San Valentin in the north

In the 10 or so days since my last posting and trying not to state the obvious, the global situation has changed out of recognition. Much of the world has shut down as coronavirus cases rise by the day and there is a huge anxiety everywhere about what will happen next. "The past is a another country; they do things differently there" is never more appropriate than now, 6 weeks on from when I was in northern Mexico. So these posts are very much on the "that was then, this is now" basis. The virus broke out in Mexico some weeks ago but as I write this, the country doesn't list on the Top 20 of the world's worst hit places. I wish the people well and am thankful to have completed this trip without incident.

So, back to mid-February, I've reached the small town of El Fuerte via a 4 hour bus from Guanajuato, an overnight bus from Guadalajara and a minibus from Los Mochis. The latter is the rail head to the famed Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) but is not recommended as somewhere to stay and indeed, El Fuerte, a small historic town of about 15,000 people, is much nicer. I am there more in hope than expectation of getting on the train. Its website says that tickets should be booked up to 4 months in advance but helpfully doesn't say how to do it. I meet a couple who have managed to find a travel site that does this but I meet one person who tried to get on at El Fuerte station but was turned away.

There are consolations: kids have a road train to ferry them around town. I join an excursion to an indigenous village where they show us traditional dances and how to make tortillas. There's also a charity long-distance run the next morning and people pose for the prize giving.

I miss a lot of the fine natural scenery but heading down to the river, I come across the uplifting sight of dozens of weekenders chewing the rag with a little help from music and beers. It seems they hire local bands to play personally for them; it's called "norteno" music and even a twosome can sing in excellent harmony. If our British climate was better, I could just imagine how fun this would be to pass a warm afternoon with friends.Read more