We have a standing joke about what time we are going to start a journey and that is we do them on Mexico time. Meaning that we were scheduled to leave at 8 AM but didn't get away until after 8:30 AM. They figured it was a 5 hour drive to the town of Batopilas (Baht-o-PEE-lahs) at the bottom of one of the many canyons that make up Copper Canyon. The first half of the trip was on a paved highway but it was very curvy and always going up & down.
We stopped on the roadside to look and buy wares made by Tarahumara Indians. These native peoples live in the canyon, for many centuries they have lived in caves but more and more of them are moving into adobe houses. We spotted some of the cave homes and many more of the adobe. These people walk everywhere and for many, many miles. Their civilization is changing and becoming more modern, donated clothing is changing the way they dress, paved and new gravel roads is changing the way they walk, and schools are changing the expectations of the children growing up. Not all change is good!
Back to the drive -- once we hit the dirt road it became an adventure! Our group was traveling in two white 15 passenger vans and one SUV with 9 passengers in each van and 5 passengers in the SUV. Our guide had included 3 Canadians who joined our group. John and I, being the youngest in the group, chose to ride at the very back of the van and boy was it bumpy! The scenery was beautiful but the road kept us alert because not only was it bumpy but very narrow and steep. If we met another automobile, we had to find a pull off to let them by. At times it felt like we should have been driving our Jeep instead of being in a van. We stopped several times for photo opportunities and potty breaks so we did not get to our lunch break until 2 PM. We stopped at someone's home whose front yard was a lovely orange grove where tables and chairs were prepared for us. Then the van drivers and our guide prepared a hot lunch by cooking over an open fire on a large iron wok style pan. They fried chopped bacon, ham, hamburger and hot dogs with onions and green peppers and other seasonings. They also prepared fresh guacamole and tortillas filled with cheese. The tables were covered with white clothes and white cloth napkins. Wine, cerveza and soft drinks were on the side. It was a lovely setting and a great meal!
Onward! But our van wouldn't start, so the men pushed it down the hill to level ground and it seemed fine. Then about an hour down the road our van died! It just quit running in the middle of the road. Lots of roadside mechanics in the van (i.e.. the guys all had an opinion about what was wrong.) They finally got it started and we went about 2 KM and it died again. This time we put as many people as we could in the other two vehicles and sent them on with a request to come back and get the rest of us which was John and I, our wagon masters and the driver. Shortly after the others pulled away they got the van going again and we made it all the way Batopilas and it was only 6:30 PM in time for dinner at 7!
Our hotel was lovely! It was built as a hacienda in the late 1800's and refurbished into the Riverside Hotel about 10 years ago. It was built on the side of a hill so lots of steps to get to some of the rooms, and it was pretty long. The rooms were quaint and charming, the beds comfortable (mostly) and the claw-foot tubs were unique. I think everyone was pleasantly surprised and delighted with our accommodations.
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