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COPPER CANYON

El Fuerte

This old colonial city is the gateway to the canyon. The train (Chepe) actually starts in Los Mochis, but the track is bad, the journey long and boring, so the best option is to travel overland to El Fuerte.  The Posada de Hidalgo is perhaps the best hotel on the Copper Canyon trip, but relative to the US it is a little primitive.  A second day in EL Fuerte would seem longer than 24 hours.

While on our boat ride down the El Fuerte River, we saw many beautiful birds, including this Blue Heron.	Here is the eponymous Fuerte (fort).  It has been converted to a museum.  We paid 40 cents to enter, and felt it was a bit overpriced.	It seems that every town in Mexico has a central square where you can get ice cream.  Here Pat, Jackie, and Don discuss the merits of mango vs. vanilla.	The real Zorro lived in El Fuerte and was rumored to have stayed at this hotel.  One of the hotel staff does a reenactment of Zorro.  Here he takes on Don who had his own Zorro outfit.

Cerocahui

The train ride between El Fuerte and Cerocahui is the most interesting featuring a major increase in elevation.  There are many bridges to cross.  The Mision Hotel is about a 45 minute drive from the train station and is located in a VERY quiet town.  An excursion to the Urique lookout provides the first glimpse of the canyon system.

Here at Temoris the train does a loop to gain elevation.  Note the waterfal in the background.	The Mision Hotel is named after a Spanish mission church seen here.  It was very beautiful in the late afternoon sun.	The Tarahumara indians subsist by selling baskets to the tourists.  This little fellow was helping his mother with her marketing program.	Here is Pat looking down over the rim of the Urique Canyon.  Note the cap - it was just above freezing when we got up.

Posada Barrancas

This is the heart of Copper Canyon.  The Mirador Hotel is built overlooking the canyon and every room has a million dollar view.  The hikes and excursions sponsored by the hotel are all interesting.

We hiked down to an indian village below the hotel.  The view from below shows how the hotel is integrated into the canyon.	The view from the rooms at the Mirador are not soon forgotten.	Hummingbirds are in abundance in the area.  Here is a pretty green one visiting the hotel's feeder.	Our guide Daniel gave us a thrill by pretending to leap off the canyon rim.  It is a long, long way down.

Creel

The rocks in the Creel area have some strange shapes.  This one looks like a mushroom.  Note the ubiquitous Tarahuma baskets for sale.	Our guide took us to this rock which looks somewhat like an elephant.  A little imagination is required.	These waterfalls are quite attractive.  Evidently there hasn't been much rain lately so the water flow is very low.	Pat befriended these two girls at the waterfalls who were guess what - selling baskets.