Big Bend National Park/ Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico
After leaving San Antonio, we made our way to Big Bend National Park. We made a pitstop for two nights in Marathon, Texas to see what is described as a night sky destination for Astrophotographers and stargazers worldwide. Although we couldn’t take pictures with our phones, you need a special camera, it was incredible to see. I have never actually been in an area where you can walk outside and see Jupiter and Orion’s Belt clear as day!
Once we left Marathon, we drove to Lajitas, Texas to hike and explore Big Bend and the city. Lajitas is a cool little city with a ghost town 45 minutes outside of Big Bend. You may think 45 minutes is a far ride, but the sheer size of Big Bend is hard to comprehend. Big Bend is 1,252 square miles, that’s bigger than the state of Rhode Island alone. We were able to hike the Window Trail and Boquillas Canyon Trail. The Window Trail is roughly around 6 miles, with a 900 foot elevation climb at the end. The Boquillas Canyon Trail is 1.5 miles, you climb 85 feet to the top of a cliff overlooking the Rio Grande, and finish on the beach at the entrance of the Boquillas Canyon. It was stunning to say the least. After leaving the Boquillas Canyon, we crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico. Before I get into Mexico, I will Do a photo gallery of the pictures we took at big bend, than continue the blog after the gallery. Continue reading after the gallery.
After leaving the Boquillas Canyon trail, we made our way to the port of entry. Once you leave the port of entry, you are ferried across the Rio Grande. Once across the river you have the option of walking to the village (1/2 mile) or paying an additional fee to ride on a burro, horse, or in a vehicle, but we opted to walk into Boquillas. You have to stop at Mexican immigration, pay $3 and get a wrist bracelet as receipt for your fee.
Boquillas is a small town of around 250 people and all of them were warm welcoming and friendly. Borquillas has two restaurants, bar, and lots of locals selling homemade art and gifts. Obviously, we had to stop at the bar and have a few drinks with the locals before buying some gifts, checking out the local school, church and convenience stores to see what they might have that we don’t get in the states. We stopped at both restaurants, ate at one and just soaked up the culture of the local residents of Boquillas. This was probably the highlight of our Big Bend trip. Below you will find the photo gallery of the pictures we took and hopefully have the chance to visit again. Next stop is Guadalupe Mountains National Park and the Carlsbad Caverns. LET’S GO!
