16/01/2016
We spent Saturday in down town San Antonio starting with a visit to the Alamo. We took part in a one hour guided tour which was very expertly conducted. This gave us a very good idea of the layout of the Alamo in the context of the two remaining buildings and the conduct of the siege by Santa Anna and his Mexican forces against about 140 rebels. While the siege lasted for thirteen days the final battle lasted only about an hour and a half with the male rebels being wiped out and many Mexicans being killed. For Santa Anna this was a “minor” event but a few weeks later he met his demise at the hands of Gen Houston and Texas became a republic. The independent republic lasted nine years when, after going bankrupt, it was annexed into the USA. See Google or http://www.history.com/topics/alamo# for more information if you are interested.
The tour and the site was very busy. I was impressed by the fact that our guide conducts tours in the height of summer when temperatures are over 40C! The audio tour was also interesting giving a view of life in the compound.
We got to the River Walk again, this time in daylight. The down town part of the river walk is flanked by hotels, restaurants and pubs. I noted an Irish pub and a British pub facing each other from opposite sides of the river! Plenty of greenery including oak trees that would have been around at the time of the Alamo battle.