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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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To get to the start of our Copper Canyon train trip, instead of a long slow ferry from Baja California and arriving at midnight, we went for the 1 hour flight to Los Mochis in a 13 passenger, single engine Cessna Grand Caravan. One of us enjoyed it.

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Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) was named by the Spanish who mistakenly believed the greenish lichen to be copper. The “Copper Canyon” is actually a system of many canyons dating back about 60 million years when huge plateaus of land formed with cracks about 1 meter in depth. Water and wind, constant erosion over millions of years, created the kilometre deep canyons from these cracks.

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With an extra day in El Fuerte [41] , a colonial style Mexican Pueblo Mágico founded in 1564, we were able to kayak down the sparkling River with several rapids sections and many birds, stopping for a hike up a small hill to see 2000 year old petroglyphs. We boarded the El Chepe train here in El Fuerte.

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The Chihuahua al Pacífico (Chepe) railroad with its 37 bridges, 89 tunnels, a 180 degree turn and elevations from sea level to 2500 metres took almost 90 years to complete. Originally it ran 2000 kilometres from Wichita, Kansas to the Sea of Cortez in México, but now it carries freight, locals and tourists the 640 kilometres between Chihuahua and Los Mochis on the most dramatic train ride in the western hemisphere.

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We got off the train at Bahuichiva to spend the night at the Paraiso del Oso Lodge in the forest near the village of Cerocahui [42], a high valley community of 2000.  From cool mountain clifftops we had a spectacular view of the tropical village of Urique at the bottom of the canyon 1450 metres below. The former Jesuit Mission of Cerocahui was established in 1680 at the request of the local Rarámuri Indians who continue to live in isolated ranchitos in the mountains surviving by subsistence farming. There are about 60,000 living in northwestern México – the largest, most intact, traditional tribe in America. They are world famous for their endurance and long distance running; some of them are capable of running without stopping for 20 hours.

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Next day we took the train on to Posada Barrancas [43] where we stayed in the Mirador Hotel perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the junction of Urique, Tararecua and Copper Canyons. Our room had a balcony hanging over the canyons and an absolutely stunning vista. No need to do anything here, just looking was enough. The canyons under the full moon were especially beautiful.

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The following morning we were driven to the many great canyon viewing places in the Divisadero area. Somehow the canyons looked different from every one. From there we continued on to the alpine style village of Creel [44] at 2400 metres.

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The conquest of the harsh desert of California represented one of the greatest missionary accomplishments of New Spain. The Jesuits built 17 Missions in Baja California between 1697 and 1767 when they were expelled from all of the Americas. Only a handful remain. A mission was much more than a church building; it was an organization and a centre of “civilization” giving Spain a valuable presence in California, and keeping out other European powers. Unfortunately, the Baja Indians were all but eliminated by conflict and diseases and by the early twentieth century their languages and traditional culture became extinct.

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The first mission, Nuestra Señora de Loreto, was established in Loreto [37] in 1697. This normally sleepy seaside town comes alive for winter whale watching. We hired a taxi driving through gorgeous desert scenery to the second and most beautiful mission, San Francisco Javier established in 1699. Original aqueducts still water olive trees and date palms introduced by the Jesuits continuing to provide a livelihood for the pretty oasis pueblo.

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Santa Rosalia de Mulegé [38] was the 4th Mission, established in 1705. During the American-Mexican war of 1846-1848, the USA occupied long stretches of the Mexican Pacific coast. The people of Mulegé defeated the “Gringos” and it was never taken. The town´s official name is now Heroica Mulegé. To remember the battle of the 1847, every year on 02 October it becomes the capital of Mexico for a day. Salvador, a local guide, took us west of Mulegé into the La Trinidad Canyon in the Sierra de Guadalupe Mountains to see exceptional prehistoric cave paintings that have resisted the elements for thousands of years.

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On a dark desert highway, we had to stop for the night. I heard the mission bell, and I was thinking to myself “this could be heaven or this could be hell”. Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place. (Apologies to The Eagles) Todos Santos [39] has a “grown up from the 1970s hippy era” feel about it with lots of galleries and artists, but minus the drugs. Of course we just had to stay in the Hotel California which really is lovely.

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San Jose del Cabo Añuiti [40], the Jesuit´s 12th Mission – established in 1730, was vital for the Spanish Galleons to re-supply fresh water for the long transoceanic voyage between New Spain and Manila. Today with its endless sunshine, it is a popular vacation spot for North Americans. The Estero (Wetlands) between the town and the beach provides food and shelter for more than 100 species of birds and makes for a nice morning walk to the surf beach.

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