the california native – Page 11 – The California Native

April 27, 2010

Happy Travelers in Copper Canyon

Hi Laurie,

We arrived back last night. The trip was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S !!!!!!

Hotel Torres in the Copper Canyon town of El Fuerte. Thanks to you and California Native and the people you deal with, everything went like clockwork.

The Torres Hotel in El Fuerte absolutely “knocked our sox off.” So glad we ended up having three nights there. The restaurant is world class. Everyone from Jesus Torres to the chefs and the night watchman were charming and looked after us so well.

We could write a book about the rugged beauty and our delightful experiences touring the canyon.

Thank you!!!!!!

Frank and Carol Chandler
Halifax, NS
Canada

April 12, 2010August 25, 2011

Bariloche: Patagonia is Not Just Glaciers

What do blue lakes, snow-capped mountains, roaring rivers, lush forest and chocolate have in common? All are found in abundance in and near the northern Patagonian city of San Carlos de Bariloche (known commonly as Bariloche). Bariloche sits in the foothills of the Andes, on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi, and at the foot of Cerro Catedral (Cathedral Peak), one of the most popular ski areas in Argentina.

Whitewater rafting in Baraloche, Patagonia In the winter (our summer), when the snows fall, South Americans flock to the city to take advantage of the many winter sports. In the summer and fall (our winter and spring), people come to hike, raft, kayak, fish, enjoy lakeside beaches, and much more. On our recent scouting trip to Argentina, we sampled some of the abundance of activities Bariloche has to offer. We hiked beautiful mountain trails, stopping for lunch at overlooks above clear blue lakes while giant condors flew to and from their nests on adjacent peaks. We river-rafted down the scenic Rio Manso all the way to the Chilean border. And we enjoyed sumptuous meals of pasta, lamb and steak—to re-energize ourselves after all that exercise.

Easter Chocolates on display in Baraloche, Patagonia Oh, did I mention chocolate? Bariloche is famous for it’s chocolate shops. Strolling from the quaint main square, with its wooden and stone alpine-look municipal buildings, down the main street, you are confronted on every block by at least two or three chocolate shops. We’re not talking about little shops—we are talking about big stores with cases and cases of chocolates by the pound, café sections for sampling decadent desserts, and aisles of every size box of chocolates you can imagine. Visit just before Easter as we did, and you can see some of the most beautifully decorated confections you can imagine. The store windows are like museums of chocolate. And, ALL of it is delicious! I know! I tasted! More than once!

March 5, 2010

In Peru, Things Go Better With Coca

After landing at Cusco Peru‘s two-mile high airport, we are greeted by colorfully-dressed Incas who hand us cups of hot tea. “¡Bienvenidos a Cusco!” A delightful welcome to the former center of the Incan Empire. but the tea also serves an important purpose—the prevention of altitude sickness.

In the Peruvian Andes, coca tea helps cope with the altitude. The tea we are offered at the airport, and again in our hotel lobby, is mate de coca—brewed from leaves of the coca plant. Coca is best known to North Americans as the source of the drug cocaine, which is actually a highly processed derivative of the coca leaf. Because of its association with the drug, coca is banned in the U.S.

In the Andes, where it is legal, coca is an age-old tonic and a remedy for many ailments. It enhances mood, without dependency or toxicity; is a natural energizer, similar to coffee; is rich in vitamins and minerals; relieves dizziness, headaches and stomach problems; and aids in weight loss and child-birth.

Coca leaves can be chewed, brewed, smoked, or made into candy and baked goods. Shamans in the Andes smoke it for “magical” purposes—to enter the spirit world and to prognosticate the future in the tea leaves.

In the Incan empire, coca was considered to be very special, sometimes magical, and its use was controlled. After the conquest, the Catholic Church tried to forbid it, because of its ties to the old religion, but they found that in the high altitude without the coca, the natives had trouble working the fields and mining the gold, so the church itself cultivated the plants and distributed the leaves to the workers.

The world’s most popular coca product is Coca Cola™. Made from the extract of coca leaves mixed with kola nuts, it was created in 1885, and sold as a tonic. Coca Cola™ did contain cocaine (commonly used in 19th century patent medicines) until 1929! When it became known that cocaine was potentially harmful, the company had a problem. If it removed the coca from its recipe, could it still call its product Coca Cola™? On the other hand, if it did not remove the cocaine, there could be a boycott of the drink. Their solution was to devise an extraction process in which the coca leaves were ground, mixed with sawdust, soaked in bicarbonate of soda, percolated with toluene, and steam blasted. The result was then mixed with powdered kola nuts and pasteurized—preserving the taste while eliminating the drug effects. Pepsi™, by the way, does not use coca leaves in its recipe!

Today there are opponents and supporters of coca, but for visitors to Peru and other Andean countries, the tasty coca tea is a harmless antidote to the ills of altitude.

February 25, 2010

The Village of Batopilas in Mexico’s Copper Canyon is a Step Back in Time

A dusty cowboy rides his horse down the sunbaked-earth main street, his pistol at his side. A small group of Indians, clad in bright colored blouses, breech cloths and headbands, pack their burros for the long journey back to their remote village, while nearby a group of children play tag around the bougainvilleas in the town square.

Cowboy walking horses up quiet street in Batopilas This is Batopilas, a small village located in Mexico’s Sierra Madres at the bottom of the deepest canyon in the vast complex of mountains and canyons known collectively as Copper Canyon. Today Batopilas is a sleepy little village, but it was not always this way. At the turn of the century it was one of the richest silver mining areas in the world, but after that period, time seems to have stood still.

The Spaniards first mined ore in Batopilas in 1632, and the mines continued to produce for the next three hundred years. The peak mining period was reached during the late 1800’s when an American named Alexander Shepherd developed the mines to their highest level of production—a level which ranked them among the richest silver mines in the world.

The mining operation at that time employed 1500 workers, and the total length of tunnels was more than 70 miles. Shepherd did much to improve the town, building bridges, aqueducts, and a hydroelectric plant, which made Batopilas the second city in Mexico to have electricity—second only to Mexico City itself. His headquarters was known as the Hacienda de San Miguel—a complex of adobe buildings which included the family residence, the business offices and a mill and reduction plant. He later constructed the Porfirio Diaz tunnel—a tunnel bored through the base of a mountain, where a train hauled out ore which was dropped down shafts from the tunnels above. The train had to be dismantled and hauled in almost 200 miles by burro and human labor, because there was no road to Batopilas. In fact, the road to Batopilas was not built until the 1970’s, almost a century later. The tunnel is still there, now deserted except by the bats.

Today there is no large-scale mining in Batopilas, though a few old prospectors still pan gold and silver from the river or extract small quantities of ore from the abandoned workings.

View of Satevo's 'Lost Cathedral', near Batopilas Three miles downstream from Batopilas, past an old suspension bridge, is a 400 year old Jesuit mission. The mission, recently restored, is known as the “Lost Cathedral” of Satevo, because over the course of time all records of it were lost by the Catholic Church.

Most of the buildings in Batopilas were built during the Victorian Era, but some date back to the 17th century. Many of the businesses have no signs on them—after all, in a town the size of Batopilas everyone knows where everything is. In the general store the counters are the old-fashioned high ones, worn smooth and wavy from a century of customers resting their elbows on them.

Evening is a special time in Batopilas. As the twilight spreads over the little town square the residents gather to visit with their neighbors, share the events of the day, and relax. Meanwhile, the youngsters play basketball until it is time for bed.

Traveling to Batopilas is an adventure in itself. Beginning in Creel, the road travels up and down through mountains and valleys and finally, just outside of the Tarahumara Indian village of Kirare, heads straight down along a windy, twisted, one-lane, “E-ticket ride” dirt road to the bottom of the canyon. From there it hugs the side of the canyon as it follows the Rio Batopilas down river for another hour, finally arriving in Batopilas after 5½ to 8 hours, depending on whether you travel by car or take the local bus. The local bus is a rickety old school bus which makes the trip down from Creel every other day. For the return trip, the bus departs Batopilas at 4:30 a.m. so that it can reach the rim of the canyon before the radiator boils over.

The journey to Batopilas is a breathtaking trip, but is not suitable for all travelers as the road down may make the faint-of-heart wish they had stayed at home. The best time to make the journey down is in the winter time, because Summer temperatures can soar above 100° Fahrenheit

February 19, 2010

Pack Your Easter Bonnet and Celebrate the Holiday in Mexico’s Copper Canyon

Easter in Copper Canyon is the most colorful time of year. Small towns which are sleepy most of the year now are full of tourists—both Mexican and foreign—who have come to see the Easter celebrations of the Tarahumara Indians. The tourists cluster with their cameras in the Indian villages, but most of them have little idea of what is going on.

Easter (or Semana Santa) is the major holiday of the year for Copper Canyon's Tarahumara Indians To begin to understand the Tarahumara ceremonies, one has to have a basic understanding of the Indians’ religion. The Tarahumara are outwardly Catholic, but their version of Catholicism is unlike any form we are familiar with.

In 1602, the Jesuits brought Christianity to the Indians, who adopted it, but interpreted and modified it to conform to their own customs and ideas. In 1767, King Charles III of Spain expelled the Jesuits from the New World, and the Tarahumara, on their own now, continued to develop their religious beliefs and rituals. Their resulting theology is as follows:

God is the father of the Tarahumara and is associated with the sun. His wife, the Virgin Mary, is their mother and is associated with the moon. God has an elder brother, the Devil, who is the uncle of the Indians. The Devil is the father of all non-Indians, whom the Tarahumara call chabóchi, “whiskered ones.” At death, the souls of the Tarahumara ascend to heaven while those of the chabóchi go to the bottommost level of the universe.

The well-being of the Tarahumara depends on their ability to maintain the proper relationship with God and the Devil. God is benevolent, but they must not fail to reward His attentions adequately. The Devil is the opposite, and will cause the Indians illness and misfortune unless they propitiate him with food. God is pleased by the dancing, chanting, feasting, and offerings of food and corn beer, that are a part of all Tarahumara religious festivals. The Devil is also pleased because the Indians bury food for him at these fiestas.

Of all the religious ceremonies throughout the year, The Easter celebrations are the most important. Hundreds of men, women, and children converge on the local church from villages as far away as fifteen miles. These celebrations are for socializing and having a good time, but the Indians also expect their efforts to please God so that He will give them long lives, abundant crops, and healthy children.

The Easter rituals concern the relationship between God and the Devil. Although God and the Devil are brothers, and occasionally get along, the Devil is usually bent on destroying God. Most of the time God fends the Devil off.

But each year, immediately prior to Holy Week, the Devil succeeds by trick or force in rendering God dangerously vulnerable. The Easter ceremonies are intended to protect and strengthen God so that He can prevent the Devil from destroying the world.

Each of the men and boys of the community takes part in the ceremonies as a member of one of two groups. The first group, the Pharisees, are the Devil’s allies, and carry wooden swords, painted white with ochre designs. The second group, the Soldados, the Soldiers, are allied with God, and carry bows and arrows.

The celebrations begin on the Saturday prior to Palm Sunday, with speeches and ritualized dances. The Pharisees, their bodies smeared with white earth, and the Soldados dance to the beating of drums and the melody of reed whistles. About midnight, a mass is held in the church. Shortly after sunrise, bowls of beef stew, stacks of tortillas and tamales and bundles of ground, parched maize, are lifted to the cardinal directions, allowing the aroma to waft heavenward to be consumed by God. The food is then distributed among the people. At mid-morning the Soldados and Pharisees set up wooden crosses marking the stations of the cross, a mass is held, and the priest leads a procession around the churchyard, with the participants carrying palm branches.

Three days later, on Holy Wednesday, the ceremonies resume, and for the next three days there are processions around the church. The point of the processions is to protect the church and, by extension, God and God’s wife.

On the afternoon of Good Friday, the Pharisees appear with three figures made of wood and long grasses representing Judas, Judas’s wife, and their dog. To the Indians, Judas is one of the Devil’s relatives, and they call him Grandfather and his wife Grandmother. Judas and his wife wear Mexican-style clothing and display their oversized genitalia prominently. The Pharisees and Soldados parade the figures around the church, dancing before them. The Pharisees then hide the figures away for the night.

On Saturday morning, the Soldados and Pharisees engage in wrestling matches, battling symbolically for control of Judas. The Soldados then take possession, shoot arrows into the three figures and set them afire. The people retire to continue the celebrations at the many tesguino drinking parties.

February 8, 2010May 10, 2018

Wan’na Buy an Oxcart?

Located in the Central Mountain Range, not far from Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jóse, the town of Sarchí is the center of Costa Rica’s painted oxcart industry.

Decorated oxcart in Costa Rica According to legend, around 1910 a farmer was suddenly inspired to spruce up the appearance of his oxcart. He painted the wheels with multi-colored designs. Others copied his designs and oxcart painting became a uniquely Costa Rican art form. At one time each district in the country had its own special design, and people could tell by looking at an oxcart what region it came from.

Until about thirty years ago, oxcarts were the principal means of transporting coffee beans and other agricultural products to market. Today some farmers still rely on this traditional method of transporting their goods. The father of former president Oscar Arias Sánchez made his fortune hauling coffee in oxcarts to the port of Puntarenas.

Today, the painted oxcarts are produced mainly for decorative purposes. In addition to the full-size carts, replicas are available for sale ranging from small, inexpensive table top models to larger carts that are designed to be used as planters or living room cocktail carts. Regardless of size and price, all of the oxcarts are beautifully handpainted in bright colors featuring motifs of butterflies, flowers and fruits, as well as traditional design patterns whose origin can be traced to designs brought to Spain from North Africa by the Moors.

The gift shops in Sarchí are also filled with other woodcrafts including furniture, chairs, desks, coffee tables, and polished wood serving dishes, as well as leather items, ceramic crafts, and jewelry.

Exploring the arts and crafts of a country offers travelers another way to learn about its people and culture. Costa Rica has a wide spectrum of art objects ranging from the inexpensive to museum-quality collector’s items. Goods offered for sale include wood crafts, ceramics, reproductions of pre-Colombian figurines and masks, leather accessories, hammocks, woven baskets, jewelry made of woods, silver, gold and jade, embroidered dresses, blouses, table linens, and, of course, replicas of the famous painted oxcarts.

In San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, almost every craft item is available. However, as travelers visit the beautiful and diverse provinces of Costa Rica, they can purchase products reflecting the particular traditions and culture of the surrounding countryside.

One item that most visitors bring home is a bag or more of Costa Rican coffee beans. Sipping the rich flavor, and inhaling the wonderful aroma weeks after returning home helps recapture some of the adventures and sights of a Costa Rican vacation.

So how about it? Wan’na buy an oxcart?

January 28, 2010

Carving Copper Canyon

Long ago, about a hundred million years, a huge plateau arose in an area that is now part of northern Mexico. Seventy million years passed before volcanoes erupted and flooded the plateau with molten rock. Rivers then sliced this lava-covered plateau into deep twisting canyons—the largest area of canyons in North America.
View of Copper Canyon's Balancing Rock
At the interface between the volcanic layers and the old plateau are rich mineral deposits. The depth of the canyons exposes this interface, making the gold, silver, and copper accessible for mining. It is from the abundant copper ore, previously mined here, that the area derives its name—Copper Canyon.

The first people to mine the ore were the Spaniards, in 1632. Over the centuries, hundreds of mines were worked, peaking at the end of the 19th century when 20 million ounces of silver were extracted from the mines at Batopilas, making Copper Canyon one of the richest silver mining areas in the world.

The longest term residents of the canyon are the Tarahumara Indians. No one knows how long they have lived here, but archaeologists have found artifacts of people living in the area around 3000 years ago.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado’s expedition, which passed through the Sierra Madres in 1540, in search of the legendary Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, may have been the first contact between the Tarahumara and Europeans.

Then, in 1607, the Jesuits established the first of their 29 missions to be built in the canyons and introduced the Tarahumara to Catholicism, domestic animals and the plow. When the Spaniards discovered the rich mineral wealth in the canyons, they forced the Indians to work as slaves in the mines. This led to many bloody revolts throughout the 17th century.

The influence of the Jesuits came to a halt in 1767 when the King of Spain expelled their order from the New World. The Franciscans took over from the Jesuits, but the Indians were pretty much left alone until the Jesuits returned in 1900.

Today the Tarahumara number around 50,000. They live in caves and small cabins and practice subsistence farming. The majority practice a form of Catholicism liberally intermixed with their traditional beliefs and ceremonies. Among the peoples of North America, they are considered to be the least touched by modern civilization and the most unmixed of any of the Indian tribes of Mexico.

I first became aware of Copper Canyon about twenty-five years ago when a travel writer friend of mine returned from a journey to Northern Mexico.

“Lee, you have to go to Copper Canyon,” he insisted. “It’s magnificent!!” After seeing his slides I became excited and put together our first Copper Canyon trip. Since then, we have introduced thousands of people to this beautiful area of mountains, rivers and canyons, and the unique people who make it their home.

January 21, 2010

Smarter Than the Average Bear

As our California Native group saunters up to the door of the Paraiso del Oso Lodge, we are greeted by three dogs, a cat, and a large white goose known as “Pancho.” The lodge is located in a secluded valley in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains, surrounded by large, volcanically formed spires, one of which resembles Yogi Bear wearing his hat—hence the name Paraiso del Oso, Spanish for “Bear’s Paradise.”

Rock formations above Paraiso del Oso Lodge
We are met by Doug Rhodes, a smiling cowboy who boldly exclaims, “I’m glad y’all made it. Welcome to the Paraiso Del Oso.”

Doug is the owner and founder of the lodge, located halfway between the town of Bahuichivo and the farming village of Cerocahui. Established in 1679, Cerocahui now has around 600 inhabitants, mostly Tarahumara Indians and mestizos.

Doug, or “Diego” as he is referred to in Mexico, was once a tour guide in Copper Canyon. As he tells it, he became so frustrated by the region’s lack of reliable hotels, that he searched until he found a remote spot ideal for exploring the area’s rich flora, fauna, and natural history. Here he built his lodge and ranch.

Doug Rhodes with wife, Ana Maria, and their grandson, below the 'Yogi Bear' rock formation Born in a rural Ohio farming community, Doug has followed many diverse paths. He was an army sergeant, a NASA electrical technician, an editor, a deputy sheriff, a bodyguard, and now an inn keeper. His greatest passion is horses—he owns at least a dozen, and he brags that they are the best trained and equipped in Northern Mexico.

Diego is married to Ana Maria Chavez Gutierrez, a native Cerocahuian, whose family has a long and rich history in the area. Her grandfather was a famous miner who fought alongside Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution.

Diego and Ana contribute much to the area, furnishing outreach services to local Tarahumara families, and other community services including an annual Christmas party for local children.

At the Paraiso, guests can hike, ride horses, bike, explore historical towns, go birding, or just settle down with a good book in front of the large fireplace, sip a margarita, and relax.

January 15, 2010January 15, 2010

What Has 4-toes in Front, 3 in Back, a Trunk, and Looks Sort of Like a Pig?

Need a clue? It is also related to the horse and rhinoceros. Give up? It’s a tapir.

Tapir in Costa Rica Tapirs are rather strange, primitive creatures. They are big animals—measuring about six to eight feet between their short little trunk and their stubby little tail, and weighing up to 700 pounds. Unlike elephants, who pick up food with their trunks, the tapirs move their trunks aside and browse like horses. Tapirs are the only animals native to the Americas which have four toes on their front feet and three toes on their hind feet.

In ancient times, tapirs were found throughout North America and tropical Eurasia. When the weather cooled down the European tapirs became extinct. The North American tapirs migrated south across the isthmus of Panama. Today tapirs are found only in Central and South America, and Southeast Asia.

There are only four species of tapirs—the Malayan tapir in Asia, the Brazilian tapir in the rain forests of South America, the mountain tapir in the high northern Andes, and the Baird’s tapir in Mexico and Central America.

The Baird’s tapir, which we can see on our California Native trips to Costa Rica, is the largest land mammal native to this region.

Tapirs are timid, inoffensive creatures who generally live in swamps or near wet areas, feeding on water plants and browsing on forest foliage. Their splayed feet help them walk in muddy and soft ground. They are good swimmers and can also dive and walk along the river bottom. Traveling on land the tapir does not always follow a beaten trail but instead doggedly pushes his way through the jungle with his head carried low.

People hunt tapirs for their flesh and hides. The thick hides are used to make whips and bridles. The flesh is considered excellent food. In some areas, natives believe they can cure epilepsy by grinding down the tapirs’ toenails and taking them in powdered form. As a result of both hunting and the cutting of forests, tapirs have become rare in many areas.

Aside from humans, the jaguar in Central and South America and the tiger and leopard in Malaya are the tapirs’ only enemies. Despite their bulk, tapirs are fast and, if there is water nearby, can usually escape predators. In addition, tapirs are extremely muscular, with very strong jaws. If cornered, the peaceful tapir can put up quite a fight.

Tapirs tend to feed in the early or late hours of the day, often before the sun comes up and after it sets, although you can occasionally see a tapir at any hour.

Like dogs, tapirs are territorial and mark their territories and daily routes with urine, but unlike dogs, tapirs are solitary and it is unusual to see more than two or three of them together.

A pregnant tapir carries her baby for thirteen months and her single offspring weighs 15-20 pounds at birth. Baby tapirs have striped-and-spotted coats for camouflage. They can look forward to a lifespan of about thirty years of happily chewing their way through the forests and swamps.

January 6, 2010

Burma Begins at Bagan

“Close your eyes and point in any direction,” our Burmese guide challenged, “When you open them, you will be pointing at a spire.” Sure enough, no matter which way we pointed there were hundreds of spires on the stupas and temples that spread across the almost treeless plain.

In Myanmar (Burma), the ancient city of Bagan has hundreds of temples Located on forty square miles on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River, 300 miles north of Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar’s Bagan stands as one of the two most preeminent ancient religious sites in Southeast Asia along with Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

It was in Bagan that the Buddhist religion took hold in Myanmar, influencing the society, its art and architecture.

Historically, Bagan was formed from 19 villages at a time when the region was beginning a transition from its Hindu origins to the Buddhist beliefs that are still a major force today. Manuha, the king of Thaton, a Mon kingdom to the south of Bagan, sent a monk to convert King Anawrahta of Bamar (the origin of the name Burma) to the new religion. Once converted, King Anawrahta asked for a number of sacred scriptures to be brought to him. The monk was unsure of the king’s sincerity, so he refused the request. In response, King Anawrahta attacked and conquered Thaton in 1057 AD, and brought back to Bagan classic Buddhist scriptures, as well as artisans, craftsmen and architects.

Thus began the golden age of Bagan, highlighted by the building of thousands of pagodas. Over 13,000 of these religious structures were built. Two and a half centuries later, in 1287 AD, Bagan was conquered by Kublai Khan and began to decline.

For many years the region was considered to be inhabited by bandits and nats (spirits). Once the British came to the area in the 18th century, and ensured their safety, Burmese people began to move back to the region.

Over time, floods, earthquakes, vandals and nature have reduced the number of pagodas, but over 2,200 still stand today, many in very good condition. There is beautiful detail on the exteriors and interiors and exceptional murals.

A trip to Myanmar is a wonderful experience—super-friendly people, a cultural mix of British colonialism and Buddhist tradition, magnificent temples and beautiful landscapes, but the true splendor of the country begins at Bagan.