| COPPER CANYON - MEXICO November /03 - March 25/04 |
In celebration of Dad's 80th birthday, Mom insisted on treating us all to a trip to Copper Canyon by train. The Copper Canyons, or Sierra Tarahumara are part of the great mountainous massif of the Western Sierra Madre, home to the longest and deepest systems of canyons in the world.
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On a map the trek looks like a simple train
trip between the
Chihuahua, capital city of the state by the same name and the
small city of Los Mochis in Sinaloa near the Sea of
Cortez. In fact this journey showcases not only one of the world's great
engineering feats, but also some of the world's most awesome scenery and
the most primitive aboriginal culture left in North America. The Copper
Canyon actually covers 25,00 square miles and is four times the size of
the Grand Canyon.
February 1, 2004
We traveled 6 hours by bus to Los Mochis and transferred onto another bus for 1 1/2 hours that took us to El Fuerte. We took a taxi to the Hotel Posada del Hidalgo arriving around 4 pm.
El Fuerte
El Fuerte, a picturesque colonial city, is the gateway to the Copper Canyon. Our hotel was built in 1890, a beautiful historical mansion situated right below the old fort that gives the city its name.
The hotel was very charming with high ceilings, an interior
courtyard, massive tropical gardens, swimming pool and open air
restaurant. The first evening, we enjoyed exploring the city and toured
the old fort.
The following morning, we were all set to continue on our trip when we got the distressing news that the train had derailed in a tunnel and would not be running until "manaņa." We went shopping and investigated several other hotels before deciding to check into the beautiful El Fuerte Hotel for a change of scenery.
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The El Fuerte Hotel was fabulous. The view from our room overlooked the courtyard with the fort looming in the background. |
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NEXT PASSAGE TO MARQUESAS >>>>