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My Copper Canyon Adventure — Day 1

Friends and Memories to Last a Lifetime

The following story was submitted to us by Kay Gililand who describes her experience traveling with friends through Mexico’s Copper Canyon during the Christmas holidays. Here, Kay re-unites with her traveling companions and remembers an important rule-of-thumb when flying internationally.

The California Native is always thrilled to have groups of friends join our trips to this charming region of Mexico. We appreciate it when our guests share their stories with us and we like to add them to our blog for everyone to enjoy. Excerpts from her journal will be posted regularly, so check back often to learn more about Kay’s 11-day Copper Canyon Adventure.

December 23, TuesdayHotel Torres del Fuerte near Mexico's Copper Canyon.

It is 12:30 A. M. and I am still packing for the trip. To bed finally before the alarm rings at 6:00 am. Up to pack last-minute things and wheel my bag down to Vincent, our van. Rhea drove to Laurie Sheldon’s house and she was all ready so off we went. As Rhea pulled into the Oakland Airport, Laurie said, “We’ll get more stamps on our passports.” “Passport? Passport! I forgot my passport!” I cried. I jumped out, checked my bag at the airport, got back in the car and Rhea drove me lickety split back home. I grabbed my passport and Rhea got me back to the airport.

The plane left and we were in Los Angeles by 10:30 A. M. Sally and Bill Stanton were at the gate so we had fun talking and catching up. The plane was scheduled to leave at 1:30 P. M. We met Jessica Jerman, our tour guide.

We are finally off on an enormous plane with the three of us seated together. Then onto an EMB-145 (whatever that is) for the flight. Aduana (customs) was a snap.

We introduced ourselves along the way. Jessica’s parents are in Wisconsin; her mother made the cookies we enjoyed during the wait in the Los Angeles Airport—very rich and delicious. Jessica studied Spanish in college and has lived in Chile. She came to the Copper Canyon area nine years ago, worked at various jobs in the nearby towns and then started with The California Native. She has been one of their guides for three years.

We arrived at the Hotel Torres del Fuerte. I should have brought my hiking poles and my binoculars. I would have been better off with my daypack instead of my purse. And of course I will never forget my passport again!

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Our Trip to Mexico’s Copper Canyon

We received this e-mail today from Janice and Greg Druian, of Terrebornne, Oregon, who have just returned from our 11-day Ultimate Copper Canyon Tour:

Greg and I have only been back two days, but we are convinced this is one of the best trips we have ever taken (the 11-day Copper Canyon guided tour).

We generally avoid tours, wanting to explore on our own. But we never could have arranged a trip like this…the sites were so carefully chosen; each lodge was not only unique but chosen so that we could experience the diversity of the area. Obviously care and attention was paid to the quality of the food (it ranged from very good to outstanding), And the choice of excursions allowed us in such a short period of time to get a really intimate glimpse of the culture, the terrain, and the history of this area.

As a guide, Jessica Jerman is outstanding. She had a wonderful balance between control (you have to get 13 people going in the same direction) and patience (inevitably there are a lot of personalities, styles and interests). She never seemed frustrated by our different requests or expectations. (I am not sure I could have been as patient.) She modeled wonderful behavior in her interactions with a wide range of people…giving us a role model for our own interactions.

We are definitely recommending this tour to our friends.

Janice M. Druian
Fine Art by Janice Drurian

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$100 Discount on Costa Rica Trips

Toucan in Costa Rica rain forest.
Oxcart in Costa Rica.

We are offering a $100 discount for each person joining our Costa Rica Nature Explorer trips. All you have to do is mention this offer when you phone us and sign up before July 31, 2009. This offer is valid for departures on any day through December 31, 2010.

Costa Rica is a nature lover’s paradise. Unlike most tropical rainforests, where you can only view animals at a distance, in Costa Rica they are right up close. Sloths hang from trees, monkeys scamper through the canopy, basilisks (Jesus Christ lizards) run across the streams (they actually walk on water), and crocodiles sun themselves on river banks.

Did you know that Costa Rica has more species of butterflies than the entire continent of Africa, and more bird species than in all of North America?

The scenery is fantastic—volcanoes, rain forests, cloud forests, mountains and beaches. The country is peaceful, friendly and safe.

Now is the time to plan your Costa Rica vacation and save an extra $100 per person.

(This offer cannot be combined with any other offer.)

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Copper Canyon: A Photographer’s Delight

We received this letter from Robert Bolton, a photographer from Wellsville, Utah, who was delighted with his trip and the photographic opportunities in Copper Canyon.

Dear California Native,

Respecting my recent trip to Copper Canyon with your company, to begin Rob was an outstanding tour guide in all respects. He is highly competent, knows his facts and he was a pleasure to be with. Rob worked diligently to meet the various requests of tour participants. In summary, I count Rob as a new friend.

In regards to the trip itself, it was a thorough adventure. It seemed in some ways as though I was stepping back in time one hundred and fifty years – except for the modern amenities. I particularly enjoyed the cultural aspects of the sojourn, dealing with remote peoples and villages.

Batopilas was exceptional, and in my view the high point of the trip, although there were many other singular experiences as well. This remote village was a joy to visit, and, as I am a serious photographer, a pictorial feast. I spent the first afternoon there making pictures of the town and colorful facades. I would have enjoyed spending an additional day in Batopilas. Another aspect of this particular experience was observing the village inhabitants interacting with one another. They take time to enjoy one another’s company, something that is disappearing in western culture.

Further, this is the first time I have ridden a train since I was a child, other than a brief experience in Europe this past September. I thoroughly enjoyed the train and the various cultural experiences along the rails.

Our first nights stay at Torres Del Fuerte in El Fuerte was a special treat. The old world charm at this hotel was particularly memorable. I would have enjoyed spending a bit more time at this venue.

Throughout our travels the food was great. In particular, the cooking at the restaurant in Batopilas and at Diego’s – Paraiso del Oso – was outstanding. One other note: I had some of the best guacamole of my life at a small restaurant in Creel that Rob took us to.

To conclude, I’ll not soon forget this outstanding travel experience. Thank you for a wonderful adventure.
Sincerely,

Robert Bolton
Wellsville, UT

Thank you Mr. Bolton. And we invite others to share their impressions, photographs, and videos of their California Native trips.
Lee Klein

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People Love Traveling with The California Native

The California Native is grateful to have comments from those who have traveled with us. We like to read about our guest’s experiences and have added this column to share their insights. Here, you can read first-hand from those who made the right choice to travel with The California Native.

Larry & Linda Emerson’s recent trip to the Copper Canyon was a success! Here’s what they had to say:

“We just returned from our 11-day trip to Copper Canyon with Rob Aikins. We wanted to let you know that we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The overnight accommodations were distinctive and varied. The itinerary was also varied and well thought-out. We packed a lot of wonderful places and activities into a relatively short period of time without ever feeling rushed. And we appreciated the small size of our group and the fact that, much of the time, we were well away from the main tourist track.

“Rob [the guide] was terrific. He worked hard to accommodate everyone’s needs and desires and facilitated the bonding of 8 very different personalities into a cohesive group of travelers. Rob is clearly well-liked and respected by the local folks in all of the communities we visited, and he sweated the details of the trip so that none of us had to. We very much appreciate all the hard work he put into ensuring that we all had a wonderful, memorable trip.”

Thanks,
Larry & Linda Emerson
Bishop, CA

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The California Native is Now on Facebook

Here at the The California Native, we are always looking for new ways to connect with our “fans.” We love to share any information we have about our destinations like Mexico’s Copper Canyon, Costa Rica, Yucatan, Peru, Bhutan, Burma and more. Lately we have noticed that more and more people are joining social networking sites to keep abreast of their friends and interest groups.

We are happy to announce that we now have a California Native Page on Facebook, and you can become a fan on our Facebook page. If you are not yet a member of Facebook, you can also join and connect with old friends and make new ones too. You might learn about a trip some old friend took that you are dying to try yourself! Maybe they even posted some great pictures.

You may also have noticed that all of our stories, and this blog itself, are available for sharing on dozens of social networking sites as well as e-mail. Just click on the “share” icons on our website, www.calnative.com, to share a story, or page.

There is also an RSS feed on the top of our blog pages, to allow you to see blog updates, as soon as they are posted, on your Google Home Page or RSS reader.

Of course, you budding travel writers can always post your own story or photos on our blog or Facebook Page.

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The California Native Announces Stimulus Package

With the economy being at its lowest point since the Great Depression, our government is trying to give it a jump-start with a number of stimulus packages. We at California Native are announcing our own stimulus package:
In Mexico's Copper Canyon, a young Tarahumara weaver modestly smiles.
We are giving a $100 discount to each person signing up for any of our trips to Mexico’s Copper Canyon. This offer applies to each person that you sign up, and you can join a small group tour or enjoy one of our independent adventures.

To qualify all you have to do is mention this offer at the time you sign up. Hurry, our stimulus package is valid only until April 15, 2009, but you can travel at any time. Yes You Can!

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Pizza: The Universal Food

Traveling around the world, an important part of the experience is tasting the local cuisine. From Mexico to China, from Hungary to Bhutan, no trip is complete without sampling the regional specialties.

But on a long trip, after days or weeks of eating the local dishes, I always develop a craving for the universal comfort food—pizza. And so, I make it a part of each of my journeys to try the local pizza, the one food, besides a ham-and-cheese sandwich, that can be found almost everywhere.

In Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma), we found excellent pizza at the Rudyard Kipling Bar & Grill. In LeJiang, Yunnan Province, China, after many days of Chinese banquets for lunch and dinner, in spite of protests by our Chinese host, we headed for the nearest pizza parlor and enjoyed our pizza and beer feast.

Traveling through Thailand, we discovered excellent pizza was at the Slow Food Italian Restaurant in Chang Mei, where the proprietor, an Italian expat in a wheelchair, greeted each guest. All of his staff were also wheelchair bound or disabled.

On a dark and stormy night, in a remote corner of Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains, Doug Rhodes, the owner of the Paraiso del Oso Lodge, outside of the little village of Cerocahui, in Mexico’s Copper Canyon, proudly served us what he declared was the “best pizza in Northern Mexico.” Kerosene lanterns lighted the dining room and the pizza was covered in generous portions of olives, which my wife, Ellen, hates, and had great difficulty trying to remove in the dim light. I, however, tended to agree with Doug’s assessment.

Last year, while visiting Budapest, Hungary, we enjoyed the pizza at Al Capone’s, a chain of pizza parlors in Eastern and Western Europe, which is now owned by Australian pizza giant Domino’s Pizza.

Wherever in the world we go we are not that far from home when we can take a break from the ethnic food and enjoy a great pizza. My favorite toppings are ham, pineapple, mushrooms and olives. What are yours?

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Copper Canyon: Which Direction is Best?

View from the Copper Canyon train as it crosses the Rio Fuerte.
View from the Copper
Canyon train as it crosses
high above the Rio Fuerte.

Guests often ask why we run our Copper Canyon trips from west to east, beginning in El Fuerte and ending in Chihuahua, instead of the opposite direction. The answer is simple: It’s the best way to enjoy the sights!

One of the highlights of touring Copper Canyon is the ride on the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad—the famous Copper Canyon train. One of the world’s most scenic train rides, the route climbs from sea level to over 8,000 feet, passing through 86 tunnels and crossing 37 bridges along the way.

The tracks run from Los Mochis to Chihuahua City. Every morning a train is scheduled to leave from Los Mochis at 6:00 a.m. for Chihuahua, while a second train is scheduled to depart Chihuahua for the trip to Los Mochis. Notice that I say scheduled—it is not unusual for either train to lose two to four hours along the way. The two trains travel the same route in opposite directions and pass each other along the way.

The most scenic portion of the train ride is between El Fuerte and Creel. Shortly after leaving El Fuerte Station the train abandons the lowlands of Sinaloa and begins its ascent into the Sierra Madre Mountains. The vegetation changes as the elevation climbs and the views of the mountains, rivers, waterfalls and Tarahumara Indian homesteads are spectacular. At one point the train enters a tunnel, makes a U-turn in the mountain, and exits the tunnel with the canyon on the other side.

The midpoint of the trip is just west of Creel, after crossing the continental divide. After that, the train descends and the track parallels the highway, passing through industrialized farmland until it finally arrives in Chihuahua City.

One of my favorite spots to photograph the train ride is while we are crossing the Rio Fuerte Bridge, the longest bridge on the route. With the morning sun reflecting off the water, it is just gorgeous! The eastbound train crosses this bridge around ten in the morning while the westbound train arrives there approximately eight at night—dark during most times of the year. Starting trips at El Fuerte allows you to see the most scenic portions of the train ride during daylight hours.

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In Southeast Asia, the New Year Begins in April

During Songkran, the Southeast Asian New Year, people cruise the street in pickup trucks loaded with kids throwing water.
Chauffeured by their parents, kids
patrol the streets with buckets and
water guns, soaking all in range.

While our year begins on January 1, in Southeast Asia the year begins on April 13.  This is the first day of Songkran, also known as the “Water Festival” and the celebrations last for three days. Songkran celebrates the vernal equinox and is a favorite holiday in Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos and Cambodia.

It’s a time for fun, especially if you’re a kid, and in the villages and towns, people in pickup trucks slowly cruise the streets, their truck beds loaded with kids equipped with buckets of water and “Super Soaker” water guns.  Water is constantly flying and everyone is wet, but nobody minds, since this is the hottest time of the year. In one city I watched the local kids and police fighting it out with squirt guns.

Soaking wet California Native founder, Lee Klein, pedals his rickshaw back into the melee of Songkran's Water Festival.
Soaking wet California Native
founder, Lee Klein, pedals his
rickshaw back into the melee of
Songkran’s Water Festival.

During the time of Songkran, many community events and parades are held, both secular and religious, including the Miss Songkran beauty pageant. It also is a traditional time for family gatherings.

As a tourist, it is a wet but great time to visit.