Deer Dance in El Fuerte, Mexico.
In January my friend Susan Kean and her partner George took a ten-day Road Scholar trip to Copper Canyon in Mexico, a canyon three times greater than the Grand Canyon in the United States. She has graciously agreed to share her thoughts and photos about the trip.
From the balmy 80 degrees of Batopilas at the bottom of Copper Canyon, we headed back up to the top of the canyon by bus. Up there, at 7000 feet, it was snowy and icy! It had rained in the night before and our bus driver had to be vigilant for falling rocks.
Boarding the Chepe Express at Creel in the early morning.
After staying the night in Creel, we boarded the famous Chepe Train to descend 70 miles into the Septentrion Canyon to El Fuerte, where we stayed the next night.
View of restaurant car and domed viewing area.
I tried taking pictures from the train window-- not very successfully. This shows the carriage with the restaurant and glass viewing area. One of the required qualifications for this trip was to be able to walk on a moving train. We had lunch in the restaurant and climbed steps up to the viewing area. Quite a fun experience.
Descending into Septentrion Canyon.
The train was long and we were able to see the engine ahead of us as it came around one of the many curves to help it ascend and descend about 7000 feet.
Canyon bottom.
Finally, we approached the plain at the bottom of the canyon.
Susan and George.
During our trip we spent a lot of time learning about the various indigenous groups of people in this part of Mexico. They hosted us to meals, shared their customs, showed us basket weaving, and we learned how they had modified the Catholic faith to blend with their original religious practices. The Tarahumara were in the main part of Copper Canyon, and then in El Fuerte we shared a religious experience of the Deer Dance with the Mayo People. We also enjoyed lunch with a Mennonite community near Divisadero.
Young girl learning the deer dance.
We watched a young girl learning the Deer Dance. Usually the tradition goes from grandfather to grandson, but there is no grandson in the line so the granddaughter is inheriting the responsibility of keeping the tradition alive
Sunset from a fort in El Fuerte. We are now back in balmy temperatures and George went for a swim in the hotel pool.
From Fuerte we drove by bus to Los Mochis where we got a flight to Tijuana International Airport. We followed directions carefully for passport control and literally walked across a bridge and were in San Diego.
It was an incredibly interesting trip and Road Scholar did a great job. Our leader knew everyone at each location. My photos only scratch the surface of an extraordinary travel experience.
