When the alarm clock went off at 3:45 a.m. this morning, neither of us were sure why we had signed up for this tour. Even the tour book that Sara had checked out of the library on the ship stated that winter was not the best time to see the biggest, wildest area of peaks and gorges on the North American continent. However, the write-up did state that the views of the canyon covered by snow could be spectacular. SNOW??? We live in Florida and don't miss it!
We were told to prepare for 50-degree temperatures on the canyon's rim, which we did. The two-hour bus ride to the six-hour train ride was very bumpy with its fair share of curves. All the bumps were not natural--The Mexicans seems to like to build silent policemen (speed bumps) on stretches of roads near towns to slow the traffic. The train was touted as a first-class carrier, which we are sure it was when the tours started in 1964. Obviously, the Mexican engineers have never ridden in Western European first-class trains.
And, when the sun rose, there was the scenery. No superlative adjectives created by man could do this magnificent, awe-inspiring, breath-taking scenery justice. Our friends Sergio and Naomi (experienced world travelers with the best camera equipment we have seen) must have taken a thousand photographs, being willing to stand in between the train cars for the best shots. We are sure that Lauren and Craig, the attractive young (20-30ish) couple who are actually running their independent consulting business while on the cruise, have some unbelievable pictures. Ken took some magnificent shots himself.
At the start of the train ride, winter does not exist. The indigenous Indians are the Mayos (not to be confused with the Mayans). The organ pipe cacti provides edible fruit, the cows eat the leaves of the prickly pear trees, the farmers grow sesame sees for Burger King, the region boasts the 100 most-watched birds in the world, and the peyote tree provides a white, cotton-like substance that is used to stuff life jackets. The depressing part was the number of abandoned homes with graffiti all over the walls. Most of the former owners were unemployed so they were forced to move to another area to seek work.
The upper canyon mountains are 75 million years old. They were formed when the Continental Plate and the Pacific Plate pushed into each, causing uplifting. All the canyons have faults, and all the rock is volcanic rock. The Copper Canyons are named after the color of the rock and are the home of the Tarahumara Indians. The name means "light footers," and the Indians are good runners. They have been here for 10,000 years, and it is thought that the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico may be Tarahumara. While the Pueblos use drums, the Tarahumara play guitar/violin-type instruments. These Indians only look down because if they looked up, they think they would be competing with God. They are entirely self-sufficient, having winter homes at the bottom of the caverns where they grow crops and summer homes at the top of the canyons. From the corn, they make whiskey, the more time they leave it in the crocks, the stronger it is. They drink it straight down, not sip by sip, and it continues to ferment in their stomach so they can drink today and still be drunk tomorrow. Unfortunatelly, the Tarahumara have a problem with alcohol.
In the 1930s, the government took Tarahumara men to Mexico City to teach them how to be teachers. Three of these men returned and started teaching the children from Grades 1 through 6. The children would stay at a boarding school during the week and then go back to their homes on the weekend, sometimes a five-hour walk. Now the teachers are both men and women. Copper, zinc, gold and silver are mined from the mountains. However, the main export was the lumber from the pine trees so much of the land has been stripped of trees.
On our upward climb, we pass the Bridal Veil Falls three times with three different views. (Are most waterfalls named Bridal Veil Falls?) When we finally reach the top, we observe white stuff up close and personal on the ground, and it's not what is used to stuff life jackets. It snowed during the night, and this stuff was not melting! (What happened to the 50-degree highs for the day?) Our guide Guadelupe tells us that the weather this year has been extreme. (Would all of you in the Mid-Atlantic region and South agree?) However, this is a good thing because the moisture nourishes the apple trees.
We transfer to what seems to be old school buses, in which every seat is a rumble seat as the bus travels over winding dirt roads to the rim of the canyons. Guadeluepe tells us that the Tarahumara Indians are scattered all over the mountains because they like to be independent and not live in communities. However, they are all gathered at the restaurant where we enjoy an outstanding meal and watch a performance of dance (the music is made from the butterfly cocoons laced around the ankles of the dancers) and racing by the Indians, and climb to the rim of the Copper Canyons so that they can sell us their homemade baskets crafted from pine needles (thin) and sotol (wide), know as the "spoon of the desert." The colors of the baskets are green (fresh materials), brown (pine needles), black (charcoal) and red (an interesting mixture of red shoe polish boiled in water). The children who sell the baskets with their mothers are so cute that we buy three baskets.
The view from the rim is not as colorful as the Grand Canyon but every bit as breathtaking and much more vast. We notice construction on the left side of the canyons, which our guide informs us will be a cable car that will change the complexion of the Copper Canyon and force the Tamahumara Indians who sell their wares to adapt to the changes. Is progress always good? At 3 p.m., we start our long reverse journey back to the Pacific Princess.
The entire day--all 18 hours of it--was magical. However, some of our fellow travelers thought that the trip lacked the WOW factor. This is now Sara writing. When we toured the Southwest, I was not overly impressed with the Grand Canyon and thought that something was missing there but I could not put my finger on it nor could I express what was lacking. Now after visiting the Copper Canyon, I think I can, and the missing factor was not the incredible scenery but I, who have been privileged to enjoy a fair amount of traveling. If someone had stopped me at any point on the trip and asked where I thought I was, I may have replied the Allegheny Mountains in western Pennsylvania where I was raised, Boone, North Carolina, where my mother- and father-in-law, and now Melanie and Gideon, have a summer home, the Skyline Drive in Virginia, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona or the Grand Canyon. I had seen all the bits and pieces of the tour in different places at different times. What is the difference and what is the WOW factor of the Copper Canyon is that I saw them all in one place on one day. And that is an enormous WOW!
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