Copper Canyon

Copper Canyon

Day 1, Feb 9, 2018 

leave Melaque at 7:58 in a van with 8 Melaque folks. Verna, John, Tom, Barb, Ruth, Mary, Dave and Rosemary

An earthquake at 8:  05 but we didn’t feel it. Picked up Patricia and Stewart in Manzanillo. They were noticeably shaken, the worst quake they ever felt.

Arrived in Guadalajara at three, met the other 24 travellers from the PV group who were an hour late because of a flat tire on their bus.

Walking tour.

Dave and I branched off and did a revisit of the Frances hotel. The cathedral and the jardins.

Day 2

Boarded the bus at 4:40. Apparently there had been a memo to say the bus was leaving at 4:30. Nobody from the Melaque group got that memo.

Airport, crazy at 5 am, flew to Mexico City, plane one hour late to Los Mochis.

Lunch at the Mexican market, birria for Dave. Queso soup for me with the three vegetables of the area, potato, tomato and onion. 

Arrived in El Fuerta later than planned so boat tour was cancelled.

Zorro show at 6 then a walking tour. Early to bed.

Day 3

Up at 6 for 6:30 breakfast and 7:30 bus to train station! 8:15 departure.

Sesame seed fields before the worlds longest bridge.

All the sesame plants are hand cut and four months later, another crop is ready.

The seeds are hand beaten unto tarps.

Lost a train engine before the bridge so went backwards to drop the dead engine.. and a first class car and a second class car in order to reduce the weight for the one remaining engine.

But we had to wait an hour for permission from the office in Guadalajara to make that decision. That put us behind schedule by two hours and everyone was wondering if we would make it through the switch back mountain tunnels.

Armed guards boarded the train. Only when were safely finished with train rides did we learn that Noel was concerned as banditos can Board the train as well, not to hurt the passengers but yo steal the cargo, Happy that it wAs not mentioned at the time.

Saw the new modern train that will replace this one in April. So glad we did the trip this year, sure can’t afford the new price!

Off the train at Bahuichivo then a 25 bus ride

Arrived at 4 o’clock for lunch! At Hotel Mision in Cerochui. Another wow accommodation! And awesome food.

Walking tour of town and a visit to the girl’s boarding school, bought two of their grass baskets.

Lecture at 6:30 all about the Tarahumara then dinner at 8. Chicken cordon blue

Day 4

Bus ride to Urique Canyon, off road driving. Guess who-sat on the inside seat?

What views ! And the paths for the Tarahumara runners who run 160 kms. 

Pancho told jokes and told stories all the way up and back, to distract us I think.

And then he shares recipes.

Carne. Asada

Lime juice

Minced onion

Beer

Black pepper

Marinate 10 minutes

Throw on recipe

Pollo asado

Marinate

Beer 

lime

Adobe seasoning

Ladies at the top sold pashminas, tshirts, hoodies etc ! Necklaces, fridge magnets. Etc. I bought a lovely expandable bead braclet for 50 pesos, a hoodie for 300 and a magnet for 20

They had removed the toilets from the washrooms so that stop was interesting! Noel picked up one toilet and set it on one of the holes!

Return to hotel, bus to the train at Bahuichivo . Noel put his ear on the track, tells us we have an overnight here.

Surprise! Train on time!

Over the highest bridge and through two tunnels to San Rafael where ladies lined the tracks with their baskets. Pancho jumped off, brought baskets on board and sold them for the ladies. We were not allowed off the train so Pancho was busy!

I bought a beautiful woven grass basket with highlights of burgundy and navy pine needles. 30 pesos.

Arrived at Barranacas at 2, bus to El Mirador. WOW!

Every room has a balcony and an excellent view into the canyon. Zip line and cable car in operation, tomorrow’s activity.

Lunch was a delicious vegetable soup followed by a huge fillet of white fish with calabash then coffee flan for dessert.

Two hikes set out at 4, a 30 minute one or a more strenuous 90 minute. I chose the short one but learned that the 90 minute one as easier for the return.

Pashmina purchase 150 pesos outside hotel door.

This hike took us down into the Tarahumara world. Homes built against the side of the rock and a few sheets of metal for a roof, most of them by a water source, a spring . There are lots of woven baskets for sale along the path. These folks are very private and prefer no outside influence. Children are sharing the chores and weaving at a very early age.

A must read” Born to Run”.

They are the runners. Homes are quite a distance apart with only foot paths joining them.

Our dinner setting was at 7:30, another very filling meal: cream of tomato soup, Salisbury steak with spiced rice and chocolate cake for dessert.

Day 5

As it turned out, we had one of the best rooms, heat worked and there were lots of blankets. A few couples had no heat and no blankets. When they told a staff member at 10:30, he jumped in a truck and went to the next hotel, returning with the super heavy weight type. They were warm but couldn’t move!

This morning, breakfast at 8. A real possibility for a sleep in except Dave set his alarm to see daybreak and sunrise. However, he had not changed his clock for the time zone so his quacking duck alarm went off at 5:15 instead of 6:15!!

Great breakfast then a 9 o’clock show of the Tarahuma dancing.... the deer, the sheep and the burro. Then game demo.. men with the ball and women with the ring.

Off to Barranacas Park. Lots of choices.. the world’s longest zip line giving you a 3 minute rush at 100 km per hour; the seven line zip with platforms with views and hikes, suspension bridges; cable car across the canyon; mountain climbing with serious rappelling; bike rentals; quad rentals; mini golf! And of course lots of shopping!

Dave chose the 90 minute zip line experience. I took the cable car and waited for him to go back on the cable car.

Bus back to the Mirador for lunch. Spiced cauliflower soup, chipolte chicken and raspberry/ blueberry mousse. 

Basket weaving class at 5. Dinner at 7. Happy birthday Barb, same tradition as Mary yesterday. Face pushed into cake.

Day 6 Happy Valetines Day

Breakfast at 7. Photo shoot and purchase of nesting baskets.

Bus left at 8. First stop Divisedero, huge market beside the oldest canyon hotel. Bought a blue shawl.

Pancho told us all about the state of Chihuahua,the largest state with the second smallest population.

The most varied geography with the canyons pine forest, then grasslands, then jungles and the largest desert in the Americas.

Also biggest range of temperature. 54 degrees C for 4 days straight last summer and minus 38 in some places in the winter.

Biggest producers of apples, 7 varieties of pecan, peanuts, papaya, guavas, onions, jalepenos

Today we laugh about all the incidents... flat tire on bus, late flight in Mexico City, failed train engine, lunches at 4 pm, toilets outside the bathroom at Urique, four rooms with no blankets at Barranacas, Daves Cpap falling from above, hitting Suzanne and busting the beer can. Nice smell but mop and rags need to dry off the floor and all the components of the machine.

Crossed the Contiental Divide. Airport on top f mountain, finished three years ago, not still opened. The companies with the pipeline had not honored the agreement with the locals. Cattle country.

Simiilar to the train station at Dividsedaro, beautiful building finished ten years ago but no possible access to the tracks for passengers!

Creel with 1200 people. Old industry was lumber, now tourism. Accom runs from 100 to 3000 pesos a night. New train comes only to here, not Chihuahua.

So the new route is El Fuerte to Creel. 

Longest river of Mexico, 900 kms is all within this state. Concha River. Good wine producing area.

Pine trees, all reforestation.

San Juanito, 12000 pop. Always cold here, even in the summer. Lovely schools with murals on the walls. 

Small town 15 km to Creel and 15 km to San Juanito is the municipal for the area.

Now on the prairies with two breeds of cattle: brangus, a cross between brahma  and angus, bred to adapt to the weather here and the carablanca which is partially Hereford. Both breeds were bred in this state.

Lunch at the Mennonite campo 2 for homemade buns, butter, their famous cheese, sausage, pickles, jams and 30 kinds of cookies.

Stopped at a cheese factory that produces 1 ton of cheese per day and pasteurizes 10,000 litres of milk per day.

Chihuahua 950thousand people.

2.2% unemployment. Electronic capital. All cars have some parts manufactured or assembled here.

Museum of Pancho Villa.

Checked in to hotel Quality Inn then a walking tour of El Palicio Goberino, the cathedral and the pedestrian three block mall.

Early to bed for a 5 am start. 

Last day. Bus to Chihuahua airport, flew to Guadalajara and bus to Melaque. Home at 7. Great trip!

Rosemary