Canyon in the mist

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This morning we are up early and ready for Claudia to pick us up. We drop our luggage back at the Cabanas Portales. We are not expecting much as we are guessing that, translated, this means Portacabins! We are expecting more of the same from yesterday...or could be worse? Oh, and we didn’t need our mossy net as it was far too cold for the little blighters - another useless bit of luggage that we are lugging around. We are pleased to find a much nicer room with two big comfy beds...not a bit like a portacabin! Maybe they should change their name?

After dropping our luggage we are off to the Mirador - reputedly one of the best canyon viewpoints. It also has an adventure park and we arrive just as it begins to rain. And actually it’s pretty cold! Good job we have been carting those fleeces round with us after all! Our waterproofs also get their first airing as it soon turns from drizzle to hammering! Unlucky? Maybe, but the views are breathtaking so we count ourselves lucky to be here at all.

Claudia leads us to the various adventure activities. First there is a sheer rock face abseiling area - no way! Now there is the zip wire, the longest in Latin America. It looks scary and Claudia recommends we look at the slightly shorter seven wire course. To be honest, I really wanted to do this but the seven wires involves a walk across open rope bridges. Not to worry, they attach a rope to you incase you fall off, says Claudia! I have to declare myself chicken even before I mention the fact that at the moment it’s not open anyway because of the poor weather! That just leaves the cable car - this I can cope with (if it continues to run), but no point doing it yet as we are disappearing into the cloud.

We head for the restaurant to shelter from the rain. Here they have a glass fronted building so we can enjoy the views in relative comfort. I say ‘relative’ as I believe the chairs have been made deliberately uncomfortable to make sure you don’t outstay your welcome! There is an outside balcony which is closed for our own safety and also a section of glass floor which is inside and free for anyone to walk across - this ratifies my decision not to attempt the rope bridge - seriously, it makes me feel ill just standing on the edge!

All the best tables next to the glass are occupied but two Mexicans invite us to share - a mother and daughter from Mexico City who also came to do the zip line. They were also in Los Mochis when they found out the trains had been cancelled. They took the mountain bus and confirm that it was terrible - 12 hours on a cramped bus. We share a joke about the bus company: Cuauhtemoc Rapides...should be called Cuauhtemoc Slow! We order ham omelettes and hot chocolate - we certainly need something warm today!

Breakfast finished and the canyon is still shrouded in mist. It is coming and going. We wait for a clearish spell and decide to take our chances on the cable car which appears to still be operating. The next one is one leaving in ten minutes.

Our cable car is large and there are several other brave souls making the 3km trip across the valley to the next peak. There is a running commentary sending the other passengers running from one side to another, presumably as ‘must see’ locations are pointed out. As we don’t understand a word of it, we take the opportunity to run in the opposite direction, taking our pictures from the other side!

We arrive at our destination and step out, back into the drizzle. It’s definitely getting worse! There is a man with a guitar busking and many souvenir stalls. It’s a pity there is nowhere really to walk but there are a few decent viewpoints.

The cable car is ready to take us back. If the weather had been better then I am sure we would have stayed longer. As it is, we are both cold and wet. We call Claudia for our lift back to the accommodation, picking up a hot chicken taco on the way back from the Tarahumara ladies who are cooking over flaming oil drums.

Back at the cabins, we sit down for a cup of hot chocolate in the restaurant and then settle down in our room for the afternoon wrapped in fleeces and blankets. Seriously it’s that cold and damp! It’s still pouring with rain and we are very cold. Our room has a heater but it doesn’t appear to work. We decide just to get under the blankets fully clothed to try to warm up!

It’s late afternoon and we hear the tooting of the train. Grrrr, it appears they have mended the track and are now running the train again. No guarantees we would have secured the tickets though as our tickets were booked from El Fuerte for two days ago. Claudia also tells us that there was really no guarantee the train would run - a bit like British Rail then?

This evening we are eating with the family. Claudia’s mother in law has cooked a traditional dish of the region: ‘Caldillo de res’ - it’s like a mince beef stew with vegetables and a slight after kick - a slightly spicy version of savoury mince then. With it we have rice and tortillas with a home made plum juice. Someone also comes to our room to switch the gas on for a couple of hours. So now we are feeling very snug.

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