5 January – San Antonio – Port Isabel

We headed south, towards the Mexican Border and the Gulf coast  - about as far south as you can go in the US. It was a long drive, about 5 hours, through scrub-lands that eventually gave way to newly ploughed up cotton fields stretching to the horizon. Texas is pretty flat! We passed a navy airbase with a fighter jet mounted on a pole on the roadside, but whipped past it too quick to get a photo. The speed limit was 75 mph – 121 kph.

Finally the roadside soils started to look sandy, and the highway median strip was planted with palm trees. Passing through Brownsville we saw a shipyard with a partially dismantled aircraft carrier and several oil rigs, and a flashing highway sign that said “Beware of the Pelicans”.

Driving into Port Isabel, our home for the next couple of nights, it gives the impression of a sleepy fishing village. The RV Park is on a canal and we went for a quick walk to stretch the legs, spotting pelicans lazily circling or perching on the docks next to the fishing boats. They got excited when we walked to the dock and a crowd of them gathered at the waters edge. We soon spotted why they were suddenly so keen to meet us – the fish cleaning station was right there and they are no doubt used to scooping up the fish guts that get lobbed into the water. Sorry to disappoint them! They are smaller and darker than the pelicans we are used to, and have a bit of a crest on their heads.

We are looking forward to exploring the historic Port Isabel and nearby South Padre Island.