Copper Canyon, Mexico - The Canyon
Day Five - Descent into the Canyon
Here is a map of the Copper Canyon Area
I slept much better last night and the day started off with only
one rooster announcing sunrise far off in the distance. Did I mention how great
dinner was last night? We packed up early and were on the road out of Cusarara
for a 75 km drive to the dirt road that leads to Copper Canyon and
Batopilas. The dirt road would be considered a fire road by most people’s
standard. It is a narrow one lane rocky road that has sparse pull outs for
vehicles. We did not start at the very beginning of the dirt road; instead we
drove about five miles down the road to cut out a large climb. We would be
traveling 37 miles today down to Batopilas so cutting out a climb did not hurt
anyone’s feelings.
Once on the bikes we rolled mostly downhill for
about five miles and then
all of the sudden the road bends to the left and WOOOOOW! The canyon opens up into
the most surreal of landscapes that just makes your jaw drop. I tried to take in
the plethora of Kodak moments but ultimately found myself nearing sensory
overload. The vista was absolutely amazing and I instantly felt that I must be
blessed to see what could easily be one of the most beautiful places on the
planet. Looking far below you can barely see the La Bufa Bridge over the Rio
Batopilas. This “finger” canyon that we were descending is Batopilas Canyon
which is one of the five major canyons that make up the Copper Canyon system. It
is the third deepest canyon on the five at 5,904 feet, but is still deeper than
the Grand Canyon (4,674 feet) by over 1,200 feet. It is also much more lush
and green than the Grand Canyon.
After a long break at the top we started the
switch backing descent down into the canyon. Here is an
aerial photo of the main portion of the switchbacks. You could have a rip roaring speed
fest to the bridge but please stop often on the descent down as every turn
brings new and exciting vistas within “frame”. Also watching your speed
is not a bad idea as well. You will undoubtedly notice the many small shrines
along this road. Each one represents at least one person who died why
traversing along this route. Take care not to come into the switchbacks too hot
so as to avoid not having your own shrine erected.
Once
we came to the first "bottom" and crossed the La Bufa bridge we climbed for
about a mile to the actual “town” of La Bufa. La Bufa is an old mining town
that during the height of it’s silver mining productivity was home to over 1,800 people.
Today, La Bufa is home to only seven. The most interesting character of the
group is Chavez. Chavez used to be the sheriff of La Bufa and he has only one
arm. He lost that arm during a dynamiting “accident”. The story, as I heard it,
is that Chavez and some friends were drinking and throwing lit sticks of
dynamite down into the canyon for fun. Chavez and his friends got pretty
freaking drunk and while doing this, Chavez mistakenly lit a stick of dynamite and threw his
beer into the canyon. OOPS! There is a lesson to be learned
here folks. If
Chavez would have been wearing one of those beer holder hats with the hose
thingy he would be sporting two arms today. Anyway, La Bufa is just a few
buildings today but there is a tiny little store and there is a water spigot
that has really good spring water. It is hard to find the spigot, so you will have to ask.
The sag van setup lunch here and we enjoyed a nice lunch before heading out of
La Bufa.
There was a good 20 miles left to go from La Bufa
to Batopilas. While ultimately there is only a 2,000-foot elevation
difference between the two towns there are several climbs in the middle that
will wipe the smile off your downhill face for a bit.
We
stopped somewhere along the way and took a trail down to the river for an
extremely refreshing swim. The main entry method was a large
boulder that made for at least a 12 foot jump into the river. Kevin schooled
us all in the acrobatics department with might fancy 1 ¼ gainer.
I earned high points for a rainbow creating cannonball that some said only Moses
could have removed more water from the river than I did. After our fun in
the river we were back on our way.
An hour
our so later we pasted by Magarita's La Hacienda, a hotel that was made from one
of the mine ruins.
Just
a few miles later and we were crossing the bridge into the town of Batopilas.
I could feel a spirit about this very rustic and authentic town as we spun
through the concrete and cobblestone streets on our way to the town square and
our hotel. There were kids playing in the streets, chickens, burros, and
pigs were all seen along the way. I even saw a bull down in the river.
The place is much better experienced than described.
Our hotel was absolutely great.
It only had about eight rooms which our group totally took over. Pretty much all
of the rooms opened onto a wonderfully tropical courtyard where you can almost
hear it whispering “siesta time”. We all settled in and relaxed for the evening.
After dinner the town was basically shutdown so we kicked back in the courtyard
and told entertaining stories that culminated in someone going on a Snipe Hunt.
