Categories
- Argentina
- Chile
- Antarctica
- Easter Island
- Falklands (Malvinas)
- Bolivia
- Peru
- Uruguay
- Paraguay
- Brazil
- Venezuela
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Galapagos
- Panama
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Nicaragua
- Honduras
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Belize
- Mexico
- Latin American Xmas
Pages
- Street Art of Buenos Aires
- A week in Buenos Aires
- The Jesuit Missions in South America
- Contact Us
- Map of Central America
- First week in Latin America – October 2009
- Home Page
- Map of South America
Archives
- October 2011 (3)
- September 2011 (9)
- August 2011 (10)
- July 2011 (7)
- June 2011 (6)
- May 2011 (11)
- April 2011 (10)
- March 2011 (4)
- February 2011 (5)
- January 2011 (6)
- December 2010 (6)
- November 2010 (4)
- October 2010 (8)
- September 2010 (5)
- August 2010 (7)
- July 2010 (5)
- June 2010 (6)
- May 2010 (6)
- April 2010 (7)
- March 2010 (6)
- February 2010 (9)
- January 2010 (4)
- December 2009 (8)
- November 2009 (5)
- October 2009 (2)
Into the Copper Canyon and out of México
17th October 2011
The alpine style village of Creel (2400 meters) [44] is about halfway between El Fuerte and Chihuahua and a pleasant place for our day off. It was founded in 1907 as a railroad depot on the Chihuahua-Pacific line.
.
Julio from 3 Amigos picked us up early to see the strange rock formations near Creel before heading down to Batopilas [45], a Rarámuri term meaning “alongside the river”. It was a full day; crossing the Basihuare and Copper Canyons and stopping for a picnic lunch before the nail biting 2000 metre descent down a steep winding dirt road to the lovely colonial mining village straddling the river at the bottom of the Batopilas Canyon. Today the town has a population of 1700, but in its mining heyday it supported 10,000. An aqueduct brought water from the river to generate electricity, making Batopilas the second electrified town in México. Next day we walked a couple of hours along the old mule path that leads to Chihuahua 13 days away.
.
Back up the road and across the canyons and we were at Cusarare (2200 metres) [46] which means “where the eagles fly” in the Rarámuri language. We spent the night at Sierra Lodge, nestled against the side of a small pine covered valley way off the beaten track – no electricity, no telephones, no TV’s, no radios, no Internet.
.
The following day Julio transferred us to Chihuahua [47] 4 hours away at 1400 meters. Chihuahua means “dry sandy place”. Founded in 1709, it played a significant role in both the México independence movement and the Mexican revolution. We had guided tour of the city to see the sights and hear the history.
.
Next morning we were off to the airport for our flight home via Los Angeles and Fiji. After 2 years travelling, it is time to go home and we are happy to say we managed to travel safely throughout Latin America, from Antarctica to northern México, enjoying the experiences immensely. This will be our last blog!
.