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The Tecate Journals: Seventy Days on the Rio Grande
* More than a man-against-nature adventure-the author floats us along the border of political furor, cultural limbo, and dangerous human encounters
*Touches on environmental issues, adrenalin-spiked action, and the author's ambivalence with his own cultural identity
* A first work from a new voice that is parts gritty, elegant, and
contemporary
The Rio Grande is a national border, a water source, a dangerous rapid with house-sized boulders, a nature refuge, a garbage dump, and a playground, depending on where you are on its 1885-mile course.
That's why journalist Keith Bowden decided to become the first person to travel the entire length of the Rio as it forms the border between America and Mexico. This is his fascinating account of the journey by bike, canoe, and raft along one of North America's most overlooked resources. From illegal immigrants and drug runners trying to make it into America to the border patrol working to stop them; from human coyotes -- smugglers who help people navigate their way into the United States -- to encounters with real coyotes, mountain lions, and other flora and fauna, Bowden reveals a side of America that few of us ever see. The border between the U.S. and Mexico is, in many ways, a country unto itself, where inhabitants share more in common with fellow riverside dwellers than they do with the rest of their countrymen. With this isolated and colorful micro-world as his backdrop, Bowden not only explores his surroundings, but also tests his inner mettle along some of the most dangerous and remote riparian wilderness in North America.
*Touches on environmental issues, adrenalin-spiked action, and the author's ambivalence with his own cultural identity
* A first work from a new voice that is parts gritty, elegant, and
contemporary
The Rio Grande is a national border, a water source, a dangerous rapid with house-sized boulders, a nature refuge, a garbage dump, and a playground, depending on where you are on its 1885-mile course.
That's why journalist Keith Bowden decided to become the first person to travel the entire length of the Rio as it forms the border between America and Mexico. This is his fascinating account of the journey by bike, canoe, and raft along one of North America's most overlooked resources. From illegal immigrants and drug runners trying to make it into America to the border patrol working to stop them; from human coyotes -- smugglers who help people navigate their way into the United States -- to encounters with real coyotes, mountain lions, and other flora and fauna, Bowden reveals a side of America that few of us ever see. The border between the U.S. and Mexico is, in many ways, a country unto itself, where inhabitants share more in common with fellow riverside dwellers than they do with the rest of their countrymen. With this isolated and colorful micro-world as his backdrop, Bowden not only explores his surroundings, but also tests his inner mettle along some of the most dangerous and remote riparian wilderness in North America.
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
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April 13, 2019
I've always been an intensely private person, one who is fond of saying that the only bad thing about boating alone is that I can't figure out how to go without me. One of the reasons I love rivers so much is that while floating them, I become part of them. I usually don't find people interesting, and perhaps the one I find least interesting is myself.
photos below
Tecate is a brand of Mexican beer. Bowden replenishes his supply as often as he replenishes his stocks of tortillas, fruit juice, beans, water, and ice. (He ate no meat until the last night of his journey. He sometimes paddled so hard, and for such long stretches, that a couple times he came close to either dehydration or hypothermia.)
Mountaineer Books, publisher of this book, has the following brief bio of the author.
Bowden credits his daughter, who died at the age of ten, with teaching him Spanish. There's a prof evaluation page for him at Laredo CC. He's given a unanimous 5 star rating by a couple dozen students. One of the last raters wrote, "It's a shame that he is retiring after this year". That was in 2014.
Bowden is a great writer. I couldn't put the book down. His journal of seventy days on the Rio Grande makes clear that he's a very open, personable man, very determined to accomplish what he sets out to do. Judging by some of the remarks he makes near the end of the book (published in 2007), I get the idea that Bowden, almost fifty at the time of this trip down the river, may have grown tired of the needs of human contacts in the accelerating world of the 21st century. I rather hope that he's spending his time in large chunks of being alone, especially alone on a river somewhere.
The trip down the Rio Grande he took was the first time anyone had ever traveled the river from El Paso to the Gulf on Mexico. On three segments of the journey he was accompanied by close friends. When these segments were finished he seems to feel relieved, and seems ashamed of feeling that way. But to Bowden, relying on himself, his own efforts at canoeing the river, his own judgements about where and how to portage, or how to make it through truly scary rapids on sections of the river - rapids which his skill on the river is, he knows, no guarantee that he can avoid disaster - and his so human reaching out to those he meets along the river, particularly those on the Mexican side - these are the things which absorbed Bowden during his epic journey.
The challenges, dangers, and discomforts he faced were very real, and he conveys them in a breathtaking way.
This book would, I believe, thrill anyone with an interest in the Texas/Mexico border, or anyone with a keen interest or knowledge of river running, whether raft, kayak, or canoe, the latter being Bowden's keenest interest and greatest joy.
more stuff
Here's the map of the Rio Grande provided in the book.
[click photo once, then again to get enlargement on flickr]
Find Presidio/Ojinaga southeast of El Paso. Go straight east past the words "Colorado Canyon, to the arrow labeled "Big Bend National Park". The large area pointed to, between Lajitas and La Linda, is the 800,000 acre National Park, about 80% the size of Rhode Island. (There are several National Parks larger than Big Bend - 7 in Alaska and 6 in the contiguous states.)
The Rio Grande forms 118 miles of the Park boundary. The border with Mexico, and thus the Park's boundary, was defined in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – it is center of the deepest river channel as the river flowed in 1848.
Bowden travelled along this river boundary from December 31 to January 4. The chapter is titled The Canyons of Big Bend National Park. These number three: starting at Lajitas, they are Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas Canyons. Each canyon is several miles long, with nearly vertical sides flaring upward as much as 2000 feet. In places the river touches one or both canyon walls, elsewhere there are shifting shorelines with narrow areas supporting vegetation. Floods due to heavy rainfall upstream periodically wash away vegetation and alter the width and locations of the shores.
Santa Elena Canyon
downriver mouth of Santa Elena Canyon …
about which Bowden writes …
Mariscal Canyon
I don't have a picture of this canyon, so I'll just leave Bowden's first sentence about it. (There are two rapids – Mini-Rock Slide and Tight Squeeze – neither comparing in difficulty to the Rock Slide.)
"Mariscal Canyon is the most remote of the three river canyons in Big Bend National Park and, for my tastes, the most spectacular. The rock walls here rise 1,600 feet above the river."
Boquillas Canyon
Before entering Boquillas Canyon, Bowden stopped upriver a few miles at Rio Grande Village on the Texas side. This is a campground equipped with a general store for campers and hikers to buy supplies. Bowden planned to replenish his food and drinks here. A little further on from the campground he passed the Mexican village of Boquillas. Since he didn't stop, he presumably had been able to stock up on Tecate at the general store, since he would have had no trouble getting it in the village.
beer joint in Boquillas
It's also true that the small border crossing to Boquillas had been closed after the September 11 attacks. It was reopened a few years ago, and that's where we crossed into Mexico – by rowboat! There is no bridge. (We didn't row ourselves.)
I'll post other pictures from the village in a different review.
Boquillas is only a mile or two above the entrance to Boquillas Canyon. We hiked along the Texas side of the river as far as we could without crossing into Mexico, prior to visiting the Mexican village.
up-river mouth of Boquillas Canyon
We had to stop when, on the Texas side, the shore disappeared as the waters of the river came right up against the Texas side of the canyon, though there was still unmistakable evidence of Mexican presence across the river along the canyon. For example, we saw a horse browsing over there.
Bowden writes that this third of the Big Bend NP canyons is the oldest, and therefore the widest, of the canyons, "as the force of the river has had who knows how many more millions of years to erode the canyon walls… Because it is wider, sunshine floods in every day, and the canyon is much warmer in winter than its upstream counterparts.
He also notes a problem in the journey:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: Streets of Laredo
Next review: Public Power in the Age of Empire
Older review: Incidents of Egotourism in the Temporary World Lee Klein
Previous library review: West Texas
Next library review: Worst Hard Time dust bowl days
photos below
Tecate is a brand of Mexican beer. Bowden replenishes his supply as often as he replenishes his stocks of tortillas, fruit juice, beans, water, and ice. (He ate no meat until the last night of his journey. He sometimes paddled so hard, and for such long stretches, that a couple times he came close to either dehydration or hypothermia.)
Mountaineer Books, publisher of this book, has the following brief bio of the author.
Fluent in Spanish, KEITH BOWDEN has found his place in the dry, cross-cultural expanses of the Texas-Mexico border region. Living in Laredo -- where he teaches writing at Laredo Community College -- Keith has spent countless hours both exploring the canyons of the Rio Grande River and and snagging hot ground balls on the cross-border baseball teams for which he has played. He has also traveled extensively throughout Mexico and in South and Central America.
Bowden credits his daughter, who died at the age of ten, with teaching him Spanish. There's a prof evaluation page for him at Laredo CC. He's given a unanimous 5 star rating by a couple dozen students. One of the last raters wrote, "It's a shame that he is retiring after this year". That was in 2014.
Bowden is a great writer. I couldn't put the book down. His journal of seventy days on the Rio Grande makes clear that he's a very open, personable man, very determined to accomplish what he sets out to do. Judging by some of the remarks he makes near the end of the book (published in 2007), I get the idea that Bowden, almost fifty at the time of this trip down the river, may have grown tired of the needs of human contacts in the accelerating world of the 21st century. I rather hope that he's spending his time in large chunks of being alone, especially alone on a river somewhere.
The trip down the Rio Grande he took was the first time anyone had ever traveled the river from El Paso to the Gulf on Mexico. On three segments of the journey he was accompanied by close friends. When these segments were finished he seems to feel relieved, and seems ashamed of feeling that way. But to Bowden, relying on himself, his own efforts at canoeing the river, his own judgements about where and how to portage, or how to make it through truly scary rapids on sections of the river - rapids which his skill on the river is, he knows, no guarantee that he can avoid disaster - and his so human reaching out to those he meets along the river, particularly those on the Mexican side - these are the things which absorbed Bowden during his epic journey.
The challenges, dangers, and discomforts he faced were very real, and he conveys them in a breathtaking way.
This book would, I believe, thrill anyone with an interest in the Texas/Mexico border, or anyone with a keen interest or knowledge of river running, whether raft, kayak, or canoe, the latter being Bowden's keenest interest and greatest joy.
more stuff
Here's the map of the Rio Grande provided in the book.
[click photo once, then again to get enlargement on flickr]
Find Presidio/Ojinaga southeast of El Paso. Go straight east past the words "Colorado Canyon, to the arrow labeled "Big Bend National Park". The large area pointed to, between Lajitas and La Linda, is the 800,000 acre National Park, about 80% the size of Rhode Island. (There are several National Parks larger than Big Bend - 7 in Alaska and 6 in the contiguous states.)
The Rio Grande forms 118 miles of the Park boundary. The border with Mexico, and thus the Park's boundary, was defined in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – it is center of the deepest river channel as the river flowed in 1848.
Bowden travelled along this river boundary from December 31 to January 4. The chapter is titled The Canyons of Big Bend National Park. These number three: starting at Lajitas, they are Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas Canyons. Each canyon is several miles long, with nearly vertical sides flaring upward as much as 2000 feet. In places the river touches one or both canyon walls, elsewhere there are shifting shorelines with narrow areas supporting vegetation. Floods due to heavy rainfall upstream periodically wash away vegetation and alter the width and locations of the shores.
Santa Elena Canyon
downriver mouth of Santa Elena Canyon …
about which Bowden writes …
Mariscal Canyon
I don't have a picture of this canyon, so I'll just leave Bowden's first sentence about it. (There are two rapids – Mini-Rock Slide and Tight Squeeze – neither comparing in difficulty to the Rock Slide.)
"Mariscal Canyon is the most remote of the three river canyons in Big Bend National Park and, for my tastes, the most spectacular. The rock walls here rise 1,600 feet above the river."
Boquillas Canyon
Before entering Boquillas Canyon, Bowden stopped upriver a few miles at Rio Grande Village on the Texas side. This is a campground equipped with a general store for campers and hikers to buy supplies. Bowden planned to replenish his food and drinks here. A little further on from the campground he passed the Mexican village of Boquillas. Since he didn't stop, he presumably had been able to stock up on Tecate at the general store, since he would have had no trouble getting it in the village.
beer joint in Boquillas
It's also true that the small border crossing to Boquillas had been closed after the September 11 attacks. It was reopened a few years ago, and that's where we crossed into Mexico – by rowboat! There is no bridge. (We didn't row ourselves.)
I'll post other pictures from the village in a different review.
Boquillas is only a mile or two above the entrance to Boquillas Canyon. We hiked along the Texas side of the river as far as we could without crossing into Mexico, prior to visiting the Mexican village.
up-river mouth of Boquillas Canyon
We had to stop when, on the Texas side, the shore disappeared as the waters of the river came right up against the Texas side of the canyon, though there was still unmistakable evidence of Mexican presence across the river along the canyon. For example, we saw a horse browsing over there.
Bowden writes that this third of the Big Bend NP canyons is the oldest, and therefore the widest, of the canyons, "as the force of the river has had who knows how many more millions of years to erode the canyon walls… Because it is wider, sunshine floods in every day, and the canyon is much warmer in winter than its upstream counterparts.
He also notes a problem in the journey:
Although I was happy with everything about the journey, I realized that I was racing down the river at a terrific rate, and I hadn't settled into whatever it was I expected to settle into by this point… the trip seemed less like an adventure and more like a race. I needed to slow down, if only to redirect the considerable energies I expended on the water to use for adventures on land. I worried that I might race to the Gulf [he was already a third of the way] in far less time than I expected and then feel that I'd missed the entire trip. I resolved to slow down…
… [as he exits the canyon] the walls of the canyon disappeared and the river widened… I felt both elated and disappointed to be so close to La Linda, only seven miles downriver. As excited as I would be to see Hayesy [a friend who would join him there, with a switch to raft instead of canoe], that excitement was tempered by the undeniable reality that I preferred the solitude of a solo trip.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: Streets of Laredo
Next review: Public Power in the Age of Empire
Older review: Incidents of Egotourism in the Temporary World Lee Klein
Previous library review: West Texas
Next library review: Worst Hard Time dust bowl days
July 9, 2015
Certainly was a unique trip that I doubt would be possible to duplicate. I couldn't put my finger exactly on why I didn't like the book more, deciding it was his style of ingratiating himself with Hispanics he met as "such a cool Anglo" (which he had the honesty to report actually backfired on him at least once).
The first part is rather slow going with backstory of his life, finally getting in the water at El Paso, and then canoeing down to Laredo, where the author lives. A couple of friends join him for stretches, and he meets up with others along the way. This section isn't very populated, and there's only so much description to go on about, so he "profiles" the folks I've just mentioned, which fell into a "you had to be there" mode for me.
Still, on balance, that was marginally better than the second part from Laredo to the Gulf of Mexico. Here, he spends a great deal of time charming initially-unfriendly border patrol agents, between beer runs in local towns. At one point, he marvels that he was able to stroll through (prosperous) winter retirement community ... "because I'm white!" That was back-to-back with an encounter with a Mexican who was pleased that his countrymen had treated Bowden so kindly (he had bopped back and forth between the countries in a sort of zig-zag fashion); his delight in telling the reader of that fellow's follow up remark "and how would I be treated as a stranger in your country?" to which Bowden gives the expected answer of "not well!" had my eyes rolling. If that politics wouldn't bother you, you'll like the book more than I did.
Finally, the narration was outstanding - perfect fit!
The first part is rather slow going with backstory of his life, finally getting in the water at El Paso, and then canoeing down to Laredo, where the author lives. A couple of friends join him for stretches, and he meets up with others along the way. This section isn't very populated, and there's only so much description to go on about, so he "profiles" the folks I've just mentioned, which fell into a "you had to be there" mode for me.
Still, on balance, that was marginally better than the second part from Laredo to the Gulf of Mexico. Here, he spends a great deal of time charming initially-unfriendly border patrol agents, between beer runs in local towns. At one point, he marvels that he was able to stroll through (prosperous) winter retirement community ... "because I'm white!" That was back-to-back with an encounter with a Mexican who was pleased that his countrymen had treated Bowden so kindly (he had bopped back and forth between the countries in a sort of zig-zag fashion); his delight in telling the reader of that fellow's follow up remark "and how would I be treated as a stranger in your country?" to which Bowden gives the expected answer of "not well!" had my eyes rolling. If that politics wouldn't bother you, you'll like the book more than I did.
Finally, the narration was outstanding - perfect fit!
July 25, 2008
This is one helluva book, and one a lot of people elsewhere should read. It flows faster than the river ever did.
I finished the second half of the book's 291 pages all in one day when classes were cancelled due to Hurricane Dolly. It had a habit of leaping back up into my hands: much like a friendly puppy. The difficulties Keith faced on his journey down the Rio Grande weren't always any friendly puppy, but I certainly don't regret giving the book to four people in various parts of the U.S. and Sweden. My mom liked it quite a bit, and I have to back up her claim, and not just because she's my mother.
The dangers one potentially faces along this "natural border" certainly can be a mother, but Keith's journey, and writing, should help draw attention to the river's needs. Easily, conservationists should be marching down to the Rio Grande en mass to clean it up, or have it done so. I hope Al Gore reads this book.
And, let's face it, Tecate should reward Mr. Bowden for all the free advertising they got, and will, from this book. My only next question is -- who's going to play him in the movie?
It's not Into the Wild, but there's potential for more things to spring from The Tecate Journals. Just read it. You'll know what I mean.
I really like this book, and I can say, smiling, "Hey, I know this guy!"
I finished the second half of the book's 291 pages all in one day when classes were cancelled due to Hurricane Dolly. It had a habit of leaping back up into my hands: much like a friendly puppy. The difficulties Keith faced on his journey down the Rio Grande weren't always any friendly puppy, but I certainly don't regret giving the book to four people in various parts of the U.S. and Sweden. My mom liked it quite a bit, and I have to back up her claim, and not just because she's my mother.
The dangers one potentially faces along this "natural border" certainly can be a mother, but Keith's journey, and writing, should help draw attention to the river's needs. Easily, conservationists should be marching down to the Rio Grande en mass to clean it up, or have it done so. I hope Al Gore reads this book.
And, let's face it, Tecate should reward Mr. Bowden for all the free advertising they got, and will, from this book. My only next question is -- who's going to play him in the movie?
It's not Into the Wild, but there's potential for more things to spring from The Tecate Journals. Just read it. You'll know what I mean.
I really like this book, and I can say, smiling, "Hey, I know this guy!"
November 19, 2007
I loved this book, not because I like river running (which I've done only twice in my life), but because it was an adventure about traveling down the river as well as an eye-opener regarding the American-Mexican border.
I love reading stories, whether fiction or not, about the desert, especially the Southwest. I can easily picture myself with the writer, floating down the Rio Grande, watching the scenery and animals, and listening to the wind and water. I think it's beautiful.
I had never really thought of the Border except on what I heard on the news. But after reading this book, I really get to understand another point of view and how difficult it is to determine what is right or wrong for illegals to cross the river into America. Definately thought provoking.
I love reading stories, whether fiction or not, about the desert, especially the Southwest. I can easily picture myself with the writer, floating down the Rio Grande, watching the scenery and animals, and listening to the wind and water. I think it's beautiful.
I had never really thought of the Border except on what I heard on the news. But after reading this book, I really get to understand another point of view and how difficult it is to determine what is right or wrong for illegals to cross the river into America. Definately thought provoking.
September 18, 2011
The writing was satisfying, but not stellar. This is a straight memoir and I don't know that there's a greater thread running through here than to report what's going on on the river. In that way, it's a fascinating glimpse into Tex-Mex culture, and the wide variety of communities and cultures that mirror each other across the river. It cuts through a lot of the media hype about the border, the violence, the corruption, and porous-ness of our political and economical southern border.
November 6, 2009
Written about my Texas Mountain Trail region (and the Pecos Trail and Tropical Trail) from a perspective VERY few people have, from the Rio Grande itself. And that makes it quite interesting to me, anyway. Note: many of the river bridges he notes have been dismantled by the Border Patrol. I'm not sure his journey could even be possible today.
May 24, 2023
Rarely do I reread a book. But damn, I love this one.
June 27, 2022
Pretty good. A recounting of a man’s travels—primarily by canoe—down the Rio Grande along the length of the Texas-Mexico border. More interesting because we were just in that region a few months ago. Unfortunately, he seemed to think he was the first to to this and had no knowledge of the Dartmouth Ledyard Canoe Club team which traveled the length of the Rio Grande in 1977 starting at its headwaters in Colorado.
September 26, 2020
It's an amazing journey, but unfortunately Keith Bowden is often a rather obnoxious guide.
August 11, 2022
Great read for those interested in the Rio Grande international border between Mexico and Texas. Must read if you are from a border city or frequent the river!
March 3, 2019
In his travelogue/adventure book The Tecate Journals, writer and teacher Keith Bowden explores not just the Rio Grande River, canoeing from El Paso to where the river meets the Gulf of Mexico, but the borderland culture on both sides as he encounters rapids, heat, cold, Border Patrol agents, strangers, friends, wildlife, portages and so much more.
His is a journey of solitude and camaraderie, determination and escape, wandering in the comfort of both the familiar and unknown.
His prologue explains his love and fascination with the river, and how he conceived of his project. Despite the objections of pretty much anyone he tells about his trip, he heads out, sometimes accompanied by friends for certain part of the journey but mostly alone. It is clear that he was taking extensive notes at night in his tent, as he is able to recall and provide details about each rapid, each decision on the river in terms of deciding how far to go that day and where to find a campsite, how far he had to walk to find a store to stock up on supplies, what wildlife he heard through the night.
While we are transported to the border and are very much along for the ride with him, and canoeists and adventurers will be engrossed by his tale, I found the more interesting parts to be his encounters with people more than nature. While I went on my share of canoe trips at summer camp, I am hardly an outdoorsman, so the leg-by-leg documentation of his trip seemed repetitive and at times monotonous to me.
However, his encounters with people, and his rumination on life on and along the border, provide a compelling snapshot into the culture and way of life there. He talks about his fears of violence and who he might meet on the border, but he fortunately never has any serious encounters that put him in trouble. His epilogue, however, paints a different picture.
What is the border, exactly, and how has it come to create two vastly different cultures so close together? What does it mean that so many want to get from there to here, and what does it say about us that we’ve gone through so much trouble to keep that from happening? Bowden’s book is from 2007, so I’d be more than curious to hear his thoughts on the subject now. I imagine he’d be even more disgusted than he comes across in this work.
Most of the Border Patrol agents he met were helpful to him; perhaps after a little suspicion, they wound up providing him with guidance and assistance along his journey. So too most of the Mexicans he meets, who provide him directions to town and also offer encouragement to him. But they are aghast and confused about his trip. Why would a person make such a journey? What is the purpose?
For them, there is little world of adventure and exploration. There is a focus on today, and survival, and hopes of a better life. Escaping, to them, has a much different meaning.
And then there is the river itself, sometimes abundant, sometimes too sparse to even canoe on. Many times people tell him not to drink the water, to not even bathe in the water. He catalogs its pollution, its treatment by those who see the river not as part of nature, but as either a source of food, or an obstacle to a better way of life, or, from the American side, an assistant in keeping Mexicans out of Texas.
There is a current of environmentalism here, of experiencing the outdoors for its own sake, and wanting to tend to that environment. And also of what it means to be part of the outdoors away from civilization, even though, as Bowden so artfully shares, even in the midst of the Rio Grande, civilization is never truly that far away, in sight, sound or impact.
Reading this book from the comforts of my own couch, I did get jealous of his extended time away, his setting of a goal and accomplishing it, his ability to be self-sufficient and capable under some pretty difficult physical and psychological tolls. Towards the end, he frets about the end of his trip, not wanting to return to his normal life, not wanting to leave the river. Our society has created a life for ourselves that is mostly detached from nature. This journal shows how we can return, and what there is to be gained in doing so.
As for the borders we create, either physically or metaphorically, they speak to our fears, our insecurities, even our selfishness. When we fight over borders we see humans at our worst, literally as ‘other’ rather than alike. Our current moment is awash in this fear, and it degrades us all. I wish this book went further on that topic, but it’s a journey into a mystical part of both America and Mexico that is memorable and captivating.
His is a journey of solitude and camaraderie, determination and escape, wandering in the comfort of both the familiar and unknown.
His prologue explains his love and fascination with the river, and how he conceived of his project. Despite the objections of pretty much anyone he tells about his trip, he heads out, sometimes accompanied by friends for certain part of the journey but mostly alone. It is clear that he was taking extensive notes at night in his tent, as he is able to recall and provide details about each rapid, each decision on the river in terms of deciding how far to go that day and where to find a campsite, how far he had to walk to find a store to stock up on supplies, what wildlife he heard through the night.
While we are transported to the border and are very much along for the ride with him, and canoeists and adventurers will be engrossed by his tale, I found the more interesting parts to be his encounters with people more than nature. While I went on my share of canoe trips at summer camp, I am hardly an outdoorsman, so the leg-by-leg documentation of his trip seemed repetitive and at times monotonous to me.
However, his encounters with people, and his rumination on life on and along the border, provide a compelling snapshot into the culture and way of life there. He talks about his fears of violence and who he might meet on the border, but he fortunately never has any serious encounters that put him in trouble. His epilogue, however, paints a different picture.
What is the border, exactly, and how has it come to create two vastly different cultures so close together? What does it mean that so many want to get from there to here, and what does it say about us that we’ve gone through so much trouble to keep that from happening? Bowden’s book is from 2007, so I’d be more than curious to hear his thoughts on the subject now. I imagine he’d be even more disgusted than he comes across in this work.
Most of the Border Patrol agents he met were helpful to him; perhaps after a little suspicion, they wound up providing him with guidance and assistance along his journey. So too most of the Mexicans he meets, who provide him directions to town and also offer encouragement to him. But they are aghast and confused about his trip. Why would a person make such a journey? What is the purpose?
For them, there is little world of adventure and exploration. There is a focus on today, and survival, and hopes of a better life. Escaping, to them, has a much different meaning.
And then there is the river itself, sometimes abundant, sometimes too sparse to even canoe on. Many times people tell him not to drink the water, to not even bathe in the water. He catalogs its pollution, its treatment by those who see the river not as part of nature, but as either a source of food, or an obstacle to a better way of life, or, from the American side, an assistant in keeping Mexicans out of Texas.
There is a current of environmentalism here, of experiencing the outdoors for its own sake, and wanting to tend to that environment. And also of what it means to be part of the outdoors away from civilization, even though, as Bowden so artfully shares, even in the midst of the Rio Grande, civilization is never truly that far away, in sight, sound or impact.
Reading this book from the comforts of my own couch, I did get jealous of his extended time away, his setting of a goal and accomplishing it, his ability to be self-sufficient and capable under some pretty difficult physical and psychological tolls. Towards the end, he frets about the end of his trip, not wanting to return to his normal life, not wanting to leave the river. Our society has created a life for ourselves that is mostly detached from nature. This journal shows how we can return, and what there is to be gained in doing so.
As for the borders we create, either physically or metaphorically, they speak to our fears, our insecurities, even our selfishness. When we fight over borders we see humans at our worst, literally as ‘other’ rather than alike. Our current moment is awash in this fear, and it degrades us all. I wish this book went further on that topic, but it’s a journey into a mystical part of both America and Mexico that is memorable and captivating.
January 12, 2017
Detailed account of a 70 day canoe trip down the Rio Grande written by a English professor from Laredo. It is interesting and well written. If you like canoeing or would like a close view of life on the Mexican-U.S. border this is a good book to read.
September 11, 2015
Inspired by a lifetime of living on the Rio Grande, Keith Bowden attempts to travel its full length from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico, using a combination of canoe, raft, and bicycle. The route is fraught with complications, ranging from low water to drug smugglers, whitewater rapids, those crossing the border illegally, high swells on lakes, winter weather, and pollution. The Tecate Journals: Seventy Days on the Rio Grande recounts his journey, telling of the people he met and what he experienced.
Bowden's love for the river and the land on either side of it comes through clearly, without having to resort to extravagant language. The capsules of those he met are one of the most enjoyable parts of the book. The kindnesses he received from both Mexicans and Americans and the professionalism of the Border Patrol personnel stood out. Reading the dire warnings of his friends was equally entertaining. His encounters with those illegally crossing the border were touching, troubling, and even humorous in a couple of situations. I appreciated that his tone was compassionate towards those crossing and understanding of those whose job it is to enforce immigration and customs laws; he treated a very complex issue with care and consideration rather than the soundbite debate we too often see at the national level.
Bowden's prose is straightforward, except for some occasional passages that stray too far into the minutia of how to canoe through whitewater obstacles. I felt kinship with his love of nature and solitude, enjoyment of a good beer, and his dislike of how loud and jarring civilization is. Clearly, this was a meaningful and personal trip to him, and he makes it easy to stand in his shoes and feel some of what he is feeling.
One curious omission that would have substantially improved the book is any kind of photographs. He mentions taking pictures several times; where are they? I found myself Googling some of the canyon names to get a feel for their beauty, and I can't imagine he didn't have a striking collection of pictures from the trip. Some pictures would have been very welcome.
The Tecate Journals was an impulse purchase for me, and one I'm glad that I made. Like all good travel writing, I was both entertained and educated by Bowden's account; this book is a good choice for armchair travelers who don't mind the rougher side of both humanity and nature.
Bowden's love for the river and the land on either side of it comes through clearly, without having to resort to extravagant language. The capsules of those he met are one of the most enjoyable parts of the book. The kindnesses he received from both Mexicans and Americans and the professionalism of the Border Patrol personnel stood out. Reading the dire warnings of his friends was equally entertaining. His encounters with those illegally crossing the border were touching, troubling, and even humorous in a couple of situations. I appreciated that his tone was compassionate towards those crossing and understanding of those whose job it is to enforce immigration and customs laws; he treated a very complex issue with care and consideration rather than the soundbite debate we too often see at the national level.
Bowden's prose is straightforward, except for some occasional passages that stray too far into the minutia of how to canoe through whitewater obstacles. I felt kinship with his love of nature and solitude, enjoyment of a good beer, and his dislike of how loud and jarring civilization is. Clearly, this was a meaningful and personal trip to him, and he makes it easy to stand in his shoes and feel some of what he is feeling.
One curious omission that would have substantially improved the book is any kind of photographs. He mentions taking pictures several times; where are they? I found myself Googling some of the canyon names to get a feel for their beauty, and I can't imagine he didn't have a striking collection of pictures from the trip. Some pictures would have been very welcome.
The Tecate Journals was an impulse purchase for me, and one I'm glad that I made. Like all good travel writing, I was both entertained and educated by Bowden's account; this book is a good choice for armchair travelers who don't mind the rougher side of both humanity and nature.
March 1, 2015
That I did not finish this book should not be viewed as a poor recommendation. This audio book was very good and I would recommend it. I was just the wrong reader.
This book/author fell victim to poor timing on my part and my own familiarity with the southwest border and Mexico.
I enjoyed the first 10 chapters but stopped reading because I mistakenly listened to this book after Bill Bryson's A WALK IN THE WOODS, and after seeing the movie, WILD-- I grew weary of the genre, not necessarily of this particular book.
Also, I live in Arizona and spend a fair amount of time in Mexico. While Texas and Arizona each has its own distinct desert, there are many similarities and I already have at least some familiarity of the region's flora/fauna and of Mexican culture. I simply felt that I wasn't learning enough new information to justify the time commitment.
This book/author fell victim to poor timing on my part and my own familiarity with the southwest border and Mexico.
I enjoyed the first 10 chapters but stopped reading because I mistakenly listened to this book after Bill Bryson's A WALK IN THE WOODS, and after seeing the movie, WILD-- I grew weary of the genre, not necessarily of this particular book.
Also, I live in Arizona and spend a fair amount of time in Mexico. While Texas and Arizona each has its own distinct desert, there are many similarities and I already have at least some familiarity of the region's flora/fauna and of Mexican culture. I simply felt that I wasn't learning enough new information to justify the time commitment.
September 3, 2009
I took this with me to continue reading on a canoe trip on Utah's San Juan but someone else holed their canoe so haven't got more than 100 pages into it. He's a dark guy who definitely should cut back on the tecate but a good writer and I'm enjoying his depiction of the river, the border and the people he meets. I also have Nevada Barr's Borderline to read and that covers a fraction of his journey I believe, in a fictional version.
Finally finished it. Really enjoyed his writing. Beat the Nevada Barr hands down. That was dire
Finally finished it. Really enjoyed his writing. Beat the Nevada Barr hands down. That was dire
November 22, 2009
This book comes highly recommended and has been passed around by everyone at the co-op for the last year. Now its my turn. Just started and its already great. I am looking forward to learning about the place where we live now.
Finished it and really enjoyed it. So interesting. My only complaint was having to get through some long passages of canoeing action. My eyes would glaze over but you can kind of skip that stuff if you don't feel like reading about it.
Finished it and really enjoyed it. So interesting. My only complaint was having to get through some long passages of canoeing action. My eyes would glaze over but you can kind of skip that stuff if you don't feel like reading about it.
June 2, 2010
Adventure story of the author travelling the Rio Grande from El Paso to the Gulf by bicycle, raft, and mostly by canoe. Very good perspective on the border, gang violence, and the friendliness of regular Mexicans and also the US Border Guard. It gets a little dull when so many rapids and campsites are described in detail. A very chronological story, maybe it would have been better if it were less chronological and more interaction inspired.
January 27, 2013
Interesting account, and a trip I've often envisioned attempting, or at least portions of it. Bowden is an interesting character for sure, Pennsylvania raised teacher in Laredo who played and coaches baseball. Good writer, and I like his "debunking" of the certain death, at the hands of narcos and desperados predicted for him by the naysayers. Definitely an addition to the collection of Texana and contemporary literature of Texas I'm working on.
February 5, 2017
I loved this book. Keith canoes the Rio Grande from El Paso to the Gulf. The book has you laughing out loud and on the edge of your chair holding your breath! If you love the river you will love Keith Bowden's book.
April 12, 2012
A great book of a river journey between two cultures and countries. I belive this jouney could not be made today. But it does prove that most people no matter their nationality or economic status are good people willing to help others. Can be classified upthere with "Goodbye to a River" by John Graves.
September 22, 2015
If you enjoy reading about canoe travel / raft travel / traveling on a river - this book is perfect for you. Lots of descriptions of the challenges of traveling down a river. Descriptions of rapids and difficult water. I am not much of a river travel enthusiast so I skimmed a lot of those passages.
February 19, 2016
The Rio Grande River is not the best river to canoe on but somehow the author managed to do -- all along the Texas border to the Gulf of Mexico! I lived in this area almost all my life, went boating and swimming in this river in the 70s before it got so dangerous. What an adventure! What a wonderful story of how much this river means to both Texans and Mexicans.
August 31, 2019
For any who are interested in the Rio Grande / Rio Bravo del Norte, Bowden's journal of his seventy day journey from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico should not be overlooked. The river has created a world all its own that has been completely traversed by an intrepid explorer.
A good read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
A good read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Read
May 27, 2008this book is pretty fascinating so far. written by a fellow laredoan, I highly recommend it to my laredo peeps
June 10, 2008
I highly recommend this book....it is absolutely wonderful!
Read
December 20, 2008Keith Bowden travels the Rio Grande by canoe. Great book about adventure, culture, and US/Mexico relations. Highly recommended.
June 24, 2009
OK - travel tales always interesting - still think this guy had a screw list to undertake this trip.
November 5, 2010
so far so good.a journey by bike and canoe,from el paso.to the coast.finished it the next day.thoroughly good read!!
August 23, 2012
Nice read about US and Mexico interaction on the Rio Grande
February 1, 2016
Not bad.
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