This evening after work, I decided to go to downtown Laredo and stroll around. My hosts warned me to be careful of all the drug crime. They told me that Americans are being kidnapped from Laredo and held for ransom. Of course, I ignored them.

Laredo is an old Spanish town. As such, it has a plaza built in the center of the city. Today, it is a beautiful park with trees and statues. Across the street stands the church. It is called "San Augustin" and dates from the year 1755.

I bet you've never seen the flag on the left. There were 7 countries who have ruled over the city of Laredo. This flag was from the "Republic of the Rio Grande". In the year 1840, Laredo was a part of Mexico. Then, the Mexican dictator was named Santa Anna and nobody really like him. The city of Laredo and the surrounding countryside rebelled and won their freedom. The country only lasted 283 days, but Laredo was the capital city. The parliament still stands next to the park. Nowadays, it is a museum.

I ambled down to the river to see the border with Mexico. It's terrible! I only saw the barb-wire barriers and huge walls. It's ugly. It looks like a war zone. A policeman stopped me and told me that I couldn't walk along the street because I was too close to the crossing point. I don't understand why everyone has to be so rude. I don't want to come back here.