Copper Canyon We finally escaped from the sea to explore the Sierra Mountains of Chihuahua. This large region includes five canyons including the Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre). In order to see as much of the beautiful scenery as possible we were in constant motion. We traveled by bus, train, bike, truck and foot. The bus took 7.5 hours from Mazatlan to Los Mochis, where we spent the night. Los Mochis isn’t a tourist town and we had a very nice evening there. We walked through an old neighborhood buying dinner piecemeal from street vendors. We ate churros, really good fresh hot tamales and champurrado (which is a hot chocolate drink). Everything was excellent. We passed a church with a sign that said "God wants to talk to you, but not on your cellphone, please turn it off." We think a girl was having her birthday party for turning 15. That is a big deal, everyone was dressed like it was a wedding. It looked like a wedding except there was no groom and the girl looked too young. We went back to our hotel and watched Texas beat USC in a very exciting Rose Bowl. The next day we got on the train at 7am for a ride on what has been called the world’s most scenic railway. It went over and through the mountains. We saw rivers, lakes, steep mountainsides, lush valleys, passed over bridges and through tunnels to climb about 7000 feet from sea level to evergreen forest. We arrived in Creel, a small town that is a center for exploring the Copper Canyon area, and we headed for the hotel/hostel Casa Margarita. We met many travelers at dinner, which is taken together in a large dining room at the hostel. Meeting the interesting people there was one of the highlights of the trip.

We spent 4 fast days at Copper Canyon. We mountain biked in the Complejo Ecoturistico Arareko, an ejido or communal landholding of the Tarahumara Indians that live in the area. They seem to be living in between the traditional primitive lifestyle of their ancestors and the modern civilization that is springing up around them. It is interesting to see the practices they have adopted, such as shopping in town for potato chips and Coca Cola, while at the same time keeping the traditional clothing such as the leather tie-on sandals that they wear in such cold weather. We bought a bracelet and a belt from some children that were selling their own handmade crafts near the Valley of the Frogs.

For the next two days we shared the cost of renting a truck with 3 others that we met at Casa Margarita and drove down to the town of Batopilas at the bottom of the canyon. Alex from Melbourne, Australia, and Dawn and Richard from Eureka, CA were our companions. The only other economical way to Batopilas is on the public bus, which doesn’t stop to let you take photos, so the truck gave us the freedom we wanted. It was a fantastic ride, reminiscent of our off-roading in Tibet, on a bumpy dirt road with spectacular views. Jim and Richard did a good job of driving. It took us all day to get to Batopilas, including a stop for a picnic lunch at the side of the switchback road. Batopilas is a narrow town built along the river at the bottom of the canyon. Only one car fits on most of the roads there because they are so narrow. We also learned from a Frenchman who has been living there for 9 years that 97% of the town is supported by drug dealing, which explains why there are 12-year-olds driving new SUVs around town. We spent the night at Hotel Mary for $10 US per person. We woke up early the next morning to hike to Satevo and see the "Lost Cathedral," which was built for some unknown reason far from any civilization. Then it was time for the drive back to Creel, another 5-hour ride on the dirt road.

We spent the night in Creel, sharing a room with Alex at another hotel because Casa Margarita was full, before beginning the 2-day journey back to Mazatlan. The next morning we took the bus to Divisadero, the next stop on the train route, so we could spend some more time than the 15 minutes the train spends there. This is the only town on the train ride where you can actually see into the canyon; the rest of the time you are skirting it but don’t have a chance to see down. There is not much in Divisadero, just one hotel, the Tarahumara Indians selling their baskets, scarves and jewelry, and the food vendors selling gorditas, taquitos, quesadillas and burritos. They cook on upside down metal barrels with a pine wood fire inside, and the food is good. We picked up the train when it passed through and rode to La Fuerte, arriving around 8 pm. We left the next morning after a brief walk around the old fort for which the town is named. The fort is situated at the junction of 5 rivers; the town was founded in 1564 and still has many picturesque colonial style buildings. After the bus to Los Mochis, we boarded another bus for Mazatlan, the "direct" bus, which still made 4 or 5 stops, not including the ones to pick up passengers from the side of the road.

We are now readjusting from land to boating life, a transition that still takes us some time. It is slowly hitting us that our time in Mexico is running out, and we have a big trip to prepare for. We are starting to make provisioning lists and complete the rest of the boat projects that are much easier to do at a marina.

Other photos are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/svserenity/.