Quick Trip - Day 3

Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico

A picture perfect day!

We were very happy that we splurged on a nice hotel - the temperature last night reportedly fell to around -9C - there was frost on the windshields of cars this morning.  We were nice and cozy with our gas fireplace.  Breakfast was good, with lots of hot coffee to warm our hands - they don't really heat the lodge all that much.

During the day, the temperature rose to about 15C, just perfect for us.  The sunshine and blue skies amid a forest of pines made it seem just like fall in the mountains back in Alberta.

We took a short tour, organized by the hotel, to some nearby sites on a Ramamuri Indian reservation.  Some of these people still live in caves amongst the various rock formations in the area.  We visited an area called the Valley of the Mushrooms and Frogs - the reasons should be self-explanatory if you look at the accompanying pictures.

Wherever tourists might stop, you will find native crafts spread out for sale, especially the various sized baskets woven from pine needles.  Susanne bought many small baskets during the day.

We did not visit the waterfalls as at this time of year there is little water flowing.  We shared this tour with a Mexican family of three but our Spanish was not up to following what the guide was saying most of the time - we left them at a pretty little lake for some reason and were driven back to the hotel - I think they were going to hike up to a waterfall somewhere.

One great bonus on this trip was being able to witness some of the Indian celebrations going on for the holiday today.  Pretty low-key but very colorful.

Once we were back in town, we tracked down Rafael at Tarahumara Tours and arranged for a more personal tour for just the two of us.  He spoke good English and was a terrific host, driving us in his Suburban to some great spots along the canyon, and some 45km to the town of Divisadero, where we had stopped briefly on the train yesterday.  This is really the center of all activities in the canyon and the views are magnificent.  One odd site along the way was a "landing strip" just off the highway, created by drug runners - the army has placed rocks all over it to discourage its use - just a dose of reality regarding the current plight of Mexcio.

Just outside of the town of Divisadero is a relatively new state-run "adventure park" development where we were able to take a 3km cable car ride across a portion of the canyon.  It is possible to zip-line this route one-way and take the cable car back but we did not feel we had the time for it.  Needless to say, there were magnificent views to be had.  Note: On the far side of the cable car route we ran into the Trafalgar tour group, so we had lots of company on the ride back - just when we were getting used to having the place to ourselves.

After we got back from the cable car, we were able hike along a cobblestone trail all along the cliff top, back to Divisadero, where we met our guide and had another meal at the food court at the train station there.  By 3PM, we were back in Creel.

In the evening there were more celebrations in the streets - this went on for several hours and was fascinating.  Another meal at Restaurant Veronica and we had a fitting end to a perfect day.

Originally we had thought we would take the train back only as far as Posada Barrabcas (just 4km from Divisadero) but we now feel we have seen the best this area has to offer and are ready to start heading back home.

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