COPPER CANYON

After our brief overnight stay in Chihuahua, we boarded the Chihuahua al Pacifico "CHEPE" train to our first destination, San Rafael. We were impressed by the cleanliness of the train and how helpful the conductors were. The train was very empty and only two other Americans in our car. We had a nice breakfast in the dining car and settled down to see the spectacular scenery enroute. We passed a large Mennonite community and many orchards, mainly apple, before starting the climb to 8,000 feet in the Sierra Madre. Because of all the swtichbacks, we crossed the Continental Divide three times. After 7½ hours we arrived at San Rafael and were picked up at the station for our ride to Uno Lodge. which was built, owned and operated by the indigenous Tarahumara Indians in conjunction with Canyon Travel.

We drove for an hour over some of the roughest unpaved roads we've ever traveled and drove through a Tarahumara community where we saw the colorful costumes worn by all the females. We noticed that the women never made eye contact and the men didn't respond to smiles or waves. Finally we arrived at Uno Lodge, shaken but not stirred. Our room was large but spartan and every piece of furniture was handmade. Electricity was supplied by solar panels and we had two automobile batteries that were connected to the panel. We were asked to use lights for only an hour each night but we were given battery powered lanterns, if needed. This is the only lodge on the rim of the canyon and the views were spectacular. It is very remote and other than a few small Indian houses, we were an hour away from anything. Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre) is misleading because it refers to the color of the canyon in certain lights - there is no copper in the rocks.

After meeting our four fellow travelers, we went on a short walk, huffing and puffing because of the altitude but enjoying the beauty around us. Later we had cocktails and snacks followed by a delicious dinner then off to sleep.

After breakfast we had the option of walking down the canyon and back or one along the rim. Since I'm not a fan of walking steep hills, we opted to take the easier one. Later in the day we hiked to a rustic farmstead owned by one of the families that built and work at the lodge. It was as basic as you can get with no amenities at all. No electricity, no plumbing (except a spring fed hose coming down a hill), no nuttin'. As I always say, if it doesn't have a dishwasher, I'm roughing it and this was more than rough. I'll pass.

We learned so much about a group of people we never knew existed. The marriages are arranged and the girls are only 12 and the boys 14. Their wealth is measured by the size of their goat herd and the youngest child is responsible for the flock. Since marriages are arranged, if it seems it won't work out, the couple will separate and the parents will be responsible for raising their grandchildren. If there is a death within a home, that house will be abandoned and left to decay. There are still a few older people living in caves and some will go to a death cave to die where their bones will remain. These are farmers and never hunt. They'll eat meat if an animal dies of natural causes.

Please note that, even though I have links on both the photo page and this one, they are not the same so you can learn more about the train and/or Tarahumara, if interested.

After breakfast we are driven to Divisadero where three canyons unite. There is a small market where you can buy native crafts, mostly items woven from pine needles, etc., especially baskets. This is a popular area and one where the train will stop for 15 minutes so the tourists can shop and one where coach tours will visit. We took a walk and later had a delicious picnic lunch by the rim of the canyon after which we boarded our train to El Fuerte.

After another beautiful five hour train ride, descending this time, we arrived in El Fuerte and were taken to the beautiful Rio Vista Lodge. The hotel is built into a hillside and one wall of our room was solid rock. I've never seen anything like it. We had dinner and settled in. After breakfast the next morning we drove to the El Fuerte river where we boarded a small boat for a float trip. It was really nice because Dave and I were the only people on this leg of the trip so we could go at our own pace and do whatever we wanted, whenever we wished. Along the way our guide pointed out all kinds of birds and we stopped and hiked to some Nahuatl petrogryphs. Before we left, I was such a good girl and slathered my body with a powerful insect repellant - I hate the stuff but did it because we were warned about the "noseeums". Because we were no longer at a high altitude, it was hot . . . I don't do hot . . . I decided to take off my long sleeve shirt and unzip my zippy pant's legs. D'OH - did I remember to slather these areas???? Nooooooooooooooooo. I am a magnet to biting insects and they had a field day with me. I'm surprised I didn't have to get a blood transfusion.

That afternoon we did a walking tour of the town which was the banking and supply center for mining towns during the silver boom.

Later in the day we drove to the village of Campamos where we saw several Mayo Indian ritual dances. Not realizing that I needed to slather when away from the river I was once again devoured by noseeums - the number of bites now nearing at least a million.

At breakfast we saw another couple and I asked if they were going to Bahuichivo. They were so we traveled together for the four hour trip. It was a 45 minute drive on better unpaved roads to the Porochi Inn after which we had a picnic lunch in the woods then took a walk to a nice homestead owned by Vittorio who's claim to fame is winning the Bolder Boulder race. One of the Tarahumara's claims to fame is their running ability which is done wearing skimpy sandals. They were given running shoes at the race but changed back into the sandals during their run. Once again, there were no amenities but his place was really nice and had everything he needed. We learned some Tarahumara phrases so we could at least say 'hello' and 'thank you'.

The next morning we drove two hours to the Cerro Del Gallego Rim of Urique Canyon, picking up several Indians along the way. This canyon is the deepest in North America. We had a choice of walking down the mile to the bottom and, since they drove us back, we decided to have a go of it. There has been a 12 year drought throughout the entire area that we visited - most waterfalls were dry as were many creeks and small rivers. Because everything was so dry, the path, which is actually a mule trail, was filled with loose rock and pebbles. It was scary. Shortly after we got started I said "I don't like this" and immediatly thereafter I started to slip. Unfortunately, there was a tree nearby and I reached to grab it . . . big mistake. I missed the tree and proceeded to tumble head over heels down the mountainside. Dave said it was about 35 to 40 feet. When I hit my nose I got really scared and started to scream . . . all I could think was 'when am I going to stop'. I finally skidded to a stop and Jim, our fellow traveler got right to me. I popped up, said I was okay then said 'how's my camera' and started to clean it. Jim gave me his handkerchief and said to put it on my nose because it was bleeding on the bridge. I blotted off the blood and went back to tending my new camera. Once again he made me put it on my bleeding nose . . . this happened several times. I've never been accused of being smart . . . Our guide ran down to try and stop someone to help us and, as luck would have it, our driver had stopped along the way and was very near. They decided it would be better if we went down to the road and Juan, one of the people we picked up, held onto me (and I held onto him with a killing grip) all the way to the car. I almost kissed the ground. The other couple decided to continue hiking down and Dave came with me. Mario asked if I wanted to go to the clinic and I thought it was an excellent idea. They cleaned up the worst of the areas and gave me a tetanus shot. This is a free clinic for the Indians so we gave them a donation for the good care they gave me. I was soooo strong and didn't cry or faint or frow up or nuttin' . . . I'm such a brave little soldier.

In retrospect I have to say this was a lucky occurence. Most people break something when they fall, Mario was nearby to pick us up, this was the only village we visited that has a clinic and most of all I was glad we didn't have to walk a mile with such dangerous condition - it would have been awful. Good comes from bad. When I talked to the other couple, they said it was that bad all the way down and was just scary. Because of all the foliage, they could't see the scenery and I was probably better off.

That evening we had cocktail around a campfire and Mario serenaded us. Vittorio did a rain and hunting dance and then we had dinner.

The next morning we visited the village of Cerocahui then boarded our train for the 8 hour trip back to Chihuahua and home.

Although not as exotic as most places we travel, I think we learned more culturally on this trip than any other. I'd never heard of the Tarahumara people before but now have spent time with them and learned so much about them. Magnificent scenery aside, this was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad we did it, bumps, bruises, owies and all.

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