COPPER CANYON, Mexico

March 2018 - May 2024

An open-ended adventure by Joyce Read more

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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 13, 2018, 11:44pm
- 🌙 19 °C
- Altitude: 16 m
- Mexico Sinaloa Mazatlán El Dorado Playa Gaviotas 23.259195, -106.46309723°15’33” N 106°27’47” W
MAZATLAN
March 13, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
First day of our Copper Canyon adventure began with a 7 hour journey through the states of Nayarit and Sinaloa, passing through areas of fertile farms of sugarcane, mangoes, tobacco, tomatoes, pineapples, aguave and sorghum.

Mazatlan with its population of 600,000 is twice the size of Puerto Vallarta. It’s the second busiest port in Mexico and is well know for its shrimp and tuna.

A mode of transportation unique to Mazatlan is the “pulmonia” an open taxi.

The Malecon here is around 20+ km long, compared to the 1.6 km one in PV, one of the longest seafront walkways in the world.

We had dinner with friends of Linda’s. Doug & Eileen stay 4 months in Mazatlan.Read more
Traveler Wow looks awesome.
3/16/18Reply
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 14, 2018
- ☀️ 26 °C
- Altitude: 9 m
- Mexico Sinaloa Culiacán Ricardo Flores Magón 24.183527, -107.11371624°11’1” N 107°6’49” W
Day 1
EL FUERTE
March 14, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
A long 6 hour day of driving through lush agricultural land. Often reminded me of Fraser Valley near Vancouver. Sinaloa is the major tomato producer for Mexico. So interesting to see trucks overflowing with red tomatoes lined up near a processing plant.

El Fuerte (The Fort) was founded in 1564 and named for the military garrison constructed by the Spaniards as protection against the indigenous people. We toured this museum and then boarded a river raft and cruised leisurely down the El Fuerte River to bird watch and examine the petroglyphs “The Wall of the Mask”.

Our lodging was at the Posada del Hidalgo, a charming historical colonial style mansion converted into a hotel. The antique furnishings in it were beautiful. Happy hour was hosted by the legendary “Zorro”. He dragged me up to dance with him! And I don’t dance!! It is said that in this place, Don Alejandro de la Vega was born in 1795. Brought back memories of my childhood watching the TV show!Read more
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 15, 2018
- 🌬 -5 °C
- Altitude: 560 m
- Canada Saskatchewan Lakeview Spruce Island 50.436165, -104.63040950°26’10” N 104°37’49” W
Day 2
COPPER CANYON - Trees
March 15, 2018 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 -5 °C
We came across an interesting assortment of fruit trees on this trip.
Traveler I didn’t realize they are all grown on a tree
4/15/18Reply
Traveler The mango tree is a surprise. There seems to be lots of tiny blossoms for such a large fruit.
4/15/18Reply
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 15, 2018, 11:10pm
- 🌙 18 °C
- Altitude: 419 m
- Mexico Sonora Los Pozos 26.900139, -108.42154726°54’1” N 108°25’18” W
Day 2
CEROCAHUI
March 15, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 18 °C
Today we began exploring the COPPER CANYON on the Chepe Train. It was crowned “the most dramatic train ride in the Western Hemisphere” by the Readers’s Digest. I loved the rollicking 4 hour train ride that lead us through an ever changing landscape.

At Bahuichivo, we transferred to a van to drive to a thriving mountain town of Cerocahui. This area has gold, silver, zinc, and lead mining owned by Canadian concessions. Cerocahui was established in 1860 by the Jesuits with the mission of converting the indigenous inhabitants.

The hotels we stay at are part of the Ballderama chain established by Roberto Balderrama Gomez. Our lodging, the charming Mission Hotel was once the Jesuit monastery. The temperature here dipped around freezing but the wood stove in our room kept us “toasty” during the night.

The hotel has its own winery, producing 5,000 bottles annually and we had a wine tasting after a tour of the Girls’ School. Linda and I ventured around the town, stopping at convenience stores called ‘aborretes’.Read more
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 15, 2018
- ⛅ 22 °C
- Altitude: 443 m
- Mexico Sinaloa Choix El Guamúchil Cerro El Tempisque 26.894463, -108.4187726°53’40” N 108°25’8” W
Day 2
TARAHUMARA - Girls' School
March 15, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
In Cerocahui, we visited the Tarahumara Girls’ School that boards girls from ages 4 - 12. There is presently 90 young girls living here.

Five nuns oversee the care of their young charges. Every girl is responsible for washing their clothes each day, even the 4 year olds! All other chores are assigned. The older girls get breakfast ready for all. Mothers from the community gather to prepare the other two meals.

It is a very tough decision for Tarahumara parents to send their daughters here as they are much needed for chores back home. 20% do go on to college and surprisingly many return to their very simplistic life style. Boys have limited schooling as they are needed as labour back in their settlements.

Donations as well as supplies were given by our group.Read more
Traveler Thank you for sharing your trip a Joyce. Safe travels
3/20/18Reply
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 15, 2018
- ☀️ 25 °C
- Altitude: 81 m
- Mexico Sinaloa El Fuerte La Pedrera 26.256128, -108.70748926°15’22” N 108°42’27” W
Day 2
"CHEPE" TRAIN
March 15, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
The “Chepe” - the Chihuahua-Pacifico train - is one of the man made wonders of Mexico. A marvel of engineering achievement, it opened in 1961 after taking over 100 years to construct.

The trek through the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains has 87 tunnels and 39 bridges, many of which we did the first day from El Fuerte to Cerocahui, including the longest tunnel at almost 2 km.

Linda and I absolutely loved this mode of transportation and hope to do more train travel in the future.Read more
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 16, 2018, 12:19am
- ⛅ 17 °C
- Altitude: 2,218 m
- Mexico Chihuahua Urique El Modroño 27.511181, -107.83544927°30’40” N 107°50’8” W
Day 3
TARAHUMARAS
March 16, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
COPPER CANYON has been the home of the Tarahumara indigenous people for hundreds of years. The Tarahumara is probably the most isolated and primitive indigenous tribe in North America. They are spread over an area of 10,000 square miles with a population of 70,000.

Tarahumaras are famous for their high speed running. They can run nonstop for 100 miles for hunting and sports. Their name means “barefoot runners”. Tarahumara communities can range from small groupings of 12 to large ones of 500 people. They are semi nomadic and many preserve the original elements of their culture. Most celebrations are a strange combination of primitive dance and Catholic ceremonies. They raise cattle, goats and sheep and grow corn and beans.

The women’s extraordinary work of basketry enthralled all of us ladies (and some of the men). The beautiful baskets and containers crafted from reeds vary in sizes from teeny-tiny to very large. Making a decision was sooooo difficult with their amazing array of colour combinations and shapes. My favourite baskets purchased are the ones where I was able to obtain a photo of the weaver. What a delightful smell from the reed and pine needle ones!Read more
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 16, 2018, 10:00am
- ☀️ 12 °C
- Altitude: 2,218 m
- Mexico Chihuahua Urique El Modroño 27.511181, -107.83544927°30’40” N 107°50’8” W
Day 3
COPPER CANYON - Posada Barrancas
March 16, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
COPPER CANYON consists of 20 canyons in nine systems. It is 4 times larger than the Grand Canyon. The joke in Mexico is that “Copper Canyon is what the Grand Canyon wants to be when it grows up”.

Our day began with a van drive to Urique Canyon. We had no idea of the spectacular panorama that we were going to encounter! This picturesque gorge is 1.9 km. deep.

Then we boarded the train for the scenic journey to Posada Barrancas, where a bus awaited for the short jaunt to our hotel, El Mirador.Read more
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 16, 2018, 5:00pm
- ⛅ 24 °C
- Altitude: 21 m
- Mexico Sinaloa Rancho las Palmas 25.988028, -108.85854325°59’17” N 108°51’31” W
Day 3
COPPER CANYON - The Hotel
March 16, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Perched on the rim of the gorge, the El Mirador Hotel was the perfect accommodation to experience the magnificence of this area.

Up at dawn two mornings in a row to view the sunrise. A first ever for me!

On our balcony at dusk the first night, we witnessed the most amazing silence. NOTHING!! No dog barking, no bird singing, no insect buzzing, no distant traffic noise, no electrical hum......NOTHING!! We dared to utter a whisper to break the mesmerizing experience.Read more
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Traveler COPPER CANYON, Mexico
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- Mar 17, 2018, 10:30am
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 2,218 m
- Mexico Chihuahua Urique El Modroño 27.511181, -107.83544927°30’40” N 107°50’8” W
Day 4
Tarahumara DWELLINGS
March 17, 2018 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Most Tarahumara practice a traditional lifestyle, inhabiting natural shelters such as caves, cliff overhangs and cabins made out of wood and stone. Our group visited a cave home. Impossible for me to imagine living in such a confining dark space!! This experience reminded me of visiting the Maasai mud, cow dung and grass huts in Tanzania.Read more
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