Rio Grande Valley

We arrived in Brownsville Texas where Peggy and Mike spend the winter months. They wanted to show me some of the sights before they went East for the holidays. We went to Matamoras which is just across the border from Brownsville. We walked across the International Bridge over the Rio Grande which is surprisingly small as rivers go. Arriving in Mexico, Mike noticed that the Mexican police were on high alert with automatic rifles slung around their necks and many of them at the border crossing. We took a bus into town (apparently local businesses run these busses to bring you to their establishments). We had the driver drop us near the Presidential Square. We walked into the square and took some pics of the bandstand and the old church. The church especially intrigued me. It was basically plain adobe type walls inside and out but decorated all over with terracotta (I think that’s the term). It is clay pottery type stuff affixed to the wall, adhered to it, not part of the wall. Beautiful, unique, impressive. (see pics) The altar was a little overdone for my taste but seemed right somehow. Anyway I liked this old cathedral. The band stand was unbelievable. It was entirely covered in mosaic tiles with what seemed a Persian motif, the base, the ceiling and even the finials on the roof! Another unique structure. Opposite the church, on the other side of the square, was the mayoral building which I didn’t photograph but it had a sign saying Presidential something or other. Thus the name of the square.

We walked to another square a few blocks away which was no where near as impressive but I found that church very interesting. Simple, white, plain but soaring like Gothic cathedrals do. I hope the pic gives some of that feeling. The inside was just exactly like the outside with no interruption of the soaring shape of the nave shown on the outside. I know this is weird but I thought immediately of Danish modern??? Anyway, we encountered an army patrol in humvee type vehicles with a large mounted gun in each. Peggy and Mike had never seen such displays of force but we never learned what was up.

We had an excellent Mexican lunch before returning to Brownsville. I tasted plain tequila and a Marguerita . Nothing to write home about! I’ll stick to whisky!

A friend of Mike’s took us to Boca Chica (about 20 miles from Brownsville), a beautiful coastal area on the Gulf of Mexico. We drove in a four wheel drive along the beach about 10 miles. The southern end of this area is the mouth of the Rio Grande. Wow, it’s even smaller here than at Matamoras! See pics. The amazing thing was there were no more than 3 or 4 cabins along this entire stretch of coast. In fact, from the coast inland about 15 miles there is nothing. The land is flat with some scrub bushes but obviously subject to flooding. Right near the coast there are dunes but just a single row of them paralleling the coast. We stopped at an historical marker which explained that an army encampment had been made at that spot about 8 miles from the coast during the Mexican war (1846). That spot was the first dry, raised land encountered by the army which had landed at the Rio Grande and marched inland looking for a place to camp. This raised area was a few miles long and less than half a mile wide. Interesting topography. Anyway, back to the coast. At the Northern end of the beach is the entrance to Brownsville harbor which is a dredged channel protected by a most impressive stone jetty made of red granite boulders cemented together to form a seawall. On the other side of this narrow entrance is South Padre Island which is as developed as the Boca Chica beach is not. Skyscraper hotels and condos line the Gulf shore and multi-million dollar mansions line the bay shore. We took a trip there and walked the beach which is always fun in the sun! I just had to get my feet wet in the western Gulf of Mexico!

I abruptly decided to end my dream trip in Brownsville. I cannot thank Peggy and Mike enough for their hospitality!! They put up with me through it all, took me to places they had already seen, took me to places they never wanted to see, and through it all were unfailingly gracious. They will never be able to understand the depth of my gratitude. I left Texas December 10th and am returning to New England for the holidays, then to my daughter’s in NC, then Florida somewhere???

Hope you all have enjoyed this blog.