Eagle Pass (Paso del Águila) is a high road crossing over the Río Bravo del Norte (the Río Grande), where the river runs between cliffs below covered bridges. It is one of several named crossings on that stretch of the border, and the one the company chose.
| Type | Place (border crossing) |
| River | Río Bravo del Norte / Río Grande |
| Spanish entry | Paso del Águila |
Description
It is “a high place where the river passed between cliffs”, crossed by “some covered-style bridges”. It is not a railway crossing but “a road pass”. There is a checkpoint on the bridge (“they search you quite a lot there”), and the inspection makes the place “dangerous”.
Paso del Norte
At the other end of the crossing system is Paso del Norte, the town now called Ciudad Juárez: “a real border town”, with wide dirt streets, hard noon sun and the bakery visible from the street. It is “one of the most important passes, joining three borders”. On the Mexican side Paso del Norte has a stone-and-concrete prison where prisoners are executed. The Mexican jail of El Paso is said to be “flat and ugly”, and photographs of it circulate.
Other crossings
- Paso de Nava, a border crossing near the Río Bravo del Norte.
- Paso del Norte, described above.
- Paso del Rey, a delivery point named by the dragon.
- Paso de la Ira, the route by which pursuing dragons cross.
- Paso de la Draila (name doubtful), “at the level of the Río Grande”.
Role
The pass works as a funnel: whoever pursues or waits need only stand at the crossing. On this reasoning the dragon’s position was deduced: “it must be there, and not in Saragosa, and not on the north road that leads to Ciudad.” The company chose to go by Eagle Pass, which set its whole itinerary.
Conflicting accounts
- One measure puts the pass “about 3 hours’ travel, 2 hours” away; another “two days” from the circus.
Open questions
- How many passes there really are: whether Águila, Rey, Ira and Draila are four places or fewer.
- Whether the Paso del Norte prison and the El Paso jail are one building or two.
- Who conducts the inspection, on which side and with what powers, and whether crossing costs a toll, a duty or a bribe.
- Measurements of the bridge, river and cliffs, and a description of the checkpoint.