We got to sleep in, but coffee was ready at 7 AM, breakfast at 8 and off we went to visit the area at 9. Our first stop was just one block away to a parochial boarding school run by the Sacred Heart nuns. There were 150 students but only 30 girls were boarded there and they were mostly Tarahumara natives who walk for miles to get there. On the weekends the parents would come to get their children and then walk them back on Sunday, and a few were full time. The place was clean and well run. We saw the dorm, the kitchen, a couple of class rooms and the playground. A few of us left them some school supplies that we had brought.
We then rode the vans (yes, it was fixed) to The Lost Cathedral which was about 30 minutes past Batopilas down a very bumpy road! Along the way we stopped at the home of some Tarahumara where we got to listen to one of the little girls play the harmonica and another young girl danced for us. There were 9 children altogether. They tend to have very large families. Then we stopped at a small school with about 50 students and 2 teachers. It is a very poor school for the Tarahumara. A lot of us had brought school supplies, some toys and candy. The teacher decided to had out some of the stuff while we were there. The joy on the students faces was priceless. The Lost Cathedral was built by Jesuit missionaries in the mid 1700's for the 220 Tarahumara Indians. Later it was taken over by the Franciscan missionaries and construction was completed around 1780. Today they are refurbishing it inside and out so it looks almost new.
Lunch was on the square at the Carolina Restaurant with a local recipe of beef and cabbage served cold on a tostada. I loved it! On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped at a small museum that recounted the history of the area with its beginnings as a silver mining community.
After a short nap the 3 Canadians and I got a ride over to the ruins of the very huge Hacienda San Miguel located across the river from the town. This gentleman was one of the first silver mine owners in the area and he spent a lot of money on his home which included a swimming pool! Today it is in ruins and has squatters living in it along with their cows and goats. The Canadians and I were surprised that our driver left us there but he then returned with a few more from our group. At that point we were ready to go back to the hotel but he had left AGAIN! So we climbed down to the river, crossed it by walking across a make shift bridge of boards and walked back. Meanwhile, John was enjoying some 'muy frio cerveza' !
I forgot to mention that our first night here we had entertainment from two Tarahumara who played the violin and guitar. Tonight our entertainment is a Mexican band consisting of a tuba, snare drum, singer/guitar player, accordion and violin/singer. It was a wild bunch. A lot of their music had a very German, oompah feel to it. It is a shame that we cannot understand the words -- I have a feeling that some of the songs were very funny or risque! And since we had a fair amount of margaritas it was a wild and fun evening!
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