Boquillas Del Carmen, Mexico
A short rowboat ride across the Rio Grande begins an exploration of breathtaking desert and mountain.....
A short rowboat ride across the Rio Grande begins an exploration of breathtaking desert and mountain contrasts where conservationists on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican frontier are working to create a peace park. [It has been nearly a century since U.S. troops crossed the border in pursuit of Pancho Villa, but illegal immigration, narcotics and trade disputes still sully relations with Mexico. ] Mauricio Brittingham, Mexican ecotourism entrepeneur, invested $1.5 million with his partner Alberto Garza to create a 50,000-acre private nature reserve in Mexico. Unlike park areas to the north of the Rio Grande, which are under federal or state ownership, Mexico has allowed private investors to participate in its protected areas. Brittingham, shown near a permanent tent which will house visitors, and Garza bought the 50,000 acres at the center of the Mexican protected area in Coahuila and established the non-profit Museo Maderas del Carmen.