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Published: February 27th 2006
The Copper Canyon
This is the view from El Mirador looking into the canyonlands.So there I was, sitting in the saddle of El Blanco. El Blanco was a hansom, white, Mexican horse, a horse that any caballero would be proud to ride - That was my first impression of El Blanco. My guide repeatedly assured me, “El Caballo es muy tranquillo” (The horse is very tranquil) when I was paired with him - I didn’t let the uneasy tone in his voice dampen my spirits. We mounted our animals and headed out towards Lake Arareko, the day’s ultimate destination. There were seven of us in total - Five French caballeros, one American (me) and our Spanish speaking guide. I enjoyed El Blanco’s calm disposition, he went where I asked him to with only minimal prodding. Surely the guide’s apprehensive look at the beginning was incorrect, the minor control problems I was having could easily have been written off as inexperience. I calmly guided my horse along past amazing rock formations, fenced fields full of the famous sharp-horned Spanish bulls and cows and the homes of the Tarahumara people who lived there - Some of the homes were actually caves with doors, but the Tarahumara culture is far from that of the ‘cavemen’. El Blanco
Mexico!
This is the view out of the bus between Juarez and Chihuahua. did fine as we passed the Valley of the Mushrooms and the Valley of the Frogs - The valleys were named after amazing rock formations that look surprisingly like their namesakes. We came to an old mission church where we briefly dismounted to take a look inside the simple, stone church. From there we rode up a hill, past a graveyard and into the next valley. The next valley is where El Blanco gave me a taste of his Mr. Hyde. He decided to run and most of the time running is a fun thing and I did enjoy it, but I didn’t ask him to run and when I asked him to slow down he was hesitant. We made it to the lake with no further incidents and we all sat around eating lunch and enjoying the picturesque scenery surrounding us. Right off the bat when we started riding back my horse got kicked by one of the other horses - Perhaps that is what caused Mr. Hyde to come out for good, but I don’t think so. I think my horse said something to the other horse to provoke it! At this point, our guide cautioned us to
The Cathedral
This is the beautiful cathedral on the Plaza de la Armas in Chihuahua. keep a tight grip on the reins because the horses had a tendency to misbehave on the way back to the stables. El Blanco waited until we were on the flat ground in front of the church before he took over, but when he did I noticed. He went into a full gallop and again I enjoyed it, but when I realized that nothing I was doing with the reins was doing any good it started to be less fun. I finally got El Blanco stopped in the church yard and when the others caught up one of them said, “Did you do that on purpose?” - She was the most experienced in the group, which led me to believe that I at least ‘looked’ like I knew what I was doing. The guide could only smile. I managed to coax Dr. Jeckle back out for a few minutes by putting El Blanco at the back of the pack, but as soon as we reached the flat straight road Dr. Jeckle died. El Blanco went into another full speed gallop, but this time my tugging on the reins made him accelerate! By some miracle I got him to briefly stop,
The Palacio de Gobierno
This is the amazing courtyard of the Palacio de Gobierno in Chihuahua. but the sound of the approaching horses made him shoot off again, this time like a rocket. I could hear the ‘Clumpity’, ‘Clumpity’, ‘Clump’ of his hooves on the dirt road get faster and faster and I could feel my boot getting perilously close to popping out of the stirrup, so I gave up on the reins and concentrated on staying on the horse. I held the saddle with both hands, I dug my toes as deep into the stirrups as I could and I stood up ever so slightly and gripped the saddle with my legs. At this point, El Blanco went into warp speed and I was experiencing a mix of exhilaration and extreme concentration - The same feeling you get when you are climbing a difficult pitch in the mountains, one that will end in injury if you mess up. Fear is not the word for it because you know the two outcomes and succeeding is the only option that is acceptable. El Blanco was giving it everything he had and, stubbornly, I held on. I was saved by a barbed-wire fence - I wasn’t sure weather or not the horse had planed on jumping the fence
The Altar de la Patria
This is where the revolutionary Hidalgo was executed the Palacio de Gobierno in Chihuahua. and I held on extra tight, but he stopped. There we stood facing the fence when the rest of the group showed up laughing (I wasn’t hurt, so it was a laughing occasion). They opened the gate and I reluctantly left my sanctuary. Mr. Hyde stayed dormant until we got back on flat ground, but then he was off again - That time I didn’t even try to stop him, because there was nothing but open pasture between us and the stables. In hindsight the ride was a lot of fun and a major adrenalin rush, but that is because I didn’t get hurt. The only injury I sustained was a pair of blisters in a not so good place! At the stables, while we waited for our ride, a large grey goose came strutting our way. Everyone was laughing at him at first, but then he hissed showing his serrated tongue and beak - Everyone else backed up then. I was left alone to defend myself from that ill-tempered goose, so I got down on his level and I stared him in the eyes. He hissed at me and I quickly pet him twice. From that point on he
Quinta Gameros
This is a beautiful home that was build for the future wife of a silver baron in Chihuahua. She left him for the architect. wouldn’t hiss at me and he started rubbing his beak on my knee. When the others tried to approach the goose went back into attack mode and scared them away again. The dog decided he wanted a part of the action and he jumped in - Their jaws locked on each other, but the dog started yelping and the goose came away with a beak-full of dog hair. Everyone respected the goose after that!
The saga of El Blanco happened in Creel, Mexico, the gateway of the Copper Canyon. I have been in the Copper Canyon area for a little over a week now. I crossed into Mexico at Juarez and after a major hassle at the border, which caused me to miss my bus, I made my way to Chihuahua. In Chihuahua I toured the Mexican Revolution Museum in Pancho Villa’s old house and headquarters - The museum had an excellent selection of revolutionary artefacts and weaponry and it also housed the Dodge that Villa was riding in when he was assassinated, complete with bullet holes! The city of Chihuahua is a nice town, but it is not a tourist town. It didn’t take long to see everything
Bullet Holes
This is the Dodge that Pancho Villa was in when he was assassinated. Note the bullet holes! and I boarded the Copper Canyon Railway on my second morning in town.
The railway passed through some spectacular scenery on its way to Creel, but most of it was just basic grassland and not that impressive. Creel has a reputation of being the best place to break a journey on the Copper Canyon Railway and is a good place to meet fellow travellers. I checked into the Casa Margarita after fighting my way through all of the kids at the train station who were trying to take me elsewhere. I liked Casa Margarita because the cost of the bed included breakfast and dinner. My first full day in creel was spent taking in my first views of the canyon country from both the top at the mirador (lookout) and from the bottom at the hot springs. Most of the activities in Creel are done by organised tours and they are so inexpensive that it makes sense to go on one. The tour of the hot springs required a short drive to the edge of the canyon and a long walk down a not so smooth cobblestone road. Accompanying me on the journey to the hot springs was the
Murals of the Revolution
These murals are painted inside the Pancho Villa house and they represent the reasons for the revolution. French group from the already mentioned horse trek, and a few people from Germany and Sweden who were staying at my hostel. We walked down and relaxed in the soothing water and we took in the majestic scenery - The giant, sheer walls of the canyon, the dense pine forests growing on its flanks and the warm cascade of water that kept the concrete pools filled, it was great! The walk back up was long and tiring and by the time we reached the hostel we were sunburned and ready for a shower.
Back in Creel the streets were packed and the barricades were up, but I thought it was due to the sidewalk construction and I went inside. When I heard the helicopters I knew something was up and I went out to investigate. I saw several new Suburbans and vans pull up and several men in formal military attire and one tall man with a bushy moustache wearing jeans and a white cowboy hat got out. I asked someone, “¿Perdon, Quien Es?” and he replied “Es el Presidente de Mexico” - That was my first flawless conversation in Spanish! President Fox walked along shaking hands and greeting
The Courtyard
This is one of the many courtyards at the Pancho Villa house. everyone - I figured I would stay a row back so more Mexicans could shake his hand, but he still said, “Buenas Tardes” to me! He then walked back to the hospital and left - It was an unexpected treat!
The next day was the great horse trek. That evening I had dinner at Margaritas like normal and then I went out with a few friends from the hostel and some Swiss people they had met earlier. I was the only non French speaking person there so the conversation was difficult to follow. It was funny when the French group from earlier came in making me the only non French speaker out of ten people - It was a lot of fun!
The following morning I planned an excursion deep into the canyon country. My destination was Batopilas, a small mining town with a prosperous past. Batopilas is located in Batopilas Canyon and to get there I would have to traverse Copper, Urique and Batopilas Canyons. The journey alone would be an adventure! We piled into the ‘bus’, which was a Chevy Suburban, and we put Creel behind us. The road through Copper and Urique Canyons was in
On the Train
One of the many bridges on the Copper Canyon Railway. excellent shape and our driver handled the winding road with the expertise (and speed) of a Formula 1 driver. I tried to take pictures of the amazing scenery while I braced myself in the curves. We made a brief stop just before the turn off to Batopilas and then we left the asphalt road for a rough, white, dirt road. At first we passed through dense forest that, along the road, was covered in white dust that looked like snow. After a while the road came out of the forest and we saw the immense beauty of Batopilas Canyon before us. That is where the exciting part of the ride began! I was sitting at the passenger side window in the middle row of seats and from my vantage point I could see deep down into the canyon below. The road was just wide enough for one vehicle and at many places not even that wide. At times I could look out of my window and see straight down without seeing the road at all. There were no guardrails at any point on our decent into the canyon and every now and then we were shielded from the precipice by
A View from the Train
The train passes through some picturesque scenery between Chihuahua and Creel. a large rock or a tree, but for the most part nothing stood in the way of us testing how well the Suburban would bounce after a 1000+ foot fall. Luckily, the driver was very experienced on the road and his previous Formula 1 driving style was replaced with a slightly more cautious one. The exciting drive was not the only thing occupying my mind, because the beauty of the surrounding canyon was spectacular! Across the valley from us was a multi-tiered cliff face that started way down in the valley below us and towered over our heads. The walls of the canyon had a deep reddish tint to them and there was a greenish-brown growth of grass and trees filling the many ledges. Far below us we could see the river and we could follow the path of the road, with its many switchbacks, over a small bridge and around the corner into an unseen portion of the canyon. Other than a few conflicts with oncoming traffic and a few rickety bridges, the ride had no problems. At a few points we passed road crews that appeared to be preparing to modernise the road, which is too bad, because
A View from the Train (2)
The train passes through some picturesque scenery between Chihuahua and Creel. the exciting and perilous journey into Batopilas will likely go down as one of my favourite drives - I suppose I should be thankful I got to experience it!
Batopilas is a small town with one main road. It was an old town that had a prosperous history in silver mining. The narrow cobblestone street was flanked by colourful colonial buildings and the main plaza was a great place to sit under the giant trees and enjoy the mild climate. I loved Batopilas from the moment I arrived! I stayed at Casa Monse, which was a wonderful guest house with two small courtyards filled with tropical fruit trees and a very friendly atmosphere. I spent my first afternoon there taking a leisurely stroll through the narrow streets and seeing the sights close to town. Across the river were the ruins of the Sheperd Hacienda, which was the home of a former Washington D.C. mayor who moved to Batopilas in the 1870’s and helped modernize the town and its mines - The ruins were impressive and it looked like several of the mud-brick buildings were being restored. Several of the buildings were fenced off and were being used as corrals
A View from the Train (3)
The train passes through some picturesque scenery between Chihuahua and Creel. for livestock. I spent the cool evening talking to several people I had met while listening to some live music. The following day I made the trek through the desert to Satevo. If I am to believe the tourist brochures then it was a six mile hike out there, but I don’t think it was that long. Along the road, which followed the Batopilas River, I passed several free range cattle, burrows and goats. What started as a morning hike turned into an all day hike and the mid-day heat was intense. Finally, after coming around a bend in the canyon, I could see the Lost Cathedral, which is what Satevo is known for. Before I got to the cathedral I took a small detour down to a cable bridge that went across the river. Though I had no reason to, I tested the ancient boards and then made my way across - I just love that kind of bridge (thank you Indiana Jones!) When I got to Satevo I was expecting to find an isolated church, but instead I found a small town, so much for ‘lost’. The Cathedral, actually the mission of El Santo Angel Custodio de Satevo,
Into the Tunnel
This is one of the many tunnels on the Copper Canyon Railway. was founded by Jesuit Missionaries in the 1760’s. It is a beautiful cathedral, but it is somewhat of a mystery why it was built so far from any settlements. That evening in Batopilas I found out that the ‘bus’ to Creel was broken, which meant that I had one more night there. The one problem I encountered in Batopilas happened the following day when I discovered that there were no banks - I brought enough money for two nights, so I was almost out. It ended up not being a big problem, but I did have to resort to a fruit and tortilla diet for that last day! I spent my extra day hiking down a dry creek bed deep into the canyons and it was a wonderful day! I passed many mud-brick homes along the way and at one place (where I decided to turn around) I found an amazing, but simple home many hours walk from town - They had giant fruit trees, probably left over from the mining days (there was a mine close by), and a huge herd of livestock. On the way back I found a small snake that I couldn’t identify and a crashed
In the Canyon
A view from the walk to the hot springs. tractor. That night the town plaza came alive and a slight, but comfortable breeze rustled the leaves as and music filled the air as I said good-bye to the wonderful town of Batopilas.
The Suburban met me at five in the morning and we all piled in for the ride back to Creel. The only notable thing about the ride was that there were fifteen of us crammed into a truck designed to carry nine and two of them had a motion sickness problem! I love Mexico!
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Kathy
non-member comment
Smart move on the snake, Son.
You should show your picture to one of the locals to see if they can identify the snake. He should have a name. I looked up snakes indigenous to the area but this snake looks small in the picture and the only thing I found that looked similar was a type of Boa.