Boquillas Crossing is the only legal entry point into Mexico within Big Bend State Park, and it is very close to the Rio Grande Village campsite. There is a small immigration building that had one Park Ranger to greet us shortly after 9:00 which is when they open (Wed-Sunday, 9-4). He looked at our passports and faces, then gave us a spiel about what to expect and what we can/cannot bring back. Natural things like rocks and minerals and live plants/animals are a no-no except for the painted, varnished walking sticks. Packaged, sealed food is okay but no pork tamales are allowed back. And definitely be back by 4:00 as the border closes and they wait for no one.

Once you walk down the short path to the river, there is a boat awaiting you. A man will walk it across so your feet won’t get wet at a cost of $5/roundtrip per person. One can wade across, but it is a really dusty trip into town with wet feet. Your choice of transportation into the village is burro, horse, vehicle or walk. I thought walking would disappoint them, so we rode burros, at a cost of $10 each. This money does go back to the owners. The burros are fed corn and alfalfa each night at their owner’s house.

Our guide was Chalo, and he answered all of our questions about the village, population 365, as he walked our burros into town and then took us to the immigration station, his wife’s store (I purchased a tortilla warmer), and then a general tour around. They have two relatively new school buildings and are constructing another new one. There is a Catholic Church and a Baptist Church. They have a solar farm that provides electricity for the village with street lights having solar panels on them. There are two restaurants and two small general stores. The general store we walked by was closed as the owner was busy driving 160 miles away to get new supplies. The restaurants have to do this, too, though some things are trucked in. There is a health clinic with a full-time nurse and a traveling doctor. Each home has an open-air store in front to sell handmade goods. Children approach from every direction with cardboards full of woven bracelets.

One big thing we learned was that the border was closed after 9/11 until April 11, 2013. That more-than-a-decade closure caused the village to empty as people left to find work. With the mining operations closed, tourism is the town’s support. Chalo mentioned the restaurant cooks going to Atlanta to work, and he spent a few years working in the US during that time. He was born here, and this was the only time he has spent living away. He said when the border opened, all of the families came back to their abandoned homes, and improvements were made for the town. Electricity and a central town water well were the biggies. Before 9/11, refrigerators were scarce, small and ran on butane, and most cook stoves were still wood-fired. The solar farm changed all of that.

We tipped our guide after he dropped us off at the restaurant, and reassured him that we did not require the return trip on the burros but would walk instead. Tony ordered a cheese quesadilla, and I had a chili relleno which was a healthier choice than the ones I’ve ordered in the states. It was a fresh, not frozen chili and not breaded then fried. I could taste the delicious, crunchy pepper! We bought some bracelets from the very young venders and walked back to the shore of the Rio Grande for our boat ride back.

Upon returning to the immigration building, I was asked to show what we had purchased. The Park Ranger then took our passports to an iPad station, scanned them in, and gave us instructions for connecting to an Immigration Officer for an official remote check-in. I think these officers are in Presidio or El Paso. This was definitely the most unique border crossing I have ever made.