Mexico's Copper Canyon - 2000

Originally written for the Tracks Ahead Website, Barb was able to accompany me for this trip.

Larger than the Grand Canyon, but not as famous.

December 2

We arose early and ventured into the snowy dawn, headed for the airport, and setup with the crew at 6:30. We had no trouble getting to Tucson, where the weather was a balmy 75 degrees. It did seem a little strange to be seeing Christmas lights on cactuses, but it is just a different part of the country. We settled into the motel, and hailed a cab to take us to Old Tucson, which I had remembered as an older, rather artsy shopping district in the older part of downtown Tucson. Well, the cabbie ended us taking us to Old Tucson Studios, which was an old film studio outside of town. We were there for about 5 minutes, recalled the cab on his cell phone, and had him turn around a pick us up. He then dropped us in the older part of Tucson, which looked active, but really had nothing to offer. We ended up for steaks at Pinnacle Peak, saw an old west re-enactment, and headed back to hotel. Tomorrow will be a long day.

December 3

The entire Trains Unlimited group met in the lobby of the motel at 6 AM. I was delighted to reconnect with Fernando Pombal, part of the Trains Unlimited tour guide group. Fernando is ex Guatemalan Special Forces, and really keeps a pretty tight rein on things. He is a good guy, and I knew him from the South American trip in 1994. I also finally met Chris Skow, the owner of the company. He seems to be a good guy as well. We boarded buses, which took us to the train station in Nogales, Mexico. We had to undergo random luggage searches, but our equipment passed through with no trouble. I'll bet coming out will be more of a hassle. The train consists of two ex- Denver dome cars and a lounge car, which is where we set up shop. Are nicely appointed, while the engine crew changes daily, the car personnel stay with us the whole time. It was a travel day, with only one run by, which we chose not to tape. The scenery was mostly desert, and was very pretty in it's starkness. We had lunch in the dome, and I visited the engine, a FerroMex GP9. I gave the crew a bunch of Tracks stuff, and they let Jim and I sit and drive for a short time. It was really nice standing on the side on the engine, watching the scenery rush past at 80 kph. As the day faded into night, we continued our southbound rush across the flat countryside to Empalme, and the buses for the hotel on the Sea of Cortez. It was neat to look beyond the lighted confines of the train and watch the track fade to inky blackness behind us, while the stars were scattered across the sky. I wonder the thoughts of the people along the tracks, at the passing of this lighted silver wraith, representing a world they could not enter. The living conditions are similar to what we saw in the rest of rural South America. The housing is small and ramshackle, by Western standards. But the people stand and wave, seemingly well fed and clothed. There are pockets of better housing, but everything has that sun blasted, soon to decay into the earth look.  

December 4

After a sound snooze, we awakened to the sound of surf, as the hotel, the Hotel Playa de Cortez, was right on the shore of the Sea of Cortez. It was a lovely morning, with the sun painting the western hills pink, which cycled to green as the sun rose. We had coffee while listening to the sea and watching the frigate birds and pelicans swoop over the water. We left the hotel on schedule (love those ex-military types) - and boarded the train back in Empalme. There are just a lot of buildings, the station included, that are just shells. There is nothing in them. It rather makes you wonder what happened to the economy to just sort of close things down. We had a breakfast of huevos rancheros on the train, which was delicious. Then we stopped for a very pretty run by in the desert with some water and a bridge in the foreground. We spent most of the day running through the Sonoran Desert and John got some material off the front of the engine. Just after he left we hit another two cows, so our total is now at four. We did another run by at a wooden bridge and then actually arrived at Los Mochis early - about 3:30. We boarded buses and drove for about a half hour to reach the town, which has a population of about 500,000. We traveled through a very fertile agricultural area, which grows much of the fruit and vegetable crop for both domestic use and export. Our hotel was the Santa Anita, a very nice tourist hotel right downtown. The rooms were European style (read small) but very comfortable and quite adequate. Before dinner we wandered around the downtown and looked in some of the shops. It was clean and we were definite novelties for the locals. The town was bustling, but it wasn't a tourist town, which was refreshing. There was no one trying to sell you something. It was a bustling place. Dinner was a good selection of Mexican food, washed down with a ton of margaritas. Bed came early after watching Mexican television. The commercials are a lot more interesting than the US.  

December 5

We were up early and off to a great breakfast at the hotel. We boarded the train and did our first photo run by about fifteen minutes later. We are now on the Copper Canyon line, and expect to leave the desert and climb into the mountains. Our first photo run by was the bridge over the Rio Fuerte, which is the longest bridge on the line. It was reminiscent of the bridge over the river in British Columbia that I have on the bookmark. There is another bridge alter in the day which is the tallest bridge. It is rather a rush to be standing on the side of the engine while you cross these things. It is indeed and long way down. John and Gail shot some of the food preparation, and then lunch was served. The repast was a fish fillet, which was covered in some sauce. Barb and I enjoyed it but the couple we ate with did not. I have found the food to be excellent. The dessert was something people were killing for, as it was a delicious chocolate cake. Rail fans and pastry. Hum. Just as lunch concluded, we started to climb into the canyons of the Sierra Madre. John and Gail went out on the nose of the locomotive, and once there, I thought that they were trapped as all the rail fans, bar included, went and stood along the side of the engine on the catwalk. It was a glorious experience, with the wind rushing past, and breathtaking scenery. Deep valleys offset the craggy mountain peaks. Everything is green, so it is unlike the American southwest. There is a particular hardwood tree that dotted the landscape and has purple flowers. It makes for a startling patch of color in the landscape. The train started through the first of the 89 tunnels as we wound our way through the canyons. The grade seems pretty steep, and I couldn't help but think that this would be one heck of a railroad to model. There are a lot of bridges that either lead to tunnels or exit from tunnels. Just my thing. And also that of a lot of other people. We stopped for another run by at Temoris, where the line make a loop coming up the canyon, passes through the station, and enters another loop inside a tunnel, that takes it up 500 feet above the entry point. John and Gail got up high for the shot. The expanse is like Alaska, which means that it is too large to capture in any single shot. It will be interesting to see how it looks in high definition. We eventually wound our way through the canyons to alpine meadows and high altitude grasslands. We tried to do an interview with one of our subjects; Lee who was quite emotional and very good, except the lighting will be pretty bad as we were in and out of sun and shade. We eventually arrived at San Rafael, where we were bused over VERY bad roads to the Hotel Miradore, which is - simply fantastic. It is perched right on the canyon rim, and every room has a glorious view of the canyon. We arrived to late for sunset, but will catch more tomorrow. Dinner, the drinks- all at seven thousand feet, made us relaxed pretty quickly. It was cold enough to sit around a fire, and I wish that we could have used the little hearths in the rooms. It really is a lovely place, and we shall see more of it tomorrow.

December 6

I think everyone in the hotel got up at dawn to see the sunrise. Sunrises have never done much for me, as I prefer the other end of the day. This one was not great, and I'm glad that we did not choose to capture it on tape. The canyon is indeed spectacular. It is not as sparse as the Grand Canyon, and as a result, does not show the rock strata and painting that the US version shows. After breakfast, we headed down to the small Tarahumara Indian village, where we tried to avail ourselves of the translation abilities of Oscer, from the hotel staff, to coax some of the residents to talk with us. It was pretty much a hopeless situation, as everyone was horribly shy. The living conditions were very humble. Oscer said that the people were actually very happy. They had no stress, lived long lives, and generally were a pretty contented lot. Oscer talked to us while he drove us to Divisadero, where three of the canyons join. This is where the second half of our group spent the night. Their hotel was also built on the rim, but not in quite as a remote spot. I think I preferred our hotel. It was only about five years old and still under construction. It would be a pain to get to without the railroad though. As would pretty much anything in this rather remote area of Mexico. But back to the canyons. I think the view from Divisadero was better than our hotel, as you were able to see more expanses of rugged canyons. The tour had arranged for some native dancing, and some demonstrations of the running game which the Tarahumara play, often running up to sixteen kilometers, which in this thin air is no small feat. Fernando said that often he would get some takers on the challenge to run against the natives, and tourists always lost. The train was late, due to a small freight derailment back in San Rafael, but the railroad crews worked like mad to get us back on schedule. The trip to Creel, the end point for the trip, was surprisingly short. We had lunch - one portion of which Jim just did not like - and got one run by and an interview. The group again split in Creel, and we drew the Best Western, which was a fairly new hotel. The rooms had gas Franklin stoves in them, and while initially the heat was unbearable, things cooled down. In fact, they cooled to the point where I had to get up at 3 AM to turn the heat back on. It was frosty and cold here. The town is a little touristy; with the same sorts of rugs, pots, baskets, and stuff you find anywhere. I did not find another silver picture frame, so I was glad I had purchased one at the hotel earlier in the day. There are a lot of small children running around, trying to sell you something, and that always makes me somewhat uneasy. The hotel had good security, and was actually a lovely place. We had dinner at the other hotel, the Montana, which was a combination of steak and avocado, plus the usual bottled beverages. We went back to our hotel, and Jim and Gail bought some silver from a local artisan who was working on the hotel premises. We listened to a mediocre lounge singer, and then all turned in.

December 7

We overslept again today, and were almost late for breakfast. John and Gail sprayed the town for a bit, and we ended up at the railway station about 10AM. There was another car attached to ours, but the crew determined that it was unsafe (for Mexico, yet!) and left it at the station. We had lunch, and then stopped for a double run by at a very tall bridge. John, Gail, and I got down onto some rocks, that were probably very unsafe, and dangerous. We got a low angle shot, and then a high angle, from a cliff. The climb up and down was comprised of loose rock, and one of the train crew helped us out. After that it was just a single static of the train coming out of a tunnel, which we chose not to do on tape. I stayed on the engine catwalk for a while. It really is a rush to be on the side of the locomotive (OSHA be damned) and experience the scenery and the rail ride up close and personal. It is simply exhilarating. We arrived in Cerocahui after an hour-long bus ride over a heavily rutted road and ended up at the nice little hotel next to the mission. The only power is from 5-10 PM, and the heat is a small wood fired stove in each room. The dichotomy of typing on the computer in a room heated by wood and lighted by kerosene is pretty amazing. The drinks at the hotel were good, dinner was excellent, and I met some people who are planning to retire here in Mexico. It seems that the Mexican law has been changed to allow for expatriates to apply for citizenship and then they can own land. Since they live in San Francisco, they are planning on selling and moving to the Mexican coast. The tour group is a lot of fun. I had forgotten how many repeat customers TUT has, and what great adventures these are. I can't wait to do another one. Now it is time for bed, and I plan on waking every so often to refuel the fire. More as it happens.  

December 8

What a day. My fire making abilities were a tad lax, as the fire burned out by about midnight, and I was to cold to get it restarted. So we huddled under blankets, waiting for the dawn, and listening to either the coyote's bark or the rooster's crow. I got up at 5:40, and immediately hit the shower, figuring that if there was limited hot water, I was going to be first in line. I was correct, and had a decent shower. Then it was off to the 7 AM breakfast, after trying unsuccessfully to relight the fire. Wow. Don't get the way of a senior citizen lunging for the breakfast buffet. We then boarded buses for an hour long, bone-shaking ride to a lookout over Unique Canyon. The drive was incredible. There were points where there could not have been more than a foot between the bus wheels and the shear drop into the canyons at least a thousand feet below. Guardrails? We don't need no stinkin' guard rails. And the bus driver was having trouble with the water pump belt, and so we had to stop every ten minutes to put it back in place. The final view was - awesome. The drop to the valley floor had to be at least several thousand feet. One of the group, John Larcher, had his GPS and said that the altitude was about 6,000 feet (if I remember correctly). John got a little to close to the edge for my liking, but he should come home with some spectacular material. It really was incredible. Then it was back to the hotel on another hour long bone crunching ride, where we had lunch, and then back on the bus for yet another hour long teeth rattling ride to the train. Everyone was tired, bounced to death, and dusty. We boarded the train late, and had to wait for the Chepe local to clear, and we were on our way. I rode out on the engine catwalk again for part of the time. The experience and views were exhilarating. The massive bluffs and peaks, deep canyons, green hills and blue, blue sky were things that have made this trip one of the most memorable things I have done. We had a light dinner on the train, and then about 13 km out of El Fuerte, we - stopped. It seems that the diesel had run out of fuel. So we had to wait for the Chepe to come along behind us, and pull us into town, much to the razing of our crew by the other train. We were bused to a fantastic hotel - the Hotel Posada Hidalgo. It is an Old Spanish hacienda, which has been converted into a hotel and is simply fantastic. It has courtyards, multiple levels, fountains, and is just a delightful piece of history. We headed for the bar (big surprise there!) and grabbed a late snack. I got talking to John Larcher and his roommate. John has been on several of these trips with me (or better, I with him) and we agreed that the best thing was the camaraderie. I would do these things again in a minute. We had a delightful conversation, and then, it was bedtime. I'm bushed, and so is Barb. She is really enjoying this trip.

December 9

The day dawned - as they usually do, and we again explored the hotel. The place was really gorgeous, with interior plazas, gardens, and multiple levels. Our room had stained glass arches above the windows, and since it faced east, the rising sun was very pretty. We explored the town plaza, and the small church. Everything is clean, well swept, and tidy. We eventually boarded the buses, which took us to the train. We left the area, and drilled along until about 2:40. The engineer applied emergency braking, and we slid to a stop, to find that we had broad sided a bus. It was a local passenger/school bus that had about 30 people on board. The driver just seems to have stopped on the middle of the tracks, and we- being a train - simply could not stop. We rendered what help we could, and emergency services arrived quickly, considering that we were about 15 kilometers south of Navajo. The accident killed four, and the ambulances and military took about a half dozen off to the hospital. We were delayed about two hours, and eventually most of the group boarded a bus for the trip to Hermasillo. We arrived at the local Holiday Inn about 11:45, hit the bar, had a drink, and went to bed. There would be a 5 AM call for the next day. The amazing thing about the accident was that we hardly felt a thing when we hit the bus. There isn't much of a fight between a train and a motor vehicle.

December 10

Five AM rolled around pretty early. We got on the train, which had arrived with the diehard fans from the trip, at about 4 AM. We got on the train, did the interviews, and packed everything away. We got sidelined by a freight, and arrived back at Nogales about Noon. The tour had a van waiting for us, and we attempted to make a run for Tucson and our 2:20 flight. The van driver, however, had to get gas, drove the speed limit, and generally poked along. So we missed the flight, and now await a 10:30 flight to Las Vegas, flowed by a red-eye to Milwaukee. This was an incredible trip, and one which I would do again at any time. The scenery, the people, the experiences are simply incomparable.  There are two final notes to this trip.  One is a picture of all of us, as I didn't want to leave this story with an accident picture.  Secondly, we heard in March that FerroMex had raised their rates by a factor of three for charter trips.  Virtually all rail companies were leaving the area and canceling all future trips.  Check with a reputable operator before signing up for this trip.  Things change rapidly, so it could all be back to normal by the time you read this.  I would also point out, that we left the sunny climate of Tuicson to arrive in Milwaukee just moments before a snow storm.  From this date forward, it snowed every day through Christmas.  The piles we so high you couldn't see around a corner.