Copper Canyon, Mexico (2 of 2)

After setting up reservations for 2 view rooms at the Hotel Bel Mar

for Christmas week & extending into the new year, my mission was accomplished. I wanted to make arrangements for the train north & took the local bus…2 pesos… out to the train station only to find out that the first & second class trains had been combined &

leaves on its northward journey only once a day at one in the morning. I love trains but the scenery along the way is a major source of my enjoyment. Therefore I opted for a day bus the following day & caught one for Los Mochis…5 hours north. There’s lots of them all priced around 200 pesos.

Upon arrival I went to the middle of town & checked into the

Catalina…a 5 or 6 storey hotel with a 125 peso price tag for singles…150 for a double. It was clean & could provide a common taxi for the 6 o’clock first class Copper Canyon train the next

morning…my share was 20 pesos.

Found a caballero bar called El Cobrito that had 3 & a half peso beers with live caballero entertainment…passed the time giggling & laughing with a few of the patrons. They had a runway for the girls to dance…with their clothes on. They also had a sign that said that the employees were not allowed to drink alcohol with the customers & that the patrons were not to pinch the women’s bottoms. I bought

the bartender & the bouncer a beer however & they enjoyed getting their picture taken with me on my delayed shutter camera….that trick always makes me new friends.

Arrived at the Los Mochis train station at 5:30 & purchased my ticket

from a very friendly & informative clerk…not always the case with these government workers. When I asked him about transferring to a north bound train the next day in Sufragio…where the Copper Canyon train crosses it, he told me that there were no hotels there but

that I might be able to get a matrimonial room at one of the private residences in the area. Gave me a warning about the station there, saying that it was a major drug smuggling area. His warning was not the first or last that I received about Sufragio.

About 6 years ago, I met a guy that got on the train there just like I was planning after a trip through the Copper Canyon. He was from Perth, Australia and I still enjoy a correspondence relationship once or twice a year. He was accosted by a few thugs who wanted some of his valuable photographic equipment. Luckily for him, a couple of military guys came to his aid.

The other warning I received about this station came from a lady later in the day when we stopped at Sufragio on the way to the Copper Canyon. She was a friend of the conductor with whom I was talking & when I asked her about staying in Sufragio she emphatically warned me not to stay there at night. A couple of gringos just got stabbed

in a robbery last week she told me.

I paid the 220 peso fare to Creel & got my requested window seat which

remained empty for most of the trip as I like to stand in the vestibules between cars & hang my head out in the breeze. The primero train leaves Los Mochis at 6 & the second class train an hour later, with the price of a ticket at less than a quarter of 1st class at

around 45 pesos. The train left at exactly 6am & but that was the only time it was on schedule.

When the train doesn’t have a caboose, the vestibule off the rear car is best but the conductor will chase you off before every stop…about 8 or 9 along the way with a 3 to 5 minute stop each. The only exception would be the one at Divisidero at the 622 kilometer marker where the train stops for about 15 minutes. I was ready with my camera & made the 50 meter dash over to the canyon to take a few pictures. The Indian girls make a concerted effort to get into the pictures & expect a peso or so for posing with a tourist…I couldn’t help but fall into their trap.

The advantage in riding in the back vestibule is the ability to look

backward as well as side to side. Ideally, the second class train is the best for viewing as the windows open up & there are some seats that are situated facing each other. But if it’s crowded & the weather is poor it could become a trip from hell. In my 10 years of

traveling Mexican trains there have been many times that I’ve paid the first class fare but spent my time comfortably in the second class car when the two were connected.

The trip this time into the Copper Canyon was better than I remember

the first time I took this trip in 1989. That time I didn’t stop at Creel but stayed on until Chihuahua where I changed trains & headed south. In looking back on my schedule, I see where I paid 45,710 pesos. The price to Creel at that time was 20,000. There were

only 3 pesos to the dollar in 1989 & since then 3 digits have also been dropped in devaluing the Mexican currency. Extrapolating this information had me paying 27 dollars this time whereas the 1989 price would be 7 dollars.

There’s been a lot written about the Copper Canyon train, both about

the views & the engineering obstacles overcome in the 100 years of building it. It’s fantastic in both arenas. What I remember most are the tunnels…80 plus of them in the 350 kilometers between Los Mochis & Creel. The first one encountered going north at the 755 kilometer marker is also the longest at 1,850 meters.

Among the many waterfalls is the multitiered one just outside of

Temoris at 707 kilometers. The train passes the town 3 times as it switches back & forth working its way up the mountain. On the second pass, the trains stops for 5 minutes & then makes its final pass from high above after chugging its way up & through a 937 meter tunnel (The

tunnels are marked numerically & their length in meters is displayed). It then passes directly over the falls that towers above Temoris. A captivating 20 minutes in all, only to be followed my more & more indescribable scenery.

In addition to tunnels & waterfalls, there are the many (30 or so)

trellises that made my stomach tightened up as they passed over the river that runs along the route, sometimes hundreds of feet below. There ar e caves that the Indians lived in…some stilloccupied but not discernible from the train.

And as with all of my travels there are the many people to meet along

the way. The European & Canadian gringos outnumber the Norte Americano ones by about 5 to 1 making for some very interesting conversation…especially with the European ones as we exchanged information & greetings in pidgin Spanish.

Before arriving at Creel there are a few other places where there is

lodging to be had but at a considerably higher price than the largest town along the way with a population of around 3,000. The two most popular are Bahuichivo where there’s a converted castle, Posada Barrancas which is home to the popular Rancho Barrancas Hotel & then another high end accommodation at Divisidero.

I had a seatmate on the return trip from Creel by the name of

Francisco Ponce. He was a telmex technician on vacation & was just a gem to talk to. He lives in Chihuahua & if I even get through that town again I will be sure to look him up. Another couple I ran into

were proprietors of a youth hospital in Minneapolis where they also run a guide business. They were escorting 6 people…senior citizens in this case…through the area & exited at Posada Barranca to stay at the castle. The name of their company was “The California Native.”

Their website address: www.calnative.com

Phone: 310-642-1140

Fax: 310-216-0400

Arrived in Creel about two & a half hours behind schedule, a little

before 4 that afternoon we were bombarded by a bunch of hawkers for the Margarita’s Casa de Huespedes. It’s probably the most popular overnight spot in town…so much so that they built another places a few blocks up the main street. They have a combination phone fax

line 6-0045.

I opted to stay there because it attracts the type of traveler that I like to converse with, & their single or double rate of 150 pesos includes breakfast & dinner where I would be assured of a chance to meet with some of them. There’s also a dormitory rate, 40 pesos with communal baths. I ended up using the communal bath for a shower as the hot water heater that furnished my room went out that night & I

didn’t have the stamina…at the 8,000 foot altitude…to take a cold shower.

The dinner was so so & the beer at 7 pesos was not as cold as I would have wanted, but the conversations were great. Had my most fun with a young couple from Italy & a 40ish couple from Holland.

The two tables that accommodated 8 to 10 persons each were filled twice over that evening & the next morning.

I know that some day I will get my wife to take this trip with me so

I scouted the town a little bit for accommodations befitting my wife. Of the ones I checked out, I feel the Hotel Korochi would be best in filling that need. The proprietor was really friendly & gave me a tour of the place which also has a nice restaurant on the grounds. The clean & neat hotel rooms were 80 & 120 pesos respectively for a single & double, & out back they had some really nice cabanas with free standing pot belly stoves & log cabin type logs walls that went for 120 -150 pesos.

Other accommodations that I checked out were:

The Pension Creel which posted their rates in dollars…$5 for a dorm room & breakfast.

Phone: 52-145-6-00-71

Fax: 52-145-6-02-00

The Pasada de Creel at 125 pesos for 1 to 4 persons for bed &

breakfast.

Phone: 52-145-6-01-36

Fax: 52-145-6-01-42

I had plenty of time to walk the town that lies in a valley encircled

by sheer cliffs climbing up to the tops of evergreen clothed mountains, as the train back to Los Mochis didn’t leave until 12:30. The price to continue onto Chihuahua was 182 pesos & 36 second class. To Los Mochis it was the same as coming north but you pay the fare on

board to the conductor & not at the train station. The conductor gave me a wink & handed me back my 50 peso bill that I had given him with the 200 peso one. He remembered me from before & said something to the other conductor (they always collect fares in couples) that I didn’t understand but he took with a nod to his partner & another wink to me.

I enjoyed the ride back just as much as the front end of the train

ride…maybe even a little more so as I had packed my ice bag again with a six pack of Modelo. They don’t sell beer on this train although they do have coffee & soda. They also sell box lunches

on the train & the hotels both in Los Mochis & Creel can supply that need also. I prefer to buy my food along the way where there are many vendors at each stop with various local cuisine. I always like the tamales which can be eaten like finger food & usually go for about 10 pesos for 4 or 5 of the delicious little tummy fillers. When accompanied by a cold Modelo & window seat all the world is A-OK.

The last 2 hours of the ride back to Los Mochis are in the dark but

with no great scenery so I took a little nap. There was no shortage of cabs willing to take us into town when we arrived a little after 10 that night. My share of a ride was 15 pesos & I was dropped off at Hotel Lorena in downtown a half block from the El Cobrito bar where I

had such a good time two days prior. The hotel had the same price structure as the Catalina as well as character. The only disappointment that I had was finding the El Cobrito bar closed…didn’t understand that as it was Saturday night, but not

to worry I found another crowded caballero bar but the price of beer was a peso & a half higher at 5 per bottle of Pacifico.

Sunday had me up in the morning & off to check on buses to Tijuana.

I decided that I had had enough & was ready to go home. Found the bus station 5 blocks away & with plenty of competing lines for Tijuana each with one bus leaving every hour.

Retreated to my hotel to pick up my bag & was back on my way to the terminal when I remember it was Sunday & I like to watch the masses as they go to mass in Catholic countries like Mexico. Treating my bag as my cross to bear I detoured for the cathedral where I found mass to be just about over when I entered a packed cathedral. With no place to remain unobserved with my pack I retreated to the street & found a

vendor preparing churros for the faithful. For 5 pesos I purchased a brown bag full of fresh ones.

Fifteen minutes & 3 blocks later I was on a bus bound for Tijuana. I chose Elite lines (360 pesos) this time & had a window seat on

the ocean side of the bus that had less than 10 passengers & never more than that with its 5 terminal stops along the way.

I picked up a six pack along the way along with some ice when we stopped for lunch at 2 in the afternoon. There was never a problem with food as a vendor or two would get on at every toll booth or military stop along the way hawking his comida. I enjoyed the scenery along the way as it everything was green even as we went up & down in altitude along the way. The rainfall must have been generous this year as the bushes were dense & blended in well with the cactus at the lower elevations.

Reached Tijuana at 4 in the morning after a xanax induced sleep &

took a taxi to the border as the buses were not yet running. The driver wanted 80 pesos but I only had 65 left on me & he settled for that…& seemed satisfied. I could & would have given him dollars if such were not the case. Had to wait a about 45 minutes for the

trolley in San Ysidro to start up for the day & was back home & soaking in my spa a couple of hours later.

There’s lots of military stops along the way both going north & south but all of the federales were polite & usually went out of their way to be friendly. Twice I was asked for my passport & visa & each time I received them back with a smile. However, they were pretty thorough in searching the buses for guns & drugs.

$1US = 8 pesos

Bus……4,000 kilometers…1,200 pesos

Boat…..500 kilometers…..166 pesos

Train….700 kilometers…..420 pesos

Read Part One of Copper Canyon

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