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Vacation Recap - Part 2
Mar. 5th, 2010 04:13 pmIt is Friday and I'm tired, cranky, and completely unmotivated. So instead of messing around with my program - always a bad idea at 3:30 PM on a Friday - you get vacation blogging!
So, where did I leave off? Guaymas, Mexico! After Loreto the next day was Guaymas, pronounced why-mas, in Sinaloa state, Mexico. I have never seen so many saguaro and cardones cacti in my life! Seriously - the things were everywhere. As we came in to port we passed Cactus Island, which was completely covered in the things. It looked awesome but I wouldn't want to try to hike there. Guaymas is more of a city than a town - way bigger than Loreto. Our tour guide made sure to mention that they are getting a WalMart soon - this is evidently a big deal. We also saw such American standards as McDonalds and Burger King. This was also the first place where I saw the drive through beer stores like Modelorama and Tecate Six. I had no idea! We also saw lots of men with very big guns. Security was a big deal in all the ports we visited but Guaymas went over the top. Police and military with assault rifles were everywhere!
Out tour here was going horseback riding through the Sonoran desert and on the beach. The stables were next door to a resort in San Carlos, just up the coast from Guaymas. San Carlos is the tourist area, according to our guide Suzy. It was also hit by a hurricane last fall and we saw plenty of evidence of the damage on the way up. Roads washed out, houses and trees flattened - and right next door a place that looked untouched. The stables were in good shape but evidently the water rose pretty high pretty fast due to one of the arroyos getting blocked with debris so the staff had to let the horses loose so they could get to higher ground. After it was over they went into the desert and rounded them all up - didn't lose a single horse. Amazing!
The owner/operator of the stables is Astrid and she's from Switzerland. She evidently came to Mexico 12 years ago to work at the resort as an accountant and ended up leaving 2 years later for the stables and has been there ever since. Dad got Don Quixote, an older horse that likes lightweight riders. I got Gordo, which means "Fat". A lovely, if lazy, beast. It's been probably 10 years since I've been on a horse and I loved every minute of it even if Gordo's only speed was barely faster than STOP! The desert is amazing with all the cacti and prickly bushes with their flowers. We also rode through the ruins of the movie set from Catch 22. This meant more to Dad as he's seen the movie. I've never seen it so it didn't mean much to me. After a while we left the desert and went down to the beach where we rode past some amazing million dollar homes (most of them empty). And I found that Gordo doesn't like to get his feet wet! Every time a wave would get close he'd kind of hop / sidestep further up the beach. The day was lovely and well worth it, even the pain in my legs the next day.
The next morning we woke up real early - like 3:30 in the damn morning. Or as I put it oh:dark:stupid (thanks to Jay Lake for that phrase). After dressing quickly we went to a special breakfast that was laid out for the people going on the Copper Canyon train trip. Then it was on to the buses for a two hour trip from Topolobampo to El Fuerte. the sun was just coming up as we got to the train station in El Fuerte where the Chihuahua al Pacifico was waiting for us. The train took us up into the canyons to Posada Barracas and the Hotel Mirador, perched on the side of the canyon. A six hour trip. One way. Eight hours if you count the bus ride. And another eight hours back. We only got to spend about 2 hours at the top but really, a big part of the trip is the train ride itself, which was just too cool. The train was quite nice - more comfortable than I expected - and the views were breathtaking. Here, have a picture:
We had entertainment and lunch at the Hotel Mirador. The food was really good. The entertainment was a demonstration of traditional dances and games by the Tarahumara Indians who make their home in the canyons. The women and children had their blankets spread out all over the place, selling handwoven baskets, masks, jewelry. I bought a couple of small baskets. Here, have another picture!
After a short hike to the rim for pictures and just plain gaping at the awesomeness it was time to go back to the train station and start our six hour trip back to El Fuerte. And then 2 hours back to Topolobampo and the pier. It was a long trip but I actually slept a little, mostly on the bus. When we arrived back at the pier the ship's crew met us with champagne and we were applauded by our fellow passengers from the promenade deck.
It was a really long day but absolutely awesome. I've only been on a couple of other trains - narrow gage in Alaska and high-speed trains in Europe. Never something like this. We climbed to 7700' and back in the course of a day. We passed through several zones of vegetation. We got a small taste of the local culture. And we got to stand on the rim of a canyon and look out over the convergence of three canyons with all the rock formations and vegetation. Beautiful, man. Just beautiful. I would love to go back someday although I think this time I'll take the road from Chihuahua City instead of the train. I'm glad I did it but once was enough for that. 18 hours makes for a really long day.
Luckily the next day was Mazatlan where all we had planned was a Shrimp Feast for lunch. I'll cover that and Puerto Vallarta in the next and final entry. For now it is time to wrap things up here and head to the gym.
Adios!
So, where did I leave off? Guaymas, Mexico! After Loreto the next day was Guaymas, pronounced why-mas, in Sinaloa state, Mexico. I have never seen so many saguaro and cardones cacti in my life! Seriously - the things were everywhere. As we came in to port we passed Cactus Island, which was completely covered in the things. It looked awesome but I wouldn't want to try to hike there. Guaymas is more of a city than a town - way bigger than Loreto. Our tour guide made sure to mention that they are getting a WalMart soon - this is evidently a big deal. We also saw such American standards as McDonalds and Burger King. This was also the first place where I saw the drive through beer stores like Modelorama and Tecate Six. I had no idea! We also saw lots of men with very big guns. Security was a big deal in all the ports we visited but Guaymas went over the top. Police and military with assault rifles were everywhere!
Out tour here was going horseback riding through the Sonoran desert and on the beach. The stables were next door to a resort in San Carlos, just up the coast from Guaymas. San Carlos is the tourist area, according to our guide Suzy. It was also hit by a hurricane last fall and we saw plenty of evidence of the damage on the way up. Roads washed out, houses and trees flattened - and right next door a place that looked untouched. The stables were in good shape but evidently the water rose pretty high pretty fast due to one of the arroyos getting blocked with debris so the staff had to let the horses loose so they could get to higher ground. After it was over they went into the desert and rounded them all up - didn't lose a single horse. Amazing!
The owner/operator of the stables is Astrid and she's from Switzerland. She evidently came to Mexico 12 years ago to work at the resort as an accountant and ended up leaving 2 years later for the stables and has been there ever since. Dad got Don Quixote, an older horse that likes lightweight riders. I got Gordo, which means "Fat". A lovely, if lazy, beast. It's been probably 10 years since I've been on a horse and I loved every minute of it even if Gordo's only speed was barely faster than STOP! The desert is amazing with all the cacti and prickly bushes with their flowers. We also rode through the ruins of the movie set from Catch 22. This meant more to Dad as he's seen the movie. I've never seen it so it didn't mean much to me. After a while we left the desert and went down to the beach where we rode past some amazing million dollar homes (most of them empty). And I found that Gordo doesn't like to get his feet wet! Every time a wave would get close he'd kind of hop / sidestep further up the beach. The day was lovely and well worth it, even the pain in my legs the next day.
The next morning we woke up real early - like 3:30 in the damn morning. Or as I put it oh:dark:stupid (thanks to Jay Lake for that phrase). After dressing quickly we went to a special breakfast that was laid out for the people going on the Copper Canyon train trip. Then it was on to the buses for a two hour trip from Topolobampo to El Fuerte. the sun was just coming up as we got to the train station in El Fuerte where the Chihuahua al Pacifico was waiting for us. The train took us up into the canyons to Posada Barracas and the Hotel Mirador, perched on the side of the canyon. A six hour trip. One way. Eight hours if you count the bus ride. And another eight hours back. We only got to spend about 2 hours at the top but really, a big part of the trip is the train ride itself, which was just too cool. The train was quite nice - more comfortable than I expected - and the views were breathtaking. Here, have a picture:
We had entertainment and lunch at the Hotel Mirador. The food was really good. The entertainment was a demonstration of traditional dances and games by the Tarahumara Indians who make their home in the canyons. The women and children had their blankets spread out all over the place, selling handwoven baskets, masks, jewelry. I bought a couple of small baskets. Here, have another picture!
After a short hike to the rim for pictures and just plain gaping at the awesomeness it was time to go back to the train station and start our six hour trip back to El Fuerte. And then 2 hours back to Topolobampo and the pier. It was a long trip but I actually slept a little, mostly on the bus. When we arrived back at the pier the ship's crew met us with champagne and we were applauded by our fellow passengers from the promenade deck.
It was a really long day but absolutely awesome. I've only been on a couple of other trains - narrow gage in Alaska and high-speed trains in Europe. Never something like this. We climbed to 7700' and back in the course of a day. We passed through several zones of vegetation. We got a small taste of the local culture. And we got to stand on the rim of a canyon and look out over the convergence of three canyons with all the rock formations and vegetation. Beautiful, man. Just beautiful. I would love to go back someday although I think this time I'll take the road from Chihuahua City instead of the train. I'm glad I did it but once was enough for that. 18 hours makes for a really long day.
Luckily the next day was Mazatlan where all we had planned was a Shrimp Feast for lunch. I'll cover that and Puerto Vallarta in the next and final entry. For now it is time to wrap things up here and head to the gym.
Adios!
