he was right. This IS an oasis!

Back in May, Ollie met a drunk American at a bar in Riga, while on a stag do in Latvia. The two got talking and when Ollie mentioned he was going to travel the U.S the guy said he had to visit San Antonio, Texas. He described the city as a ‘rare Oasis’ and plugged the place so much that Ollie felt it would be rude not to take up the suggestion. So at 6 A.M this morning we arrived in San Antonio, without a clue as to what we might do or see and absolutely freezing our bare legs off. The temperature had clearly dropped over night and having been living for the past few weeks in boiling heats, the change came as a highly unwelcome shock.

Leaving the bus station we walked into the night. The sun was far from rising and the only life about were birds squawking fiercely in the tree lined streets and a few homeless searching for tin cans. Shivering, we wondered around aimlessly. The over night ride had given us little if any sleep and we both felt sick we were so tired. Desperate, we found a coffee house just opening and ran in. Usually the caffeine would give me the energy I needed but this morning, the warm coffee just made me want my bed even more. As the sun eventually rose the city started to wake. We moved on in search of breakfast. The food court at the local shopping mall provided us with some tasty breakfast tacos but we still didn’t know what to do with our day.

* * *

One of the best parts of travelling is the wonderful surprise a place can give you. San Antonio has definitely given us our biggest yet! It’s a most unusual place. Running through the centre is the San Antonio river. It is situated down below most of the buildings so that it gives you a feeling like perhaps Venice would. There is an amazing ‘Riverwalk’ that runs beside the water, sprouting fountains, trees, greenery and lots of wildlife. The tranquil pathways are lined with little restaurants and cafes that set their tables all the way down to the waters edge. As the midday sun filtered its way through the leaves it was easy to forget where we were. There is a river boat tour that ferries passengers up and down and lots of families were out for a Saturday walk. It was here we ate lunch in a small Tex-Mex restaurant that made their own salsa and warm tortilla chips. We could certainly understand the drunk guys description of an oasis, this area certainly felt that way.

I had seen on a map that there was a market square and so persuaded Ollie to walk to it. And I’m so glad I did. The large market is where Mexican culture meets American in a great mix of food, arts and music. What made it even better was the ‘Dia de los Muertos’ celebrations taking place. The walkways were littered with little arts and crafts stools and many different hot food stands. I have always loved the ‘Sugar Skulls’ made at this time so was really excited to see so many different types hanging around. The festival interests me because although it’s about remembering the dead it’s more about celebrating life. For someone so petrified at the thought of death as me, to experience a culture that faces it head on and makes it a far less sombre ordeal as perhaps others can it is a welcome view point. 

The local Mexican museum was offering free entry today so of course I took them up on the offer! I learned all the Mexican history I now possess in 40 minutes! There was a large art exhibition and some of the work was fantastic. So many different styles and ideas to ponder at left me with a whole new appreciation of the country! I particularly enjoyed the work of Jose Guadalupe Posada who was a satirical cartoonist famous for his 'skeleton' sketches. My favourite picture though was of a skeleton eating a watermelon but I can't remember the artists name! A giant dressing screen had been painted in 1929 showing a map of Mexico split into its different art areas. It was a super piece of work. While I was finding the museum so informative, Ollie was suffering! Museums aren’t his favourite thing and especially not when he’s only had two hours sleep the night before!

I hadn’t thought it would be possible to go to Mexico but apparently I didn’t have to! San Antonio is so rich in history and so tied to Mexico that it would be impossible not to find links to the country everywhere you look! And it was our next discovery that proved just how ignorant we had both been arriving here...

The Alamo! How could we have not known that this was where such a major battle and great historic building stood?! I mean David Crockett fought here for goodness sake! And who knows how many times we had sung along to the Disney song about him while working at Raze The Roof! I can’t deny I felt very foolish as we turned the corner to see the old building standing there! But I’m so glad we did find it. We got to walk all around the church and last remaining parts of The Alamo as well as learn all about the famous battle on the way. Again I had a complete history lesson in only a few minutes! I now know why Texas is called the ‘Lone Star’ state, what David Crockett actually did apart from wear a furry animal on his head and when Texas became an independent state. While we were looking around I realised I did actually know something about this period. I remembered having watched a John Wayne film when I was little that was very, very long and in the end the people he was fighting with had still lost. Turns out that was The Alamo! It’s a great place to visit and has many artifacts including long rifles, old musket balls and uniforms as well as documents and letters preserved for all this time.

Overall we’ve had a very informative and erudite day that we hadn’t expected at all. San Antonio is one of the most fascinating places I’ve visited on our trip and a real coming together of cultures that work so well together. Although in the past of course they didn’t always get along so great!

29/10/11