We are now in La Cruz, on our way to Mazatlan from the south. This would be bird number four or so, after a sparrow, an owl, and a pelican. I don’t know what it is about us and birds.
Ralph and I had to approach from different sides and literally push him off the mizzen boom. He just refused to leave.
We are now heading up to Mazatlán. We had a short stop in La Cruz, and pushed on. Bottlenose dolphins visited us, once again. The water was so clear it was a fantastic sight! There is nothing more magical than this! We also saw some sea turtles and whales in the distance. Still waiting for a closer look (but not too close) of whales. Now, if only we could get Ralph to keep his feet out of the photos!
Another fabulous sunset!
This is a beautiful theatre in Mazatlán. Luckily, it was open for tours, but too dark for photos.
I love the doors of Mexico. Here and below are a couple of my favourites!
The large tree is a ficus...you know, the ones we try to grow inside in Vancouver...usually drop leaves all over the floor and have three leaves per branch!
Good friends Marilyn and Brian, from Icarian.
Yours truly and Ralph in Maz.
We were moored here, in the El Cid Marina...quite a lovely complex, complete with pool and hot tub.
In the El Cid, we met John and Kay Semon, from Semonship. We got talking and they wanted to go to the Copper Canyon, and we did too...so we joined forces and off we went!
This required a long bus trip to El Fuerte, where we picked up the train the next morning. The first class train comes through any time between 7 and 8:30am(plus or minus), and the sign states this time spread. The second class train can have a 4+ time spread, but expect delays! Not quite the way we do things in Canada; here you just line up and hope you get on! You then buy the tickets on the train. First class was not cheap, but comfortable for such a long trip. We didn't have to sit with any chickens or goats in our lap...our fear for the 2nd class train!
It was a long haul, by train, but Kay and I managed to keep ourselves amused.
We hardly knew each other at all, at the time, but we all got along well and had a great time. Who could resist a couple who paint semen on the bow of their boat? We now consider them good friends.
At one of the train stops, these women approached the train selling beautiful baskets, some made of pine needles. Thankfully, Kay and I bought quite a few as the ones at the end of the line weren't nearly as nice.
They were dressed very colourfully, as you can see.
It was hard to refrain from buying more...but how to get them all back to the boat was the question.
This little boy was across from us in the freight train.
You can see, we are heading for cooler climbs. The Copper Canyon is at a high elevation and much cooler than the coast.
At this stop just before we arrived in Creel, our destination, there was a terrific (if not the best) view of the canyons. It is a series of canyons, not one long one like the Grand Canyon.
This is where we stayed in Creel...we have had better accommodation! This was kind of a facade.
The outside of our room looked like this and there was barely enough room for a very small, equally uncomfortable bed.
This is a Tarahumara Indian in his native costume. They are noted as great long distance runners and do so in flat crappy sandals. They have races, kicking a small wooden ball for over 65 kms. through the canyon. This fellow came in selling some type of food to the hotel owner. We asked if we could take his picture, he allowed us but then stood waiting for a tip although none had been offered. We finally gave him 10 pesos, a dollar, but we was not happy. He continued to stand and stare with the same unchanging expression. He out-waited us, and we finally gave him more. Both the men and the women have the same expressionless faces. We seldom saw them smile. However, when the children smiled, their faces glowed!
We took two-day tour down into the canyon. This was Mr. Touchy-Feely, the cab driver. He liked (a little too much, we felt) to help us over rocks, etc., by putting his hands wherever he could...very uncomfortable.
This is a view from the road down into the canyon.
This was one of the most fabulous views in Batopilas Canyon. The picture doesn't do it justice. This canyon view looked like a wedding cake or cathedral. The mountain was made up mostly of beautiful copper covered rock...guess that's where the name comes from. The actual Copper Canyon is only one small canyon located in this area.
We have reached the bottom and are resting on our balcony overlooking the river. Two young European girls joined us on our trip, as we needed 6 for the taxi.
What a great shot this is. She was quite interested in the puddle on the street. She was not alone; her parents were nearby and came and took her away when they found Ralph taking photos.
The river in the bottom of the canyon. It was much warmer here and many children were swimming.
We stayed overnight in Batopilas. That is the name of the canyon and river as well. The town used to be a little mining town, but now it caters to the tourists and services the little homesteads we'd seen along the road or clinging to the canyon walls. It is amazing how isolated these homesteads are. This is dinner in one of the local bars. We girls were a little out of place as these bars only seem to be meant for men.
The suspension bridge crossing the river.
Loading up to go to the Copper mine.
While driving through town, we went through someone's cattle herd. They weren't in a hurry to move at all. The driver of our cab reached out the window and grabbed this one's horn and pulled it along with us. And, as he accelerated, the cow/bull? started running along side of us...poor thing!
This was an interesting tour through a now defunct copper mine. Great photo-ops here.
As you can see, it was quite the road!
Ralph at one of the many viewpoints. It was now my turn to tell Ralph to back up just a little bit! He's actually a pretty bright guy and caught on right away! This is actually to show you that he is still alive and well, and I haven't done away with him. I know you must be worried because he's never in any photos and doesn't email.
We stopped at this viewpoint to take some pictures. We didn't even see this fellow until we'd all gotten back in the car. He was just sitting at the side of the road. God knows where he was coming from or going to. We saw nothing for miles before we saw him nor after we left. He had flat open sandals and must have been walking for miles.
Very quiet and serene...hardly any expression at all. We asked to take his photo and he agreed. Having learned from the other fellow, we paid him for his trouble.
All of us on an overlook. It was a 6000-foot vertical climb from the canyon. We had the driver take this shot because I was getting tired of Ralph telling me to back up a little more...no a little more!
These little girls were quite pushy with their wares, but Kay loved them. This was the most cheeky one of all...no, the one on the right!
So many baskets, and so little time! Which one, which one...this one or this one...maybe all of them! The women sold baskets, carvings, fabrics, jewellery, and foodstuffs. However, most of these articles were pretty basic with some had been imported from the coast. There aren't many sailfish and turtles, here, to model for their carvings.
Colourful dresses everywhere. It seemed that they always wore them, not just for the tourists.
This little girl is weaving baskets. Even the young seemed very good at it.
Here we are, at the station. A good time was had by all.
John looks anxious to be back aboard Semonship.
We are now back in El Fuerte. It was a lovely little town and we wished we'd spent more than one overnight there.
There were some beautiful old hotels chock-a-block full of antiques.
Look at these flowers!
One hotel had these light bulbs attached to the wall. The bulbs were full of water and had plants growing from them. The skylight made the bulbs glow just like they were lit.
Quite an unusual sight!
