San Antonio Riverwalk
By Harold Merton
San Antonio, Texas is famous for many reasons but the most important
thing for my wife is The Riverwalk. She has seen it on travel shows and
in magazines and it was on her list of things she would like to visit.
The city of San Antonio decided to reroute their river and make it detour
through the downtown area, creating a fabulous tourist attraction. The
San Antonio Riverwalk meanders for several blocks between stores and hotels
and a unique shopping and eating area has been created along the banks
of the rerouted river. You can enter the Riverwalk area in several places
but the spot we picked is right across the street from the
Alamo.
Photos by Harold Merton
While not very deep, the rerouted river is wide enough to allow two or
more of the special flat bottom tourist boats to pass each other and once
visitors see the boats they want to experience the tour.
The most difficult part of this is finding the loading area. For a few dollars you can climb into one of the scores of boats that will make their way through the new river while a costumed guide-pilot gives you a running commentary with the details of the river itself and the buildings that you see as you float by. When The Riverwalk was constructed the designers incorporated gates at the entrance and exit of the new river area so that if the original river rose unexpectedly to a flood level they could shut it off preventing any water problems in the man-made river area.
Along both sides of the Riverwalk are scores of restaurants where you
can find almost any fare you would like. Prices in various restaurants
range for what you might pay anywhere for a pub-style meal to expensive
fine dining. Many of the restaurants have outside seating where you are
right next to the sidewalk that runs along the river's edge. Scattered
throughout the walk are specialty stores and when the river passes one
of the many hotels in the area you get an even wider assortment of shops.
When we visited at the limit of one of the canals there was a staging
area where musicians entertained with delightful sounds. Inside was a
shopping centre and a food court. It was a bright sunny afternoon and
we found it very relaxing to sit and enjoy our meal while listening to
the music. The Riverwalk is a magnet for both tourists and locals who
would like to enjoy both the historic buildings of this area and the newly-constructed
architecture. When we visited the area we took the city bus from our campground.
The
cost for a daily pass was just $3 per person and this allowed you to ride
any of the city buses and streetcars downtown for the entire day. You
can't find any better transportation value than that. We certainly enjoyed
The Riverwalk, so much so that we went back a couple of more times during
our stay in San Antonio. While it is a river and the boats that ply The
Riverwalk are required by law to carry life jackets, one enjoys the dialogue
of the tour guide when he says "should the boat begin sinking for
any reason I recommend you wait until it hits the bottom, then calmly
step out and walk to the edge".
The San Antonio Riverwalk is definitely worth the trip.