The Tecate Journals - seventy days on the Rio Grande
by Bowden, Keith
pub by The Mountaineers, Seattle - 2007     isbn 1594850771 (pb)
271 pages - - adventure.
The author, a Jr. College teacher in Laredo, Texas, travels the length of the Rio Grande (known in Mexico as the Rio Bravo) as it is a border with Mexico. The first part is done by mountain bicycle as the river is so shallow and overgrown that one could not effectively float a canoe or raft. Much of the water is taken off before El Paso to various irrigation projects. Some 180 miles further down he switches to canoe then farther on switches to inflatable raft for a section known to be rough. The final half of the journey is done by canoe. The trip was started late in 2004 and went on for some 70 days, finishing in late Spring of 2005. The various hazards of river travel were dealt with straightforwardly and with a fair amount of courage. On the whole the people he met were friendly. It is a good read. This is probably the first time the whole river was traveled in one trip. The prolog gives a chilling view of the violence on the US/Mexico border.
~ 2008-



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