[DISCLAIMER: APOLOGIES THAT IT TOOK SO LONG TO PRODUCE THIS LITTLE TRAVELOGUE. APOLOGIES AS WELL FOR SOME OF THE LAYOUT.
I’VE ENDED UP PUBLISHING IT AS AN EXAMPLE OF ALL THE PROBLEMS I’M HAVING WITH THE NEW REVISIONS TO THE WEB PROVIDER I USE. STAY AWAY FROM WORD PRESS IF YOU CAN. I HAD A BUNCH OF NEW FEATURES VISITED UPON ME BY MY WEBSITE PROVIDER AND HAD A HARD TIME BRINGING THE NEW STUFF UNDER EVEN NOMINAL CONTROL.
BUT, HEY, HERE IT IS. UNSATISFACTORY AS IT MAY BE. F YOU DON’T LIKE IT, HIT THE DELETE BUTTON AND/OR HAVE ANOTHER MARGARITA AND ENJOY IT ANYHOW.]
ABOVE
IMAGE OF THE MAP OF COPPER CANYON, OUR DESTINATION
BELOW
EL FUERTE
An interesting little colonial town. Home to a hilltop fort, a closed museum, and a swarm of bothersome “no seeum” little insects. They turned out to be our only threatening encounter with wildlife on this excursion. Fuerte was reputedly home to the original “El Zorro” He appeared at dinner and threatened to dance away with female members of our company.
We, of course could never allow such a thing to happen, and he soon retired in disgrace.
HOTEL MISION
We’re at about 8, 000 feet elevation now. High enough to look out on the rest of the world. And at the same time, the rest of the world falls away. How often do we get to go both high and deep at the same time? It’s the geography we came for.
VARIOUS SITES AND INSIGHTS
More important than the wonderful scenery, though were the people. The Tarahumara or Raramuri people are in ancient indigenous tribe who have dwelt in these hills and valleys for many centuries. They are legendary long distance runners. That ability supposedly came from their tenacity in tracking deer and other game. An informative, amusing, and heartwarming story on this subject can be seen on Netflix, of all places. “Lorena, light footed woman” is the name of the 28 minute piece.
In the present, the Tarahumara still live largely the way they have for a very long time. They are fabulous basket weavers and jewelry makers. They raise goats and cattle, use products of the land for their food and building materials. Some of them are cave dwellers. The women wear the skirts and blouses you will see in the following photos as their everyday clothing. They are not just dressing up for tourists like us.
Me: Como te llamas? He: Maciel
Near the limits of my Spanish. This little boy was cuddled in a quilt inside a lean-to house. I thanked him for the photo and he took a small coin.
TENDING THEIR CATTLE?
One constant feature of our meanderings were the feral dogs who hung around each hotel. They would sort of adopt one or one group of us for the day or for a hike. Very friendly and good to have around. There was one rather savage dog fight at one point. Scary, but no dog died and it didn’t spoil the memory.
EXAMPLES OF THE BASKETWEAVERS’ WORK
TARAHUMARA WEAVER AT WORK
NO WONDER THAT THE NATIVES THOUGHT OF THESE FORMATIONS AS A VILLAGE OF GIANT GODS
RANDOM MOMENTS (THERE WERE LOTS OF THESE.)
UNCLE SAM RIGHT HERE–NAMED AFTER SUSANNE’S FATHER
YET DESPITE ALL THE SCENERY AND UNIQUE PEOPLE, THIS IS STILL MEXICO, AND HOW COULD WE LEAVE WITHOUT A FIESTA? THIS ONE MARCHED BY COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED, BUT IF WE’D DESIGNED IT, IT COULDN’T HAVE BEEN BETTER.
So, like the girl in the lavender dress, we Busterites wave adios to our amigos and memorias, climb back on El Chepe for a grand ride back to Los Mochis, Tijuana, and all the rest, our lives much enriched by this extraordinary adventure in La Barranca del Cobre.
EPILOGUE
AT THE AIRPORT
A MOST FRIENDLY SENORITA WRAPS SARAH’S WALKING STICK IN SEVERAL LAYERS OF PLASTIC. IT IS NOW LEGAL LUGGAGE
AND WE ARE HOMEWARD BOUND. HASTA LUEGO, NEW FRIENDS. WHAT A TIME WE HAD.
