THE COPPER CANYON

                                The First Leg of the Canyon

The conductor spoke good English and helped us find our air-conditioned car. We had been cautioned by several people not to buy food on the train so we stocked up on snacks to hold us for the morning until we reached the Barrancos.

The loud speaker informed us that  the longest bridge, 1636.8 feet long,, on the railroad was  at El Fuerte.  Of the 85 tunnels the longest, 5966 feet, is also there. It is the first or the last tunnel, depending on which direction you are travelling.  The train ride that day to Posada Barrancos was about five hours. We passed over many bridges; the highest is Bridge Chinipas at 340 feet above the river. We crossed over the Simaloa/Chiahuahua state border. We passed many fig, papaya, mango, and avocado trees and poinsettias that were big as a fair size bush.

The loud speaker told us, “Estacion Temoris, a city founded by Jesuits in 1677 is at 3365 feet. The Temori were a Native American tribe. In November 1961 there was a celebration here for the completion of the railroad. A marker made of 22-foot long rails with letters two feet  high marks the spot.  Loops and curves take us down three levels into the Santa Barbara Canyon.”

He added, “Legend says that a cure for leprosy was found here by the Temori Tribe. It seems a captain had taken to drinking sotol, a kind of alcohol, and fell asleep in a drunken stupor. While he slept a spider fell in his sotol and drowned. When the captain awoke he never noticed the spider and continued to drink. Several days later he noticed some improvement in his condition and then noticed the spider. He trapped other spiders and after awhile he was cured. The Temori never revealed to the Spanish what kind of spider it was and the tribe died taking their secret with them.”

Tunnel La Pera makes a 180 degree turn inside a mountain and also drops 180 feet from the entrance to the exit. Cerocahui is a Tarahumara word for enemy hill. Father Salvatierra established a mission there in 1681. A spectacular view of the Urique Canyon can be seen from there.

The last information that day from the loud speaker was, “We will soon be coming up on the ancient native American village of Chiteco, meaning neck shaped hill, which was established as a mission in 1684 by Jesuit missionaries. Old Chiteco is a beautiful old colonial Spanish town some distance away. New Chiteco was built to house the railroad workers. This area produces many apples.”

We left the train at Posada Barrancos in the early afternoon and headed to our hotel.We checked into our hotel with no problem except for paying for the room again. There were no restaurants at the Barrancos so meals were included in your room fee. After leaving our luggage the first order of business was lunch

 After a pleasant leisurely lunch we walked around the grounds and watched a couple of Tarahumara women weave baskets. The baskets were beautiful and came in all sizes. Our only problem was how to get them home---but we managed!

Next time all about the Barrancas.