Thirty plus

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It’s 5.30am and I have just woken up, amazed that I have slept through most of the overnight bus journey. Ian has not fared so well. He tells me that we have been pulled over twice during the night and had all the luggage pulled off the bus lockers for inspection. I suppose that’s because we came via Durango...one of those drug running communities!

We are just entering Chihuahua and there is a beautiful sunrise over the mountains.

We arrive at the bus station and claim our luggage. It’s looking a bit the worse for wear after it’s overnight battering. Now we have to decide where we are going from here...we have nothing booked at the moment. We could stay here but, given that we are shattered anyway, we decide to head on into the canyon to salvage as much as we can of our stay there. It’s tempting to choose Creel as it’s closer but in the end we decide to press on to Areponapuchi as we can re-book the accommodation we had previously cancelled. We are one day earlier though - as we should still have been at Cerocahui, the one canyon town that we have had to give up on as it’s just too far away. Our accommodation is showing as fully booked tonight so we take another place in the same town for an easy transfer tomorrow.

Our bus leaves at 9am...we are anticipating a four hour journey. It turns out to be better than expected - a little less legroom than the buses we’ve been used to, but reasonably comfy seats all the same. We are at the front, behind the driver. There are several huge cracks in the windscreen...hmmm, maybe we should have taken seats further back! The main problem is the length of time the bus takes because it makes so many stops. The four hours turns out to be six...honestly, I don’t know why they bother having a schedule. On the upside, we don’t have to worry about food as there are frequent stops for vendors who mount the bus to sell their wares, the driver collecting his freebies for the privilege. I get a large cup of fresh fruit and, a little later, we both enjoy some freshly baked apple and apricot turnovers. We also note some interesting reserved seating for pregnant ladies...interspersed with disabled seating - a bit non PC, but good they have thought about it I suppose.

The journey is colourful with many people in traditional Tamahoura dress. The ladies wear brightly coloured skirts edged with ribbon. The scenery is also improving by the hour. As we drive deeper into the canyon, we find ourselves criss-crossing the railway tracks. At one point there is a train blocking the road. It looks like it’s broken down! In the end, the carriages are disconnected so that the train can pull the offending carriage out of the way in order to let the traffic pass.

We know we are getting close when we reach the Mirador Hotel. Here, we can see the canyon in it’s true glory and it looks stunningly beautiful even from the bus. I can’t wait to get back to see it properly. I have located our accommodation on Google maps so I am able to tell the driver exactly where to stop. Very fortunate as our bag wheels refuse to spin on the dusty pot-holed surface of, what passes to be, the road. We are forced to carry them across the road and now fully appreciate their weight!

We appear to be staying on a small ranch. Our room is simple but clean - in fact it’s probably a bit better than we were expecting, apart from the bed sheets which are full of huge tears! I’m pleased to report that the shower is hot as that’s a priority after 30+ hours of travelling! There was little choice of accommodation and we opted for the lower end ‘stay with a family’ experience rather than five star ‘out of town opulence’ - there was really nothing in between. We settle into our room and string up our mossy net...we have both been suffering from feeding sessions from these little blighters.

It’s gone four and darkness falls quite quickly here. We want to locate the family we had originally booked in with as we are moving there tomorrow and then our schedule will then be back on track! Google maps is not quite as helpful but we do know that they are located opposite the only convenience store in town. We get vague directions by means of hand gestures...take the right hand fork and walk for 20 minutes. It’s all uphill. :-(

We arrive at the store and, sure enough, the house is opposite. It looks deserted. We knock the door and an old lady answers. Los Portales...Booking.com, I ask hopefully. The lady dispatches a young lad who comes back with their neighbour, Claudia. She speaks good English, phew.

So, the owner is away, that’s why it said his place was full tonight...actually it is empty and we could have stayed. Never mind. We discuss the possibility of some tours including horse riding in the canyon. The horse riding is a full day trip and we decide against it as Claudia is looking us up and down and I don’t think we make the grade...she is thinking there is another tour on offer which sounds better - it’s a trip to a village to meet the Tamahoura people. But tomorrow we will be going to the canyon and the adventure park! Claudia will collect us and our luggage at 9am.

We pick up some provisions from the shop and return to our cabin. It‘s time for dinner at the restaurant next door and then an early night. We both choose fish which arrives with home made chips, flavoured rice and salad, plus hand pressed lemonade - it’s really delicious. It’s an interesting eat as the tables have all been made from concrete breeze blocks and far too high for the wooden benches (also home made). We feel like asking for booster cushions!

Now, we are truly exhausted - it may only be 8pm but it’s bedtime!

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