Early morning b’fast at Hotel Mision before heading out with Jesus (our guide) and Miguel (our driver) for the 3 hour tour to Urique and back. Urique is a little town in the base of the canyon and the name means ‘place where the 5 canyons meet’ in the traditional Tarahumara language. Another bit of trivia is that the name Cerocahui is Tarahumara for ‘cricket mountain’ as there is a mountain adjacent to the town that is covered with crickets once each year. The drive to Urique was on a narrow gravel road that has some pretty rough areas but all in all…..I’ve seen a lot worse! In fact…..the terrain here resembles our part of BC so much that it is a bit uncanny…..we could be on a back road at home. We had several scenic stops along the way but one in particular is worthy of note….we stopped at a cave dwelling where a young woman and two of her kids were in residence selling some of her woven baskets. This young woman was born in this small cave and used to live here with her mom and dad and 9 other siblings. Hard to believe that so many people could fit into that small area! The front of the cave is covered with a wooden wall that has a doorway so the cave is completely enclosed (although not airtight on the front wall!) There was a steady trickle of water coming from the rocks by the cave and as amazing as this will sound to all of you…..we each had a drink of that natural water…..yes…..we drank water that was dripping from a rock in rural Mexico and I can’t remember the last time that I did that even in Canada! All of the Tarahumara women are excellent weavers and that is their main source of income so they welcome the tourists. Not once has anyone tried to ‘push’ their wares on us though….they are a very quiet people who seem quite shy. I’ve been lucky enough to take photos of some of them (with their permission) and when I show them their photo they all smile and hide their faces. Their clothes may not be the cleanest but they sure have healthy looking teeth and the kids in particular are full of smiles and laughter.
Made it back to the hotel just in time to pack up and get back in the truck for our 45 minute drive to the train station. Train arrived close to schedule and 1 ½ hours later we were getting off at Posado Barranca where we’re booked in for one night at the Hotel Mirador. All rooms at this hotel have unobstructed views of the canyon which by the way is the third largest canyon in the world (with one in Peru and another in China larger than Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon)).
There are not really words to describe what we’re looking at right now. We’re sitting on our balcony at Posado Barancas (the rim of the canyon) and the silence is deafening until there is the sound of children playing in the canyon below us. They live in a cave in the side of the cliffs and have a lean to front to their cave home. The expanse of the canyon is breathtaking and the way the sun and the shadows play on the rock faces is nature’s art. Some places in the world I find myself thinking that the sky is endless but in this place…the canyon mirrors the sky and the view is actually emotional. Our balcony is large and there is no one else on any of the balconies around us so it feels like we have this whole place to ourselves and in a way we do….there is one other tour group of 40 people here right now but we’re the only independent travellers and as such are getting what I would call the VIP treatment. We had a private bus to pick us up at the train while all the tour members had to all pack into and then wait for everyone to be ready before their bus could leave the train station. We were first up to the hotel so first to check in so no waiting for us. Our lunch was ready for us and served in the dining room that we may as well call private as we were the only ones in there….all the tour folks had to crowd into another area while they waited for their room assignments. After our gourmet lunch of corn chowder, black bass with chipotle cream sauce, julienned veggies, and rice (yes….the same as yesterday) with a strawberry shortcake and fresh coffee for dessert our bags were waiting for us and off we went with margaritas in hand to our room #48….a room with the best of views as it hangs out over the canyon further than any other. Actually all the rooms are excellent and all have the same view…..I just like that ours hangs out a little more than all the rest. Sitting here enjoying a margarita and one of nature’s best works of art we can hear the kids going home to their caves after school. The sound of kids skipping home is the same the world over but in this majestic scene it seems to be even sweeter.
4:00 pm and we’re scheduled for a walking tour down into the canyon to visit the cave homes we could see from our balcony. While waiting for the tour to leave….we had some time to look at the handiwork of the women selling their wares along the walkway.
You’re all gonna get a kick out of this next part…..a woman on the tour wanted to know how much a basket she was interested in cost and since she wasn’t able to understand the vendor…she came to me to translate for her. Once I was able to do that it was only a matter of time till the next person wanted me to translate for them. This time they wanted to know how long it took the women to make a basket. I’m happy to say that I was up to the challenge and able to discover that each basket takes a full day to make. Once the tour was underway…..the descent began and is mostly on stairs made of stone and is relatively easy but it’s obvious that the climb back up won’t be nearly as pleasant!
Should have counted the stairs but don’t think I can count that high!!! Once down to the cave homes there are Tarahumara children playing or hiding behind their mom’s. Each of the homes has a table of baskets for sale….I wish we could buy something from every one of them but that isn’t possible so we try to make some conversation and pay them for allowing us to take a few photos along the way. Many Tarahumara are not comfortable having their photo taken as they believe it may affect their spirit in a negative way.
Now comes time for a small confession…..in the spirit of my kids (yes Dean and Lani….I’m talking about you)…..Lynda and I carved our initials “L & L” into the wet cement on a newly patched stair so we’re forever immortalized in the Copper Canyon!!! For any of you who are thinking about making this journey….be sure to look for us on the way down (or up) from visiting the cave dwellings. I’m guessing we’re on about stair number 275.
Once back up to the canyon rim….it wasn’t long before Happy Hour kicked off and we found ourselves back in the bar with another margarita in hand and from there it was back into the dining room for dinner. Again Lynda and I had a table set for just the two of us and I’m pretty sure the large group that is also here thinks we’re some kind of VIP’s – which in a way….I guess we are since the manager here came over to our table to bring a special “hello” from Aldo, the manager of Zorro’s place in El Fuerte (2 towns ago).
Alarm is set for 5:30 a.m. and the blankets are ready for our early morning sunrise watch from our balcony on the edge of this magical place. Tomorrow will be another big day.
L & L
No comments:
Post a Comment