Cabeza de Vaca's 8-Year Journey across Texas

Of over 200 Spanish Explorers shipwrecked in 1528 in the vicinity of today's Galveston-San Luis Islands, only De Vaca and three others lived to tell the tale. During their nine years in Texas, most spent on or near the Gulf Coast, they went from being slaves of the local Indians to becoming healers and shamans, with thousands following them at times. Their journal tells of living not only among but with the Indians, as opposed to the typical Spanish encounters which involved conflict and enslavement.

There are at least three very contested differences on the route taken by the four Spaniards. Heritage cyclist Mark Stine followed the route described by Davenport and Wells. This route started from the vicinity of Galveston Island, followed the coast to Lavaca Bay before turning inland, swept below San Antonio and then rose up the Sabinal River Valley (through Utopia) to San Angelo before heading west-southwest to the Big Bend country. At least one proposed route runs through Mexico. Stine hopes to do all of the De Vaca routes someday, but the Davenport-Wells route is chosen now since there is good documentation currently available and he wants a little more bicycle touring experience before heading to Mexico. The disagreement among historians just makes it better - more versions mean more routes to explore!

A ride diary with route maps of this trip will be published here in the future.

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