GREAT WEEKENDS

great weekends A Shopping Trek to Nogales Offers a Taste of Mexico on Both Sides of the Border

Give me any excuse, and I'll head for the border. The city of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and its American counterpart, Nogales, Arizona, await only an hour south of Tucson, about three hours south of Phoenix. Many Arizonans join me in making at least one visit a year to Nogales, Sonora, stocking up on Mexican crafts and one-of-a-kind holiday presents and investing in furniture and art for our homes. You can shop Nogales in one day. But take two and you will have time to enjoy both a taste of Mexico and the beauty of southern Arizona, part of Mexico until 1854.

The drive south of Tucson on Interstate 19 offers some gentle reminders of this land's history. After the modern settlement of Green Valley you pass Tubac, the oldest European settlement in Arizona, dating from 1752. (See Arizona Highways, November '99.) Farther south stands Tumacacori, part of the mission chain established in the late 1600s by Jesuit priest and explorer Eusebio Francisco Kino. 1-19 ends on the Arizona side of the line, curving into a street of parking lots, where $4 gets you a spot to leave your vehicle a few minutes' walk from the border. Now, with the push of a revolving metal gate, you enter Mexico.

My fellow traveler and I began the shopping part of our two-day trip in the labyrinth of stores across the street from the government buildings near the border. As I pondered my first buy, I overheard a tourist. "Set your price before you go in," he whispered to his companions. That works if you know exactly what you want to buy, but Nogales can surprise you. You may find yourself bargaining happily for something you never dreamed you would want. I had come to a full halt in front of a 6-foot-high pile of cow skulls. Pre-bargaining prices started at $35 and went up for a skull with a good set of horns, ones that came with the animal, not hooked on after its demise. Shopkeeper Efrain Llamas assured me that mucha gente, "many people," buy the skulls. I'm happy for them. The ranchers and butchers of Mexico must be ecstatic.

Merchandise comes into town from all parts of Mexico. At El Sarape de Nogales on Avenida Obregon, the main shopping street, you can find ornate pewter trays and serving bowls from Mexico City along with the famed silver jewelry of Taxco. My eyes turned to the colorful papier-maché vegetables priced from $1.25 to $2. That's about half of what I would pay on the other side of the border and almost free considering what they would go for outside of Arizona. Let the harvest begin. Next door at El Porton, artist-merchant Francisco Mireles displays his tin sculptures. This day's exhibition included a massive grinning piranha at the doorway and a 5-foot-long tin dolphin swimming through the center of the store.

Prices at El Porton and other stores are marked. However, that does not preclude the traditional give and take. As one merchant told me while I examined the alebrije, the wooden animals from Oaxaca, "We could do a deal." We would have to. Prices for the brilliantly painted, dotted, striped creatures can start at $25. He had one eye-catcher for $400, a 2foot-high, two-headed, winged red dragon with one killer of a tail.

I found my alebrije in the arcade off Campillo Street, two tiny turtles for $4. Well, maybe they weren't authentic alebrije, but two children in Tucson would love them nonetheless.

We walked and talked, shopping our way to the tiled staircase leading to the elegant El Greco restaurant on Obregon. My chile rellenos - green chiles stuffed with cheese and coated with batter and deep-fried - were light enough to fly off my plate. Fortunately, my mouth got in the way. My fellow traveler's chicken enchiladas disappeared before I had time to check them out.

Refueled, we hit the shops again, starting with Paquime downstairs from the restaurant. This is one shop where you would be advised to move verrrrry slowly - you don't want to knock something off a shelf causing a you-break-it, you-bought-it accident.

Prices here for the museumquality Casas Grandes pottery from the state of Chihuahua top out at $3,000.

We also took a look at La Posada restaurant, catty-corner from El Greco. Recommended by folks on both sides of the border, the menu proved basic and pocketbook-tempting: $2.40 for three tacos.

My fellow traveler's great deal came when purchasing the one duty-free liter of liquor allowed each visitor to Nogales, Sonora. He chose the Kahlua -$9 in Nogales, $21.99 at my supermarket in Tucson.

Thirst having replaced hunger, we made our way across the railroad tracks to Calle Elias and the elegant La Roca restaurant and bar. If the shopping urge resurfaced, the equally elegant El Changarro furniture and interior design store awaited right downstairs.

We sipped our drinks on a sun-dappled, windowed arcade overlooking the patio. A guitarist on break from the band in the dining room sat near. He strummed and sang a song filled with corazon, "heart." Ah, Mexico, you're not always easy to leave.

But our destination for the night was back in Arizona, the hilltop-hugging Rio Rico Resort and Golf Club. The hotel offers an unbeatable view of the Santa Cruz River valley, gourmet dining, golf and tennis. But our interest was in the stables and the promise of a morning horseback ride.

We could take a short trot or increase the difficulty with a two-hour ride in the hills and canyons around the community of Patagonia to the east.

With the light of a new day, we headed for the hills. Dan Skiver, owner of Arizona Trail Tours, guided us through that magnificent country. He showed us the marks left by the ancient people, the petroglyphs, and the marks made by modern man. A rectangular hole had been dug or blasted into the rocky ground. Just big enough for a grave, which it was the movie grave of the Spencer Tracy character in 1954's Broken Lance. We rode across the mesquitecovered private and public land into a canyon and out again. The air felt soft, the sun warm and the land bathed in peace. "This is our part of Arizona," Skiver said of all that we could see from our saddles. You could hear the pride in his voice, and the contentment. The next leg of our trip required the modern form of horspower, a 25-minute drive back toward Nogales on the Patagonia Highway to the Arizona Vineyards winery. Behind its ramshackle facade and eclectic interior decor, the processing operation turns Arizona grapes into 13 varieties of wine. Free sip-size samples are offered. A couple from New York City arrived to do their tasting. Like true connoisseurs,they sipped, commented, then marked their wine lists. My fellow traveler went for the more plebian method. He tasted the white Burgundy and pronounced, "I'd drink that." We left with two bottles. Call me Waddles, but the time had come to eat again. We stopped back in Nogales on this side of the border at El Zarape. Try their quesadillas, hot tortillas wrapped around soft, melting Mexican cheese. That was enough to get usas far as the Spanish colonial mission at Tumacacori to the north. Now a National Historical Park, Tumacacori bears the scars of time and service, first to the faithful of the Spanish Empire, then to those of independent Mexico. The mission suffered through years of Apache raids and the destructive visits of treasure hunters seeking non-existent gold. They missed the real treasure of Tumacacori, the calming beauty of this place. A bustling life awaited us up the road, one that moves foreverforward. But for the last quiet hour of our weekend, the world stood still. As the man said, this is our part of Arizona, and old Spain and Mexico. Olé.

WHEN YOU GO

Location: 175 miles south of Phoenix; 63 miles south of Tucson. Weather: January average temperatures: high, 63"; low, 27°. Phone Numbers: All Arizona phone numbers are in area code 520 unless noted; 800 numbers are toll-free. Lodging: Rio Rico Resort and Golf Club, Rio Rico, (800) 288-4746. Restaurants: Nogales, Sonora, Mexico - El Greco, Avenida Obregon 152; La Posada, Calle Pierson; La Roca, Calle Elias 9A. Nogales, Arizona - El Zarape, 287-3920. Attractions: Nogales, Sonora, Mexico - El Sarape de Nogales, Ave. Obregon 161; El Porton, Ave. Obregon 159; Paquime, Ave. Obregon 152; El Changarro, Calle Elias 93. Arizona Arizona Trail Tours horseback-riding, Rio Rico and Patagonia, 394-2701; Tumacacori National Historical Park, Tumacacori, 398-2341; Arizona Vineyards, Nogales, 287-7972. Travel Advisory: Returning to the United States you will be asked for an oral declaration of citizenship. Proof of residency, such as a voter's registration card or driver's license, also is advised. Legal aliens should carry immigration documents. Shoppers are limited to $400 in duty-free merchandise. Liquor purchases may be made by individuals 21 years old and older; limit is 1 liter. Additional Information: Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, 287-3685.