Big Bend National Park in Texas - Boquillas, Mexico

After spending two weeks in Fredericksburg, Texas for the Habitat for Humanity build it was time to make our way south to Big Bend National Park.

Our first stop was in San Antonio, Texas for a couple of nights to break up the trip.  That also allowed for another visit to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk.  We got set up at the Elks Lodge and the next day we were adventurous and took the local bus to the downtown area.

Since we visited the Riverwalk in October, 2018, I didn't take many photos on this visit but we still enjoyed it very much.  It's a great place to walk.

Big Bend is very far south in Texas so we made a couple more stops before arriving at the park.  Our next stop was at another Elks Lodge in Del Rio, Texas.  We had some trouble finding this location using our GPS but once we did, it was awesome to pull in and see a familiar rig.  Our friends, Joie and Mike (@OurMobileBackpack) were there and we didn't plan this meetup. 

We were the only two RV's in the huge lot!

I was in the mood for some good Texas barbecue!  We all went to dinner at Rudy's barbecue one night which was fun and delicious.

We made one more stop before we arrive in Big Bend.  This time we stayed at the Lost Alaskan campground in Alpine, Texas.  

This was a nice park and I was able to get our laundry done before heading in to the national park.

It was a really long drive to get to Big Bend National Park from everywhere but we finally we made it!   We left Alpine and drove Rt 113 down to Terlingua then in to the park where we went east and passed Panther Junction Visitor Center and then down in to Rio Grand Village.  Once we arrived in the park it was still about 50 more miles to get to the east side and our campground. 

Our route from Fredericksburg, San Antonio, Del Rio, Alpine, then Big Bend National Park

This park is so big they have four visitor's centers!

When we arrived at our reserved campsite in the Rio Grande Village Campground, we realized it was not big enough for us.  I was nervous that after driving all this distance we would have trouble finding another site but there were plenty of first come first serve sites available so we got settled in to one of those.

As planned this time, we met up with our friends, Joie & Mike and went for a short hike to see the Rio Grande River.

Our first glimpse of the Rio Grande!

Joie & Mike on our hike

Along the hike we spotted walking sticks and trinkets and a container to insert money.  There were left by local Mexicans to sell as souvenirs.  They place their souvenirs for sale on a boulder near a popular Big Bend lookout.

It is an illegal crossing, technically, although there are no park rangers or Border Patrol agents within dozens of miles. And the visitors don’t intend to stay but a few minutes.

They place a plastic bottle next to the souvenirs, asking tourists to check the price tags on each item and then leave money for whatever souvenirs they wish to take.

The villagers then quickly go back across the river. They likely will return hours later to see if anything has been sold.

It’s an old-fashioned honor system.

The view from the top of the hill was beautiful and we could see so far and in to Mexico! 

The four of us decided to visit the small town of Boquillas, Mexico the next day.  We had to go through customs just like any other border crossing.

Guests at Big Bend National Park can drive to the Boquillas crossing and park their cars. They then walk a few hundred feet down a gravel pathway to the river, where for $5 one of several Boquillas residents takes them across the border in a rowboat.

The boaters are members of the Los Diablos volunteer firefighter squad based in Boquillas. The boat trips raise money for the fire department, which often helps fight wildfires in the region and has permission from the U.S. government to cross the border freely.

Once on the Mexican shore, visitors can then ride in a pickup or on a donkey for the nearly 1-mile journey to Boquillas. Once there, visitors check in with Mexican customs at a small white trailer in the center of the village and are free to explore.

Boquillas has two restaurants and a handful of souvenir stands set up outside several homes. Most trinkets are sold for $5 to $10.

The small town of Boquillas, Mexico off in the distance

Boquillas Crossing is open during daytime hours. Visitors are encouraged by a park ranger to get back to the United States before 6 p.m., when the customs building  closes.

US Customs building at the crossing

We showed our passports and were given information on how to cross the river and then to check in at the Mexican Customs trailer and pay a small entrance fee.

In May 2002, the U.S. government closed the rowboat crossing at Boquillas as part of a post-9-11 crackdown, arguing that it was a potential loophole in national security that could be exploited by terrorists.

In 2013, after years of negotiations, the crossing was reopened. Customs officials set up a system in which inspectors from El Paso could check passports of people entering the U.S. remotely.

Upon our short walk to the river, we were met but a guy who paddles the boat to get us across the river and in to Mexico. It cost us $5 each to be rowed across the river. 

 

Once we reached Mexico, we could have taken a donkey ride in to town but we decided to walk the mile instead.

Somehow we ended up with a guide, Lupito, who showed us to town and gave us a tour.  He ended up spending the whole day with us.  

I guess they heard we were coming because they put on a parade!  Actually it was a Mexican Revolution celebration.

And then the parade passed by us again...  I think we were the only spectators!

Of course the Police had to participate too!

I seriously think every person from Boquilles was in the parade!  When we made it to town, we stopped in to the Mexican customs office and paid the $2 per person fee.  Then our guide, Lupito, took us to a small museum where we learned a little about the area.

The community of Boquillas was officially established in 1897, due to the opening of the mines.  The community reached up to 2000 inhabitants, with well-aligned streets and was the main municipal town of Ocampo.  It was an area of great economic progress.

During the years of 1978 and 1986, several floods occurred in the community of Boquillas del Carmen, which were caused by the overflow of the Rio Grande River, causing the destruction of the existing houses, forcing the inhabitants to move into higher places.  The current town corresponds to the second town of the original Boquillas.  For a long time the border did not have any restrictions for people to cross it. 

As we walked through the tiny town, some of the ladies had items for sale outside their houses.  

A wall at the school decorated for the celebration.

Cuzzies for sale.  They are not fans of President Trump.

In 2016, Boquillas got electricity for the first time without the need for generators!  Lupito showed us the solar farm that provides power for the town.

Perhaps unusually, the village now has about an acre of solar panels that provide electricity to dozens of tiny homes. One resident said the monthly electric bills are usually $20 to $30. The panels were installed about two years ago with help from the Mexican government, residents said.  Most homes also have indoor water. A few homes have outdoor propane tanks for cooking.  “The tourists like coming over here a lot, and riding the horses and donkeys,” Ureste said, “and we like having them here.”

Lupito took us to his home where we met his wife and I purchased a pot holder embroidered with grapes.   I didn't need another pot holder but felt it was a way to support them. 

They let us in to their home.

Lupito and his wife

We walked back to "town" and ate and drank margaritas at one of the two restaurants.  I was surprised the prices on the menu were not cheaper to eat and drink.

We had some live music

Joie and Nancy toasting our friendship!

Lupito joined us for lunch

Mike, Joie, Nancy, and Al at Jose Falco Restaurant overlooking the Rio Grande

Then it was time for our ride back to the United States.  Our $5 included the trip back.

Mike & Joie

We shared our bench of the boat trip with another couple

Bye Bye Mexico......

When visitors to Boquillas return to the U.S., they enter a one-room building and place their passport (with photo showing) in a machine about the size of an ATM. A surveillance camera is just above the machine.
Visitors are prompted to pick up a handset, and on the other end of the line is a customs officer in El Paso, Texas over 450 miles/727 km away.  The officer then asks the visitors to state their name and declare anything they are bringing back from Mexico.

It was time for Joie and Mike to leave us and we spent more time in this huge park.  More on that and our break down in the next blog entry. 

Read more here: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article152420114.html#storylink=cpy