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| LATIN AMERICA - MEXICO : IN THE COUNTRY OF MANANA by Ursula & Eldrid Retief   We come away from the remote vastness of Mexico’s Copper Canyon persuaded that all Mexican men, the moment they don a sombrero and poncho, can strum a guitar and charm the birds off a tree with their melodious voices.The combo at the Hotel Posada Barrancas Mirador might have had a few hotel tasks waiting, but hey! no problem! On guitar is Fernando who drives the tour bus from Divisadero to the hotel, Gaudencio, the waiter, is on maracas, Rigo is the singing waiter and hotel "gofer", and, before he is called away to more pressing duties at the front desk, José, the hotel receptionist, is on two clicking dessert-spoons. They’ve slipped into traditional Mexican costume, and enchant us with an impromptu hour-long concert of some foot-tapping songs and haunting ballads. When he could spare the time away from his bar-tending duties, Luis eagerly joins them with a mineral water bottle which he scrapes with a fork. “Luis. Another margarita, por favor!” A family of Tarahumara live in the cliff-face below the Posada Mirador, a sumptuous hotel perched eagle-high on the edge of the dizzy depths of the Copper Canyon. At first glimpse the hotel appears to be etched out of the natural rock itself. In the foyer is an enlarged cartoon showing a hidden Indian watching the Spaniards land on the coast of Mexico and whispering to another: “Be nice to these guys. We might generate some tourism.” They finally have. After dinner we stand on the porch overlooking the stupendous views. Hummingbirds, beating their wings 80 times a second, are busy at the feeders hanging over our heads; a hawk patrols lazily. At the outset of our journey on the Sierra Madre Express we were told: ?Relax. You’re going into the country of manana. The Mexicans have a joy of life. Share it with them.? The Copper Canyon is a remote, primitive area, home to the Tarahumara, small, shy Indians famed for their long-distance running, many still living in caves as their ancestors did when they were first contacted by the Spaniards in the 16th century. While it has been careful to design its tours to safeguard the region ecologically, the Sierra Madre Express goes much further. It gives aid to the Tarahumara to protect their culture and heredity, and regards itself as part of the community. At Cerocahui, where we stay in the colonial-style Hotel El Mision, for instance, a group of passengers loaded with parcels are led to the nearby school and orphanage operated by the Sisters of Charity. The Sierra Madre Express donates funds to the orphanage and mission at Creel and routinely brings supplies to the missionary hospitals and schools. Many passengers send paper, pencils and medicines for the Express to bring up to the mountains. The Journey The Sierra Madre Express journey into the Mexican Copper Canyon actually starts in Arizona’s Tucson where the billboards say : ?Beat the Heat. Cruise to Alaska.? Visitors from the north are here searching for that same, illusive heat. Day 1: The “get acquainted” reception is a hot buffet meal with coffee, tea and iced tea. Day 2: Passengers are taken by luxury coach to board the Sierra Madre Express, some in Nogales, Mexico; in our case, to Magdalena, a Mexican village where the bones of Father Eusebio Kino are enshrined and on display in the patio of the San Francisco Xavier Mission. An Italian missionary in the 17th century, he built most of the missions in this area. Along the way there is a photo stop at the historic San Xavier Mission, south of Tucson. On board the Express, we're pampered. A cocktail reception is followed by a sumptuous dinner in the split-level dome car – a lounge on the lower level and dining area in the dome. The first few hours carry us through the dry, desert hills, mesquite and scrub oak of Sonora, tiny villages clustered around clay churches, cattle and goats grazing in parched fields, kids waving as the Sierra Madre Express passes by. Day 3: There is no warning of the change in scenery. Today we awaken to find the Express panting into the higher reaches of the Copper Canyon. Eyes are squinting up at mountains scraping the heavens, they sweep across jagged canyons, and down at the arid beds where streams once flowed before the drought took its toll. We climb at one stage from sea level to nearly 8,000ft. elevation through five climatic zones. One of the engineering wonders of the world, it took 60 years to complete. On the way we go through 86 tunnels and cross 37 bridges, often looking down on foot and burro bridges suspended over the dry river bed. We reach Divisadero, one of the Copper Canyon’s highest reachable points, over 7,700 feet above the canyon floor. The view from here extends forever, the Urique River a thin thread a mile down there. Trails are etched on the canyon walls. We’re welcomed at the station by a colorful open-air market. What we don’t know is the marketplace is practically deserted until the train is due. An hour before the scheduled train stop, it jumps to life as the vendors set up their stalls. A bus takes us to the Hotel Posada Mirador with its dramatic location on the edge of one of the Copper Canyons for two nights. Day 4: Our furthest stop is Creel, a frontier village of some 8,000 Indians, lumberjacks and miners. We tour the reservations and a Catholic Mission and school and are soon back in Creel where several shops sell Tarahumara crafts, sweet-smelling palm baskets, some crude pottery, dolls and carvings from soft pine bark, and animals of a dark ironwood. The best of these is the Tarahumara Mission Store at the station. Day 5: The free morning at the Posada Mirador to hike, ride mules, shop for baskets or enjoy the magnificent view is followed by a one-and-a-half hour train ride to Bahuichivo and then a bumpy, dusty 45-minute bus ride on a mountain road to Cerocahui. The rock formations are unusual but we have to take the word of our guide that there are also beautiful mountain streams. A layer of dust covers the countryside. We stay overnight at the Hotel El Mission, 38 spacious rooms with an attractive Mexican decor and wood-burning stoves to keep the tile floors warm. Here electricity is available for four hours from 7pm to 11pm and again from 7am to 8am. The vineyard at the back produces the hotel’s own table wines. The hotel faces an historic stone church with a square-domed steeple and a spartan interior. Day 6: There’s a four-hour morning bus tour to Gallego Lookout, an unforgettable vista of the remote Urique Canyon and River. Back on board for a farewell dinner and overnight stay aboard the Express in our sleeping room ... tiny but with private facilities. Photo: Panoramic view of the Barrancas del Cobre. Courtesy Mexico Tourism Board |
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