decided to head to Nogales right after the photo shoot. The shoot was finally finished and the awards presented by 5:30, so I was able to fuel up and get on the road for the 3-hour drive south. It's an easy drive, all interstate, and I was set up with a hotel room in Nogales, AZ, and getting ready to go south of the border to Nogales, MX, by 8:45. I did stop for a bite to eat on the way, so I found myself heading through the turnstiles around 10:15 after parking on the street a couple of blocks from the border.
The crossing was very quiet, although I guess that was to be expected for a Sunday night. I remembered to take a left across the train tracks into the bar district I read about in the reports of those who preceded me -- the only distraction being one barker who invited me to go to Rio (I refused; I knew where I was going!) and another guy who followed me across the street wanting to know if I wanted him to show me where the "titty bars" were. I told him I was just wandering, and he started warning me that I might get robbed. I felt I'd had enough experience walking the streets of quite a few big cities at night, and Nogales seemed quite a bit safer than most of them, so I just thanked him and waved him off.
I walked around the couple of blocks and spotted a number of clubs I'd read about, including Placers, Lord Black, Cherry's, and Lipstick. I found myself near Lipstick when I figured I had seen just about all the neighborhood, and decided that would be my first stop. By that time it was 10:30.
Man, was this place dead. Admittedly, it WAS Sunday... but there was one dancer on stage when I arrived, who was just finishing her set -- and no replacement dancer, although I was willing to give them a chance, and went up to the bar to get a beer. I sat up there for about twenty minutes, and while music was playing, no dancers were showing up. I wandered down and sat at a table near the stage, and waited... and waited... the DJ would rattle on about every five minutes, and turn on the fog machine to blanket the stage with fog, but no dancers... I wonder if he was trying to use the fog to disguise the fact that nobody was dancing! "Hey, look, I think I see one through that patch of fog over there..."
Finally at about 11:15 another dancer showed up on stage -- 45 minutes between dancers is definitely not what I am used to! "Stacy" did dance a couple of songs, but never took off her top, even. I finished my beer and by 11:30 I was out the door. I decided to head over to Placers, and had a much better time there.
I paid the $2 cover and headed inside, and was quite pleased to see the joint in full swing -- dancer on stage, plenty of customers. I found a seat near (but not at) the stage and ordered a beer. It was interesting to actually get a receipt when ordering a drink! After a little while, Claudia came by and sat with me (or on me, rather!) and was glad to let me practice my Spanish with her, and tell me about the club and how things worked. Pretty simple really, and pretty much how it's been explained in other reports. Table dances for $9, "privados" (private dances) for $22, with a couple of ticket sellers circulating regularly who will sell tickets for either, and will even go fetch your dancer of choice for you. I bought her a drink (Tequila, overpriced (IMO) at $10) for her time, but declined to get dances from her right then. Still wanted to check out more of the talent!
I moved up to a stage side seat for a while, and watched a remarkably impressive set of dancers take the stage, one after another. Personal favorites just from their stage sets (I actually did take notes!) were (or sounded like; I couldn't always confirm the name) Axel, Caribe, Cassandra, Rayna, and Susie. That's not to say that there weren't plenty of other great girls that danced, just that those five were fun to watch and were more "my type."
After an hour or so at the stage (and turning down the ticket sellers a few times, as I just wanted to get a "feel" for the place first) I ended up back at a table back from the stage, and started looking around for a "target" to try some of the private dances. (In retrospect, perhaps I should have gone with the "2-for-1 private" offers they made at one point, but then again, it would have been a different experience because the girl I went with in the end hadn't danced yet!) One of my five favorites was walking by my chair when I looked up and smiled at her, which prompted her to plop herself in my lap and introduce herself. I practiced my Spanish on her for a little while before she shyly asked if I were interested in a "privado." "Claro!" I told her, and she took me by the hand and led me to the ticket seller, and from there, up to heaven.
After dropping off our ticket with the timekeeper guy upstairs, we went to the farthest of about a dozen curtained booths, decked out with a comfy chair and decent carpeting (that I would be thankful for later). My chica smiled a shy adorable smile at me as she started undressing, and finally took my hands and brought them to her waist to pull down her panties. Una vista magnifica! She then climbed into my lap and started a good grind, offering my mouth first one nipple, then the other, then her own mouth as I discovered she had a pierced tongue...
Of course, none of you are really interested in a play-by-play of what followed.
Basically, even though my zipper stayed up the whole time (I had read that BJ and FS are negotiable for roughly $30-40 and $50-60, respectively, but I didn't partake since I'd brought less funds than I should have), I'd rank it as one of the top 3 lap dances I've ever gotten. Highlights included one period of time where she would dip two fingers inside herself and then bring them up to where she was hungrily kissing me, and we'd share the taste, as well as a while where she was in the chair with her legs up over the armrests, and I was kneeling (remember the comfy carpeting?) and servicing her with my tongue on her clit and a finger in each hole, while she panted, "Que rico, asi, asi!" and I came up for air only long enough to shout "Uno mas!" at the time keeper to get him to go away. In all, it was a most excellent lap dance. I can't wait to get back with more funds to see how good this girl is at "extra service," or maybe even invite her back to my hotel! Even afterward she was a real sweetheart, holding my hand as we went down the stairs, and kissing me goodbye as I told her that I would try to come back soon. (Which will probably be six weeks away... at least I have some distinctive characteristics so hopefully she'll remember me!)
I finished my drink and watched a couple more dancers while winding down from my great experience upstairs. It occurred to me that I felt totally comfortable in this club, and had absolutely no worries about doctored drinks, ripoff waiters, or even walking the neighborhood. I decided to call it a night about 1:45 and walked a nice quiet walk to the border. I did get confused at first because I expected the northbound border crossing to be on the east side of the street like it is in Tijuana, but it was an easy walk across the traffic lanes (unlike Tijuana) and the border guards were friendly, almost seeming bored with the complete lack of traffic.
All-in-all, a fun time. I can definitely recommend Placers on a Sunday night, if my visit was characteristic. And definitely not Lipstick, although other nights are almost certainly better. Oh, and for those that care, the bathrooms at Placers were fine, my only complaint was that there was a guy hanging out in the mens room who made joking comments about my hair (it's down past my shoulders) every time I went in there to take a piss. I think he was gay or something. Didn't keep me from having a blast, though!
And I definitely felt a different "vibe" in Nogales than I did in Tijuana. TJ has a very gritty, third-world feel to it, as one might expect. But what I didn't expect was that I mostly got a much quieter, calmer, almost old-world or European feel in Nogales. I felt much more comfortable walking the streets, as I said above, and didn't at all get the feeling like I do in Tijuana that most people are sizing me up as a cash-rich gringo they can rip off. It's just a shame that Nogales is a much longer drive.
Nogales may be more expensive than Tijuana (in terms of service for your dollar), but it definitely beats US strip clubs, and would be well worth the drive down from Tucson (although Phoenix is a bit far to drive down just for the night!).
Pax,
^C
P.S. to the CH Nogales crew -- unfortunately, I didn't even bring the camera into Nogales with me, so no pics this time. Maybe next trip!