Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pleasant, shady courtyard and a small restaurant serving Mexican food. The rooms are
filled with period furniture and seem like a time capsule. Nothing here is posh, and service
and details can be rather ragged, so stay here for the adventure. Among the local lore: tun-
nels once led from the hotel to the border to expedite smuggling.
Stop in at the hotel if only to pick up one of the brochures detailing the town's historical
buildings.
Roma
POP 11,700
Unlike neighboring Rio Grande City, Roma has actively preserved its heritage, which
dates back to 1770. The downtown, one block south of US 83, was designated a National
Historic Landmark and is such a perfect representation of an early-1900s border town that
the 1952 movie
Viva Zapata
was filmed here.
The small downtown dates to 1751 and you can still get a real sense of the past along a
couple of blocks of Convent St. Historical plaques add context.
Birds, however, are the real draw in Roma. The
Roma Bluffs
( 956-849-4930;
www.worldbirdingcenter.org
;
Lincoln Ave; dawn-dusk)
observation deck is right downtown
and overlooks 3 acres of lush nature preserve along the banks of the Rio Grande. It has
great views of birdlife, Mexico and the thinly populated countryside.
Falcon International Reservoir
This 136-sq-mile lake was formed by the Falcon Dam (1953) on the Rio Grande. The
500-acre
Falcon State Park
( 956-848-5327;
www.tpwd.state.tx.us
; adult/child $3/free; 6am-10pm)
, 3
miles west of US 83 off FM 2098, lines the US side of the lake, which is popular for fish-
ing. The land is mostly covered by cactuses and shrubs - no trees - so the park has shaded
shelters and picnic areas.
Although seemingly tranquil, the lake has also suffered from the border tensions: fish-
ing boats have been beset by pirates. Like so much of the region, there's a pervasive sense
of desolation.
On the lake's northeast side are the hamlets of
Zapata
and
San Ygnacio
. Zapata was named
for Emiliano Zapata, land reformer and freedom fighter during the Mexican Revolution
(1911-17). Six miles west of town, a scenic overlook off US 83 provides views of an ar-
