Last week I took at trip to Del Rio, Texas, a city on the US-Mexico border. I went there to meet a few friends and visit Amistad National Recreation Area, document some of the region’s insects, and explore nearby areas. I had also brought my passport in case the opportunity to cross the border came up and seemed right. I had never been to Mexico and though I don’t think crossing a border for an hour or so constitutes truly experiencing a country, I still wanted to go to the other side and look around.
Political borders don’t inherently mean anything in terms of the biodiversity of a region (unless they are drawn on ecological boundaries) so I wasn’t expecting to find anything much different on the other side of the Rio Grande in terms of wildlife if we ended up going. For me, wanting to go to Mexico had more to do with just being in a different place.
After dinner one night I was talking to my friend Adam who said he wanted to go near the border to buy some souvenirs for his girlfriend. I asked him if he had his passport with him and when he said yes we decided to just go across the border for a quick trip instead.
We carpooled in Adam’s car and parked at a lot near the border and ended up taking a taxi across because we were unfamiliar with what to expect at the border. For me, the process of crossing a land border is itself a fascinating experience. It seems so archaic yet still necessary that an arbitrary (possibly geological) boundary could exactly delineate two separate political entities/cultures. You get to experience this phenomenon at a land border but it’s much more removed crossing by air or sea.
Anyway, here’s some photos and I’ll continue rambling later and you can read more in the captions because this is already getting too long.
Overall though it was only an hour or so in a town directly on the border, I had a great trip and it was one of the highlights of the larger Del Rio trip for me. It was interesting to talk to Adam and find someone on such a similar page concerning experiencing life and how travel can facilitate a different awareness by stripping someone of their comfort zone.
It’s amazing how much of our lives is psychological, internal, and how environment can transform someone. I felt like a different person just across an arbitrary border…same air, same elevation, same climate…but with heightened senses and a renewed sense of curiosity and wonder. It was simultaneously a reminder of how life has been, could be in many ways for me, while also shining a light on the frustrating stagnation I have felt for some time. Overall though I see this experience as a catalyst.
If you would like to see some of the nature photos from the Del Rio trip you can find them here, as well as some habitat shots and part of a new series here.