10
Dec

You Can Get There From Here – Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, Mexico (Part 8)

Posted on December 10th, 2009 :: Posted in Canyon, Drive, Mexico, Mountains, SPOT map, Town

We’d taken the el CHEPE Copper Canyon train. We’d used our feet. We’d even conquered two of the most dramatic driving roads into and out of individual canyons in order to visit the towns of Batopilas and Urique. All that was left was to drive from one end of the Copper Canyon region to the other.

Many locals had assured us that it was possible to drive across the Copper Canyon region from Creel to El Fuerte (even though the region looked completely roadless on every map we looked at) and that the previous rainy season hadn’t done too much damage to the area’s network of dirt roads. Feeling encouraged, we left Creel bound for Cerocahui and the first leg of our intra-canyon road trip.

Driving across the Copper Canyon most of the roads, nearly 10 hours worth, were simple dirt roads which weren't even on our detailed road atlas. One of the many switchback roads up, down, over and around the mpountains can be seen in the background.

The "roads" that traverse the Copper Canyon region of the Sierra Madre mountains are simple dirt tracks. You can see one switch-backing up, down, over and around the mountains in the background.

We left the pavement behind in San Rafael, not long after leaving Creel. Many of the simple dirt roads that eventually took us all the way to El Fuerte were built to give access to the mines in the region and most were not on the detailed maps in our Gia Roji road atlas. The locals and the mine employees all know exactly where they’re going so no one ever bothered putting up any signs either.

The ever present Virgen de Guadalupe watches over the roads through the mountains.

The ever-present Virgin of Guadalupe watches over the roads--and the drivers--throughout the mountains.

The route that first day was pretty straight forward, however, and we found our way to Cerocahui via surprisingly smooth dirt roads that followed lazy streams and passed small fields of corn and beans.

After passing Cuiteco the scenery got particularly gorgeous as we drove through pine and oak forests. We were almost sorry when we reached our final destination but we cheered up knowing that we would have the chance to see Alberto and Francia at Hotel Centro Jade in Cerocahui for the night.

Unlike this doomed truck we were heading out of the Sierra Madre mountains down to the Rio Fuerte.

The second day of our intra-canyon road trip got a bit more challenging. The road itself remained in remarkably good shape (though there was still no sign of signs). However, they roads became so narrow in places and the mines create so much big truck traffic that it was slow going. It doesn’t help that the Copper Canyon is a network of different canyons, not just one big canyon, which makes it necessary to drive way up to peaks and passes, then way back down to riverbeds over and over again to get across different canyons. We averaged less than 15mph.

Panorama from the bridge over the Rio Fuerte. At this point we thought we were done with the mountains, but there was still a bit more to go on the remaining three hours to El Fuerte.

As we crossed over the Rio Fuerte we thought we were done with the mountains but there were still more ups and downs ahead of us before we reached El Fuerte. (Click image for full size panorama)

Road along the Rio Fuerte heading out of the Sierra Madre mountains and the Copper Casnyon region, heading down to El Fuerte.

That faint ribbon of road visible to the right o the bank above the Rio Fuerte is what took us out of the Copper Canyon region toward El Fuerte.

The road followed the river for some time. Here an old church lays in ruins.

The road followed the Rio Fuerte for quite a while but we passed very few villages. This one was dominated by the picturesque ruins of an old church.

All told it took almost 12 hours over two days to drive less than 135 miles (more than 100 of them unpaved) from Creel to El Fuerte through mountains, valleys and many different environments and climates–when we left Cerocahui it was 60 degrees and forested and when we arrived in El Fuerte it was nearing 90 and desert-like.

Despite the heat shock, El Fuerte charmed us. It’s the most recently anointed of Mexico’s 35 Pueblos Magicos, honored as havens of traditional architecture and religious signifigance.

The picturesque colonial town of El Fuerte.

The colonial town of El Fuerte was recently designated one of Mexico's Pueblos Magicos.

The church on the plaza in El Fuerte.

All of El Fuerte’s central buildings are freshly painted, very well kept and traditional and food stalls in the market serve a mean birria and delicious tacos. When we were in El Fuerte it seemed like half the town was out scraping old paint off the iron benches and metal work in the town plaza as part of one big proud community beautification project as well.

For reasons we're still puzzling over almost all of the lamp fixtures on the outside of buildings in El Fuerte had this same gargoyle design.

El Fuerte also has a fancy Balderama Hotel which has a huge statue of Zoro who, according to a half-hearted local legend, came from El Fuerte. However, we agree with Lonely Planet on this one: a better bet is to check into the Torres Del Fuerte Hotel.

You’ll be greeted by Jesus, who was actually born in what is now room #2 in this eclectically-restored hacienda just a couple of blocks off the plaza. Jesus is dapper and charming and, along with his wife and son, has brought his family’s former home back from the brink of ruin and opened the hotel.

Parts of the property are 350 years old and by the time Jesus started the hotel project it was in pretty bad shape and most of the original furniture and fixtures were beyond help. Out of necessity, Jesus has amassed a collection of period replacements–from antique wood doors and cast iron railings to furniture and tile work–from around Mexico and the US. Jesus’ wife then placed each piece, adding modern touches (sinks carved from solid stone, plenty of sex appeal (massive candles and plushly upholstered couches) and a little bit of whimsy (bright colors and a leopard-print wool rug) as she went.

Add in a sprawling lush garden, an on-site bar and restaurant (that’s a shocking bargain) and, of course, Jesus and we were tempted to spend an extra day in El Fuerte.

The sexy and eclectic open-air lobby of the Torres Del Fuerte hotel.

The Rio Fuerte.

El Fuerte is also known as a haven for more than 60 species of bird and for its bass fishing. We don’t fish but we did take a morning ride in a rowboat down the Rio Fuerte with local guide Chico who was quick to point out osprey, herons and kara karas (which are scavengers like buzzards, but much prettier).

Chico, a guide in El Fuerte, took us on a birdwatching boat trip on the Rio Fuerte.

We stopped along the way for a quick stroll to a collection of rocks covered in petroglyphs. Once located on the top of the highest point in the area, an earthquake knocked the rocks down and they now lie in jumbled piles not far above the riverbank.

Cerro de la Mascara (Mask Hill), near El Fuerte has many Nahuatl petroglyphs.

We were also thrilled when Chico’s son, Sergio, took us on a tour of the Rancho Chinobampo organic farm where he oversees the organic fish project. The farm also currently grows mangos, basil (some of which ends up in Whole Foods), medicinal herbs and lots of experimental plots of staples like jalapenos and cucumbers.

Rancho Chinobampo is one of just a handful of officially certified organic farms in Mexico and it’s taken a unique approach even among that rarified group. The family that owns the farm also owns successful zeolite mines and they’ve chosen to combine the two ventures by using zeolite (a natural substance commonly used in gardening but rarely on this scale) to supplement or even replace soil. Bat guano, harvested by hand, is mixed with it for nutrients. They spray an all-natural garlic mixture instead of pesticide. They also get help from the University of Havana.

Coming soon to a Whole Foods near you! Basil growing in a mixture of zeolite and bat guano at Rancho Chinobampo organic farm.

Drive Across the Copper Canyon, Mexico from Creel to El Fuerte

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24
Nov

Death Drive (sort of) to Batopilas – Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, Mexico (Part 5)

Posted on November 24th, 2009 :: Posted in Canyon, Church, Drive, Mexico, Mountains

People talk about the drive down to the town of Batopilas deep in the Copper Canyon as a “white knuckle” trip invoking phrases like “death road” as their eyes widen. This is because of the narrow and bumpy condition of the steep and mostly-dirt road that descends 6,000 feet in six miles–and because of the conspicuous lack of guard rails (or guard anything) between you and the sheer drop-offs into the abyss that exist all along the way.

Of course, we had to do it.

The first half of the drive from Creel to Batopilas is a paved road with beautiful vistas.

The first half of the drive from Creel to Batopilas was on a paved road with beautiful vistas.

Our journey started off pleasantly enough with good pavement and even better views heading out of Creel. Then we traveled over a stretch of road on which our biggest challenges were the workers and huge trucks frantically widening, grading and prepping the surface for impending pavement. So far, so good.

However, the second half is a VERY interesting unpaved road that drops over 6,000 feet. At one point, a big valley opens up. From here we see the Batopilas River and the road nearly 4,000 feet below.

Once the pavement ended, things got VERY interesting as we began a 6,000 foot drop to the canyon floor. From this vista point you can see the Batopilas River and the "road" still nearly 4,000 feet below us.

The way down over 4,000 feet in only 6 miles... switchbacks, many switchbacks.

Switchbacks are the best (ie, the only) way to drop 4,000 feet in just a few miles.

Once the real descent started, however, the road narrowed to about 1.5 car widths in most places. Throw in increasingly tight turns around blind corners eventually culminating in an epic multi-mile stretch of switchbacks, the likes of which we haven’t seen since India and Nepal, and you’ve pretty much got the picture.

Random goats, donkeys and cows were also on the road taking up valuable space but, thankfully, there weren’t a lot of other cars. We only encountered two other vehicles and both times we were lucky enough to be on a section of road that was wide enough to allow us to just squeeze past each other.

A view of the road down (straight down) to the Batopilas River supposedly taken from a helicopter. (not my photo, found online)

This aerial photo (not ours) dramatically shows the road down to the Batopilas River.

Our truck heading down the seemingly never ending switchbacks down to the river.

Negotiating the seemingly never-ending switchbacks down to the Batopilas River.

Batopilas was the only area of the Copper Canyon where we saw Tarahumara/Raramuri men (not just women and girls) in traditional clothes.

As the road nears the river, the road changes from switchbacks to a more reasonable slope.

As the road neared the river it eased out of switchback mode and adopted gentler turns and inclines.

After a few hours of extremely careful driving we reached the Batopilas River, crossed it and began a much more reasonable gentle ascent on a wider road on the other flank of the canyon. Another hour or so on and we finally reached the town of Batopilas.

The ever present Virgin of Guadalupe watching over travelers onthe rickity bridge.

The ever-present Virgin of Guadalupe watched over us on the creaky wooden bridge over the Batopilas River.

Once the bottom is reaches, it's time to climb up on the other side.

Not there yet: Once we reached the bottom and crossed the river we immediately started climbing up the other flank of the valley to the town of Batopilas.

The town of Batopilas is a former silver mining town largely founded and furthered by Alexander Shepherd who was once the mayor of Washington D.C. The richness of the area’s mines made Batopilas an extremely important and powerful place despite its remoteness–so much so that Batopilas was the second city in Mexico to get electricity, after Mexico City.

Today it’s a sleepy long and narrow town stretched out between the Batoplisa River on one side and rocky once-silver-laden cliffs and hills on the other. Batopilas manages to cram in not one but two plazas. Don’t miss the surprisingly compelling (and free) museum off the main square. The young guide on duty the night we went in read his explanations in English from a notebook with a “script” in it.

Oh, and don’t miss meals on the open-air patio at Dona Mica. There’s no sign but its right across from Carolina’s restaurant which we found less delicious and more expensive than Dona Mica. The food isn’t fast at Dona Mica, but it is home made and delicious. We had one of the best Mexican breakfasts here. It took half an hour to get our plates but there was plenty of strong freshly brewed coffee (not Nescafe!) to ease the wait.

Nearing Batopilas, the road follows the river into town.

The road followed the river into the town of Batopilas.

Besides the drive down, another major draw of Batopilas is the Lost Chruch of Satevo about eight miles out of town. Romantic pictures of this beautiful falling-down domed church even appears on many official Chihuahua tourism posters and brochures. We had been looking forward to seeing the church and we hurried over a road so bad it made the road down from Creel seem like a superhighway just in time to catch sunset light.

Imagine our disappointment when what we found was not the crumbling exposed brick and vibrant domes shown in the tourism publications but an ugly, boring mono-chromatic church being used as a battleground by village kids playing loudly inside and a garbage dump by everyone else.

We later learned that a “restoration” in 2007 was responsible for erasing the charm and the life from the structure. Even Batopilas locals hate what was done and don’t even get professional architects and renovation experts started on the subject. If you ask us, this is one church would have been much better off if it had remained lost.

20 minutes past the town of Batopilas along a rough road lies the tiny village of Satevo with its famous 'Lost Church' that is evocativly shown on Chihuahua tourist posters throghout Mexico. However, when we arrived we were incredibly disappointed to find a poorly resored and dirty church. Above is a photo found online (not mine), of the church before restorations. Below is my photo of the generic 'Lost Church'.

The famous Lost Church of Satevo is a sad example of "renovation" gone horribly wrong. Above is a photo found online (not ours), of the picturesque church as it used to look. Below is our photo of the church as it looks today.

The Mexican government is nearing completion of a new dirt road that will connect Batopilas with the town of Urique in the neighboring Urique Canyon, creating a spectactular driving loop. But for now, the only way out of Batopilas was back the way up the road we’d come in on–to Eric’s delight and Karen’s resignation.

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11
Nov

WAY Off the Train – Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, Mexico (Part 2)

Posted on November 11th, 2009 :: Posted in Canyon, Church, Drive, Food & Drink, Mexico, waterfall

Most visitors to the Copper Canyon get off the train once during the entire trip. Our goal, however, was to use the train as a lovely tool to get deep into the canyon where we would get off the train as often as possible. WAY off the train.

After leaving our truck behind with friends we got back on the good old CHEPE, but only long enough to get to the town of Cuiteco where it was pretty much immediately clear that this small town doesn’t see much in the way of tourists.

We checked into the lone hotel in town (though a new guest house called Mirador de Cuiteco is nearing completion) which is owned by members of the Balderama family and was built and furnished with cast-offs from the upscale chain of Balderama Hotels. The place was like a graveyard for 1970s hotel furnishings–mostly in a good way.

An unexpected dash of fancy hotel service may be the most successful hand-me-down here–despite the fact that we are the only guests in a budget guesthouse in a tiny town we returned to our room after dinner and discovered that someone had lit the fire in our fireplace while we were out. Lovely.

Wandering through town friendly inhabitants showered us with greetings of “buenos tardes” and though it would be hard to say that anything of note actually goes on in Cuiteco, the peacefulness (and short walk to a lovely waterfall and swimming hole) is reason enough to spend a day if you’ve got the time.

Tarahumara children at the school in Cuiteco.

Tarahumara children at school in Cuiteco.

A nice hike from Cuiteco brings you to this nice waterfal with a great swimming hole. Regretfully the morning we were there it was too cold for that.

A scenic one hour (one way) hike from Cuiteco (take a guide, there are tricky turns) brought us to this waterfall and swimming hole. Regretfully, the morning we were there it was too chilly to jump in.

Karedn keeping warm by the fire in our room in Cuiteco.

Karen warming up by the massive fireplace in our room in Cuiteco.

The next morning Alberto Lopez picked us up in Cuiteco for the short drive to Cerocauhi and that’s about when the laughing started. This guy is great–knows the area, speaks excellent English and loves to have a good time whenever humanly possible. He was so much fun that we basically didn’t stop laughing for the rest of the day as Alberto showed us around.

San Francisco Javier de Cerocahui church in Cerocahui. Don't miss the hysterical "English" translation of the story of the church in a frame by the front door.

Approaching the Urique canyon a short drive from Cusarare.

Approaching the massive Urique canyon just a short drive from Cerocahui.

First stop: Gallego viewpoint above the town of Cerocahui. Here we got amazing views down into Urique Canyon (the deepest in the Copper Canyon network). From where we stood at the viewpoint–which is currently undergoing a major upgrade with proper bathrooms, new vantage points and more guardrails being installed–the Urique River and the town of Urique were comically small at 4,300 feet below us.

A view of the Urique Canyon with the small town of Urique at the bottom.

The Urique Canyon and the town of Urique way down at the bottom.

The Urique canyon with the Urique river and the town of Urique 4,300 feet below, from the Gallego viewpoint.

The Urique canyon as seen from the Gallego viewpoint with the Urique River and the town of Urique 4,300 feet below.

After the viewpoint Alberto expertly navigated us down the twisting, turning dirt road that switchbacks its way down to the bottom of the Urique canyon. It’s not the hairiest road we’ve ever been on, but the drops are dramatic and there’s not a guardrail in sight. Oh, and it descends about a mile in elevation in the space of just 15 miles of driving.

By the time we reached the bottom we were starving and Alberto knew just the place to go: Restaurante Plaza on the main drag (you can’t miss it–there’s only one main drag and the restaurant is hot pink). He also knew what to order: a cold cerveza (for everyone but him) and matates (stone bowls also used for grinding) filled with a dish called aguachile.

No, it’s not just chile water as the name would imply. This stunner is a kind of thin, spicy Mexican tomato soup absolutely full of peeled fresh shrimp. We each must have had nearly a pound of shrimp apiece and, yes, we ate them all. Not bad for around 70 pesos.

Once we reached the bottom of the canton we stopped for a great meal -- Aguachile.

The steep and windy drive down into the Urique Canyon was rewarded with a meal of aguachile in the town of Urique.

The Urique River.

The drive back up and out of Urique proved easier than the drive down and soon Alberto had us back in Cerocahui where we checked into his shiny new guest house called Hotel Centro Jade right on the town square (look for Alberto or his wife Francia at the Bahuchivo train station and they’ll whisk you off to paradise). We can recommend it because it’s spotless, economical (about 500 pesos for room that will sleep 3-4 people) and comfortable. Each room even has it’s own small patio. And you can’t beat the hosts!

The next morning Francia, took us on a short hike to a nearby waterfall that tumbles through a natural bridge in the rock face, along with their elated yellow lab. We don’t own a dog (except for Grady, but he’s stuffed and doesn’t hike well). However, a well-behaved dog like Muneko (which means “little doll”) always makes a hike better with its full-throttle glee.

Near the trail head to the waterfall we also got a glimpse of a new zip line that has been put up. Sadly, the man who operates it was out of town so we couldn’t take a ride.

Fetch! Yet another waterfall, this one a short hike outside of Cusarare.

Alberto and Francia's lovely dog, Muneko, made our trip to a waterfall near their guesthouse in Cerocahui extra special--and extra damp.

Blue corn, the staple of the Tarahumara diet is left to dry on the stalk.

Blue corn, a staple of the Tarahumara diet, is left to dry on the stalk.

After our morning walk it was time to get back on the train at nearby Bahuichivo station and head for the town of Temoris. Temoris is a mining town that very, very few people ever visit. However, we discovered a lovely place to stay (the Nuevo Hotel) and a great place to eat (Gaby’s). We also found geologists exploring the area for mining potential (hi Larry and crew) and they were all happy to show and tell us about their work. If you’re into rocks, this is the place for you!