March 9, 2014 Posada Barrancas – Copper Canyon

Before you begin....we had so many great pictures from our Copper Canyon trip that we decided to add a separate blog entry for additional photos.  So...read on and then look at more photos if you like on the next blog entry.

Sinoloa is in pink.  Los Mochis is in the northern area. 
Copper Canyon is half way between Los Mochis and Chihauhau
further north east.

Chepe Train Route.  Our destination of Barrancas is in the centre,
south of Divisadero and the red loop 

We left Mazatlán on Thursday morning March 6 and took a six hour bus trip to the town of Los Mochis.   The bus was pretty nice and we did get to enjoy a couple of movies…in Spanish, though, so we pretty much made up or own plots.  The land between Mazatlán and Los Mochis was almost all farmed.  Mile after mile of towering corn, ripe tomatoes, acres of sugar cane and other vegetables bordered the three lane highway.

It was 5:00 p.m. by the time we reached Los Mochis. We had researched hotel options on line but hadn’t booked anything, deciding to play it by ear.  Note:  It’s cheaper if you book in advance on line!  Anyway, we grabbed a taxi to the medium priced Plaza Inn and Convention Centre. What we didn’t know was that the Mexican Youth Olympics were being hosted by Los Mochis for four days and we had arrived on day one!  Hotels had been booked months in advance!  There was no room at the Inn….so they directed us to a couple of other hotels a few blocks away but before we even made it around the corner another staff person asked us to come back into the lobby.  Next thing we knew we were shaking hands with the Plaza Inn General Manager, who apologized profusely for being full and asked us to have a chair while he looked at options.  Within five minutes they did some juggling and found us a king room.  It wasn’t cheap but under the circumstances we felt we didn’t have a choice.  We were asleep early as we had a 4:30 a.m. alarm set for the 6:00 a.m. Chepe train departure.

Chepe Train, which ran daily between
Los Mochis and Chihuahua

We were not the only early risers.  Dozens of mostly Mexicans were already at the train station and they just kept coming right until departure time at 6:00.  We booked economy class, which meant we sat with the Mexicans instead of first class with the other gringos.  The locals came with a variety of bags and suitcases, many with happy kids in tow. The seats were comfortable and the views were stunning as we climbed hour after hour towards our destination of Posada Barrancas located at the top of one ridge overlooking one of the extensive canyons.

We didn't know there were Mexican hockey sticks!

Copper Canyon is comprised of six canyons roughly four times the size of the Grand Canyon.  As we made our way a hundred miles inland to the foothills we passed shanties and poor villages beside the rail tracks as well as lazing cattle and seasoned cowboys.



Here we're looking down at the tracks we were on.

We passed through 43 tunnels and over 18 bridges as we slowly climbed to the summit, winding around dozens of the hills and a few rivers, lakes and a reservoir.  The best vantage place was in the gap between rambling train cars, hanging out with the camera, clicking a shot, then pulling back in when we approached another tunnel.

This sign is posted right beside the best place to take photos.
Of course everyone ignores this sign, along with the 'no food' signs.

By the time we made it to the Posada Barrancas train stop at 2:30 p.m. we were tired and hungry.  A shuttle whisked us off to Mansion Tarahumara, named after the indigenous people of the region.  The hotel featured a European castle theme, complete with a dozen German tourists who arrived via train as well.

Mansion Tarahumara, named after the indigenous people

Our log cabin type room was clean, but a bit dark and rustic with no view of the canyon unfortunately.  We ate a late lunch and other meals in the medieval dining room, which featured a cozy fireplace on a mezzanine level, painted shields and ornamental swords.  The property only had about 20 guests staying even though they could handle over 200. We joined a handful of others on a walking tour where we had our first glimpse of the canyon…and it was truly breathtaking!

We also noticed how incredibly quiet it was.  No breeze blowing, no sounds of traffic, only the odd rooster miles away. We were over 7,000 feet above sea level.  Sometimes I found it hard to catch my breath because of the elevation.

Our guide took us down an old path.  When I say ‘old’ I mean ancient…thousands of years old.  The path was used by the Tarahumara people for centuries.  It is thought that the Tarahumara people originally came from Siberia about 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.  They still have their own language, dress and customs. There are only 20,000 - 30,000 indigenous people living in and around the massive Copper Canyon.

  

A Tarahumara mother and son climbing the ancient path

Look carefully and you can see the roof at the Tarahumara colony

A closer look at where some local Tarahumara live in
Posada Barrancas

 They are a shy, quiet and reserved people, renowned in Mexico for their running abilities. Many participate in long distance competitions where they run wearing tire soled sandals, kicking a small wooden ball as they go.  They have been known to run 100 miles nonstop.

The path we followed descended down a half mile to a tiny indigenous family colony nestled under a massive rock wall. Many generations had subsisted there, making use of all available land to farm fruits and vegetables and raise a few goats and cows.  As it was early March the peach, pear and apricot trees were just starting to flower.

In addition to superb farmers, the Tarahumara were skilled artisans with their baskets, weavings, blankets, carvings and jewellery.  Many woman displayed their crafts on pieces of cloth laid on the ground along the path.  We couldn’t resist purchasing a couple of tiny handmade baskets.

Two Tarahumara women weaving baskets at
Mansion Tarahumara

In the morning Jim and I declined a driving tour so we could hike to the Posada Barrancas Mirador Hotel a half hour away.  We liked the looks of it better than the Mansion and booked in for the next two nights.  This time our room faced east and we had an amazing view of the canyon.

Posada Barrancas Mirador Hotel, our room was
fifth from right, upper floor.

The view from our room - hard to beat that!

After we unpacked we decided to do something completely different so we went horseback riding for two hours.  Our Mexican guide, who spoke no English, met us outside where he had three horses tethered.  Mine was chestnut brown and liked to take the lead; Jim’s was off white and was happy to follow.  The guide’s horse was high strung and ornery and sometimes he had to get down and walk the horse behind us.  We left the hotel grounds and followed the road down to the village of Areponapuchi, where we clopped along the dusty lanes before turning off and climbing up into a pine forest.  We had a fantastic view of the canyon from time to time and enjoyed the crisp clean mountain air.

They call him Cowboy Jim

I hadn’t been on a horse for at least 30 years and sure felt it long before we made it back! En route our guide directed us up another dusty route leading to the same ancient Tarahumara trail we walked along the day before.  Jim kept reassuring me that these horses were bred to walk on these trails, even though they were narrow, rocky and had a huge drop off on one side.  We were almost back at the Tarahumara village when the guide told me to take the path to the left, which led to a set of twisting, winding steep oversized stairs.  I thought we would be walking our horses up the stairs but he signaled for me to keep going and, sure enough, the horse clipped clopped up those stairs until we finally reached the top, stopping outside the Mirador’s entryway.  I slowly got off the horse, definitely feeling my age. Jim thanked the guide, tipping him handsomely as we waved good bye.  Our two horses never looked back as they headed for home at a fast trot with him following behind.  All in all it was a great way to spend the afternoon and we were back in time to catch the setting sun before dinner.

At dawn I saw a flash of light through the curtains and a few seconds later heard loud thunder.   We opened the curtains and found the entire canyon fogged in. 

View from our room at Posada Barrancas Mirador
on Saturday when we checked in

Our view on Sunday morning when we got up

Then the hail started, followed by snow, wind, more lightning and thunder then rain and it lasted all day.  We were looking forward to going to the Adventure Park for a zip lining trip but it wasn’t running because of the weather so we decided to stay inside and relax. 

That's hail on the chair and tiles! 
So we didn't miss winter after all.

The bright lounge/dining room had a huge fire place and lots of soft leather couches to make ourselves comfy.  I couldn’t help but wonder how the Tarahumara existed in their tiny uninsulated stone dwellings with open fires for heat, and holes in the roofs to exhaust the smoke. By evening the snow was melting but we still heard the thunder rumbling in the distance.

In the morning the canyon was fogged in again but we had a beautiful sunrise above it!  The temperature hovered around 0 and there was a chilly breeze blowing so we decided against zip lining and spent the morning viewing the amazing canyon from the overhanging deck.

Dusk overlooking the canyon

A break in the weather

This Tarahumara mother was waiting
 for the inbound train to sell her wares

The train station vibrated with the approaching train, which we boarded early afternoon and wound our way back down to Los Mochis.  It seemed much longer going back but we passed time reading and watching the scenery until dark.  The train employed railroad security guards who made their presence known as they walked from one end of the train to the other with the automatic weapons.   However, by evening three of them had retreated to the dining car… but they weren’t eating dinner.  They were playing poker with the chef and restaurant manager! Only in Mexico!  A few minutes later one of them walked by us packing a two foot long thick salami sausage in one hand and his automatic rifle in the other.  When Jim pointed at the salami and said “Bueno”, the guard smiled a huge smile and nodded his head towards where the poker game had just broken up.  We wondered if the chef would have some explaining to do in the morning.

It was well after 10:00 p.m. when we checked into the three star Hotel Fenix in Los Mochis.  We had a room… with no view, in fact it was a room with no window! Another first.  However, we only planned to sleep then spend most of the next day exploring Los Mochis so it didn’t really matter.  And the price was a quarter of the price of the Plaza Inn where we stayed en route to Copper Canyon.

The downtown core of Los Mochis was very warm on Tuesday morning so our jackets, jeans and sweatshirts were packed away again and shorts, tee shirts and sandals were the order of the day.  We had a quick breakfast at the hotel then walked for blocks and found more hotels, office buildings, department stores, clothing stores and farmacias.  A mile away were the big box stores, malls and a high end gated community next to a fountained ‘moat’ separating it from the busy road.  Clearly Los Mochis, population 230,000, was thriving with a new multimillion dollar theatre was under construction.  We found a great public market similar to the one in Mazatlán then headed for the Botanical Gardens, which were open to the public.  The town of Los Mochis sprung up around the sugar mill in 1906.  The mill remains still stand near the centre of town.  The Gardens were were originally part of a private home owned by the wealthy citizen who started a sugar mill. 

An example of carvings within a tree at the Botanical Gardens

Planted over many acres, they featured three outdoor exercise areas, two playgrounds for kids, a water feature, lush lawns and a variety of trees and cacti, flowering plants and plenty of palms. 

We wandered around and found a large pond full of turtles and water fowls with iguanas hanging out on a tiny islet in the middle. 

We heard some loud canned music and looked over to see an older man dancing his buns off for a professional camera crew from Tourism Mexico.  They were using the Botanical Gardens as background for a promotional video featuring people having fun.  After they finished filming the gyrating geriatric they saw Jim and me sitting on a bench.  One of the crew approached us, the only gringos in the park, and asked us if we would like to dance for the cameras….we graciously declined, feeling that the cameras weren’t quite ready for our dance moves!  By mid-afternoon the intense heat was getting to us so we retreated to our dark hotel room for a siesta before a bbq chicken dinner.  In the morning we boarded another bus for Mazatlán, enjoying the agricultural scenery as we made our way south again.

View from our protected marina in Mazatlan the
afternoon we returned from the Copper Canyon

We very much enjoyed our six days in Mexico’s interior but were just as happy to be back on board Falcon VII.  We’ll stay in Mazatlán for another week or so before pushing off for points south.  Until then…

Tricia y Jim