Copper Canyon Expedition April 30^th 2012 – May 06^th 2012

Day 1 – Topolobampo to Los Mochis to El Fuerte

Dining area El Meson General - El Fuerte

On Monday April 30^th, we left Sea Reach at her mooring in Marina Palmira and set off for a week-long overland expedition that will be remembered for its breathtaking views, friendly and competent service and the colorful and resilient Raramuri people of Sierra Tarahumara. As we were about to leave the marina we discovered that Raphael, the manager, was on his way to Los Mochis. We squeezed ourselves into his rinky dinky tonka truck, built in China for two small Asians, wondered out loud if it was legal to have three of us in the truck, and took his ‘mas ou menos’ quiver of the hand as good enough. Fortunately the highway between Topo and Los Mochis is very good and Raphael dropped us off safely at the bus stop. We got the blue Azules Noroeste bus to El Fuerte. It was air conditioned, comfortable and cost us 70 pesos each for the 80km ride. The route took us through the rich agricultural land of Sinaloa. We spent our first night in Hotel Guerrero, conveniently located right across from the bus drop off. It was basic but clean with an ensuite for 300-400 pesos per night depending on size of the room. We opted for the smaller room. We arrived during Fiesta Del Ninos and the town square was packed with families and young children enjoying the holiday atmosphere. We had lunch at El Meson del General and opted for lobina (river bass), one of the town’s specialties. Situated on the beautiful El Fuerte River, this old colonial town has several hotels and restaurants all within walking distance of each other. We had a walk on the ‘malecon’ by the river and later went to Hotel La Choza for dinner.

Hotel Guerrero - El Fuerte

Day 2 – El Fuerte to Creel on El Chepe

We took a taxi to the train station located about 8km from town – cost 80 pesos. We had no reservations but understood that Classe Economica required no reservations and could be boarded along the route provided there was room. (fingers crossed)

A few people were waiting at the station but we felt quite hopeful until a busload of tourists arrived. Fortunately they all trooped onto the First Class carriage. El Chepe arrived on time. The train service was very well organized and people in Classe Economica were placed in carriages dependent on their destinations.  We were in the end carriage that proved perfect for taking photos on the open rear platform (except when the armed guard came back and herded people back into the main compartment). The tickets were 552 pesos each - well worth the price for this historic train-ride. The first part of the route took us through dense scrub, cacti and sprawling, leafless, windswept trees. It was an unforgiving landscape. As the countryside opened up there were some signs of small cattle ranches. Then El Chepe slowly started to climb up into the mountains and the landscape took on a Tolkienesque appearance with sculpted towers and turrets rising out of the rocks. At higher altitudes the trees became more erect, and vigorous, and were predominantly of beautiful feathery pines. About 40 minutes before the scheduled stop at Divisadero. El Chepe stopped, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We waited and waited, saw a few engineers walk up and down the tracks with calculating eyes on the wheels of the train. Eventually we started to move again but stopped again at the next small station. Everybody from the last two carriages was herded forward to find vacant seats where possible in other carriages. A few lucky people, including John and I got free upgrades to the first class carriage and found the only difference to be carpet instead of lino on the floor and a dining carriage in place of the snack bar (and of course the price which is twice as much). Their air-conditioning worked better also. Ours was too cold!

Waiting for El Chepe to arrive

View from back of train

The first of the valleys enroute to Creele to 

One of many tunnels enroute to Creel

At Divisadero the train stopped for 15 minutes and passengers were able to disembark and walk over to the viewing point and take in the indescribable panorama of Copper Canyon. The station also provided our first encounter with the Raramurri and their fine basket-work and handcrafts. There were way more baskets for sale than tourists, unfortunately.  The women sat patiently beside their word making no attempt to solicit customers. The children however were sent out amongst the crowd with baskets of small items to attract and entice sales.

Raramuri with baskets on display - Divisadero

View of Copper Canyon from Divisadero

We arrived in Creel at about 5 p.m. and headed straight for Casa Margharita’s without a reservation. The Best Western was going to be our fall back (if that carriage load of tourists left any rooms available!) Our inside knowledge on where to go was gleaned from two sources – The Lonely Planet and fellow cruisers on Jacaranda’s blogspot. Both proved extremely useful although some updating on the Lonely Planet Guide is required. We were well received at Casa Margarita’s with a ‘no reservacion? – no problema.’ The available room/s was 400 pesos per night (< than $40) and breakfast and the evening meal were included. This is a family run business that now consists of three operations in the region, with Casa Marguerita being the most economical. Our room was clean, brightly coloured  and had an ensuite. The menu was fixed, the food wholesome and the cosy atmosphere gave us an opportunity to meet some delightful fellow travelers who shared tours with us over the following days. Creel is a central location for touring the Copper Canyon area and is well set up for tourists. The ongoing drug trafficking through the Chihuahua region and its attendant violence has had a very severe impact on the tourist trade and consequently this whole region including Creel is suffering.

Day 3 – Tour of Raramurri Lands and Cusarare Waterfall

We shared this tour with three Argentinian women, Irma, Eunica and Lydia. They were a great trio that traveled quite a bit together and we dubbed them - Las Tres Amigas. Irma had been educated in the U.S. and was bilingual which greatly enhanced the tour for us, as Luis, our driver and guide had less English than we had Spanish. The Raramuri, also known as the Tarahumara, number about 50,000 and are spread over a vast area of this mountainous region of Chihuahua.  They farm and have livestock and live in primitive log cabins and/or caves depending on the time of year. They are renowned for their ability to run long distances at high altitudes. Much of the region has had no rain in two years and the land has become scorched and dry with obvious stress on the livestock we saw. Their income source is a mixture of subsistence farming, handcrafts and eco-tourism. There is a toll for entering the areas with special sights such as the falls and some of the canyon viewpoints.  The trip was very interesting but a bit disquieting. We felt the shadow of a marginal existence made harsher by the drought and decrease in tourist trade.

Entrance to one of the caves at Raramuri village

Inside the cave

Log cabins at village

Slim pickings as pasture suffers from a 2 year drought

Valley of the elephant - named after this unusual rock formation

Day 4 – Trip to the Bottom of the Canyon to Batopilas

Creel is situated at 8000ft above sea level. Batopilas is at 1500ft above sea level. The journey to the base of the Canyon at Batopilas is about 140 km from Creel but takes five hours over winding switch back roads, the last 40 km of which are unpaved, unprotected with only one lane width. For this trip we were joined by Olivier from France and Ana from Germany. Olivier had worked for two years in Mexico and was trilingual. He very kindly translated for us as required. Martin our driver spoke only a little English so once again we lucked out with our traveling companions. It is possible to arrange tours with English speaking guides by making arrangements with the tour agency – Los Tres Amigos – located in Creel. Casa Margharita had its own tours available that were quite economical but the guides did not speak a lot of English. Our Spanglish is improving. The drive down to the base of the canyon was breathtaking both for the exquisite views and treacherous road conditions. We vacillated between holding our breath as we round around the hairpin turns on the edge of the precipice and having our breath taken from us as we took in the magnificent panorama. Martin was a careful and skillful driver and to the extent that one can feel safe on that trip – he was a good guy to go with.

On the road to Batopilas

Switchback roads leading to canyon base

Pine needles used from this species of pine in basket weaving

Batopilas was the centre of an extensive and rich silver-mine industry during the mid 1700’s to the late 1800’s. We stayed at La Hacienda Batopilas, built originally by one of the mine owners. It retains its old character and original structure. With rounded tours, beautiful stained glass windows and colourful tile work, it has a commanding presence overlooking the Batopilas River. It is part of the Margarita’s hotel chain. We paid 1000 pesos each for the trip including the overnight accommodations at this upscale hacienda. This we were assured was a special rate. Omar was the main organizer of tours and accommodations. He was a great hustler and quite happy to offer discounts to fill out his numbers. Staying at Casa Margarita  put us in the category of seeking low cost options so he was constantly reassuring us that we were getting discounts. (Los Tres Amigos had quoted us 4000 pesos total for the same trip minus accommodations. If we had been able to find others to share with we could have reduced the price accordingly but we would have to find them ourselves.) There are cheaper options such as getting the bus (although how a full size bus negotiates that terrain is beyond me) and staying at a small guesthouse, but we decided that this was the best option for us, and our experience with Casa Margarita and its staff was very positive. The Hacienda was 3km from town. Martin drove us into town for lunch/dinner and to visit the museum. He also offered to bring everyone to the ‘Lost Cathedral’ an old mission church. We opted to wander around town and walk back along the river path.

Ensuite - Batopilas Hacienda

Hacienda Batopilas

Stained glass bedroom window - Hacienda batopilas

Church - Batopilas

300 year old tree growing out of the ruins of the old mining building

Day 5 – Return to Creel

We had to leave at 5a.m. to try and get past the construction zone before the work started. The last 40 km is slowly being widened and paved. The construction is extremely hazardous. We were very impressed with the machine operators that we saw on the job. It was 6:30 a.m. when we arrived at the construction zone and they had already started. A large rockslide following excavation had blocked the road. They used the fallen debris to form part of the new road base and were grading the area as we watched and waited. Martin drove very slowly over the newly formed surface as we huddled and prayed that the soft surface would support the weight of the truck. We arrived back in Creel at about 10 a.m. and went straight back to bed. Later in the day we visited the museum in Creel and took a walk through the town. As we moved away from the centre of town we started to get a sense of the fractures created by the drug trafficking. A chance turn down one street brought us to a square with a large monument at the centre. It was commemorating the massacre of 14 people that had occurred in 2008. 14 small crosses bordered the square with names of the fallen painted on the crosses. We asked a young couple passing what had happened. They were visibly emotional about the event and explained that it was due to the drug problems they had in the area. The massacre appears to have been random and intended to terrorize. Later we checked out the internet and discovered that another slaying had occurred in 2010 when 15 SUV’s rolled into town in full view of the police surveillance cameras, blocked the exit routes, snorted cocaine before rounded up and shooting rival gang members. Quite a sobering discovery for us, especially after witnessing dozens of teenagers in a churchyard enjoying a spontaneous line dancing session earlier that afternoon. There is a dual existence in the small town and one wonders how the stranglehold of the mafia can be broken.

Waiting for the road to re-open

Bulldozer clearing the road we would travel over

Teenagers enjoying line dancing in the church yard - Creel

Monument commemorating the 14 young people massacred in 2008

Day 6 – Tour of Divisadero  and return to El Fuerte

We got wooed into one last tour the day of our departure by the persuasive logic that we could see four magnificent viewpoints and reduce our train fare by getting the train at Divisadero instead of Creel. So the 200 pesos tour would really only cost us 100 pesos each. As we had not pre-purchased our train tickets we were an easy sell. Martin was once again our driver and our traveling companions were a Mexican couple so our Spanglish was put to the test. It was definitely worth it. We got to do a little more walking and take in expansive views of the canyons. We had lunch at one of the many street vendor stalls while waiting for the train on the platform. The food is prepared over wood fired oil drums. Now if we were going to get a bout of  ‘La Turista’ this is where it would likely happen. I stuck to a vegetarian Gordita option. John was a bit more adventurous. Our train ride back to El Fuerte was pleasant and without incident. Taxis were waiting at the train station and we paid 50 pesos each for a large van that we shared with another couple. We had planned on going to Hotel Rio Vista which has a quirky reputation and a splendid view over the river. Our taxi driver wasn’t impressed. He asked us if we had a reservation and when we told him – no, he insisted on bringing us to check out La Posado del Hidalgo which he said was the best hotel in El Fuerte and was not too expensive. If we didn’t like it he would bring us to Hotel Rio Vista. He came in with us and waited while we checked out the rooms and haggled over the price. The rooms were 900 pesos the receptionist told us. No – that was too much. Okay she would give us a special introductory price of 600 pesos. (That by the way was what we expected to pay at Rio Vista) Okay, now were prepared to look at the room. Truly it is a beautiful hotel. A rambling and stately 200 year-old mansion with a lovely indoor garden atrium. The room was large and well appointed with a beautiful ensuite. Okay – we were hooked. We were given a room in the section of the hotel called La Vieja Casa, reputably the birthplace of El Zorro!?  Hmm  - apparently Senor Del Vega, Zorro’s father came from El Fuerte and as the story goes Zorro spent the first few years of his life in El Fuerte. It’s a good story anyway. Moral of this story - listen to the taxi driver. The food was very good but quite expensive. The service was excellent. The following morning we went for a walk to check out the Rio Vista. Definitely this has the best view location in town. It did look a bit run down and not as clean as the other places we had stayed in but we would be willing to check it out another time.

But if you want to take your ‘honey’ to someplace special – then go to La Posada  del Hidalgo. It is one of a chain of high-class hotels owned and run by the Valderama family. So as you can probably surmise, our trip was a mixture of ‘classe economica’ with the odd splurge. All in all, a wonderful trip that we would highly recommend.

More views of Copper Canyon

Overlooking The Divide

Young Raramuri women displaying her baskets and crafts

Martin - our careful and competent driver

Additional notes:

• ·      Bus service is excellent. Take it whenever you can.
• ·      Even the less expensive guesthouses we stayed in were clean and well run with breakfast included in the price.
• ·      It’s cold at night in Creel due to the high altitude. Bring a fleece and a pair of long pants.
• ·      Give yourself some time to adjust to the high altitude before too much exertion. Headaches, a dry cough and fatigue are warning signs that you are overdoing it.
• ·      There are mosquitoes in Topolobampo and El Fuerte, small, vicious little brutes. Bring insect repellent.
• ·      Keep a supply of small notes on hand. The Ruramurri often did not have change. Don’t buy all your baskets at the first opportunity or you will disappoint a lot of people.
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