Copper look at that Canyon!

Having been inland for a fair few days I was starting to yearn to see the sea again (who would have thought this would ever happen?) so I headed to the nearby town of Mazatlan.

Mazatlan is located on the Pacific coastline and has a pretty malecon (seafront) you can walk along. The town itself isn't that big and there really wasnt much to do there. However I did spend a day at Isla de la Piedra (Stone Island) which had an OK beach. After being fortunate to visit so many stunning beaches it has meant that each beach I next visit is rather unfairly compared to these so please take my opinions with a pinch of salt...or sand : )

Crazy times in Mazatlan

The beach

Chillaxing

With my sea fix having been met, I set off to the town of Los Mochis which lies further north up the coastline and a little inland. My main reason for going here was to catch the Chihuahua - Pacific train otherwise affetionately known as CHEPE which goes through a network of canyons called Copper Canyon. I imagine just like me you had never heard of the Copper Canyon which is a shame as I discovered it is actually bigger and in places deeper than the Grand Canyon in nearby Arizona! Who would have thought? The Mexican tourist board needs to hype up these rugged and naturally stunning canyons a bit more...

Thankfully I only stayed one night in Los Mochis. Not only did the name of the town remind me of mocos which in Spanish means snot but it was also a bit of a ghost town with not much going on. Albeit I did manage to bump into my Austrian friend Julia who I had met whilst in Guatemala...very surprising considering I think she and her mum who had come to visit her, are pretty much the only other Gringo tourists Ive seen since travelling through Mexico!

I managed to drag myself out of bed at 6am the next morning to catch the CHEPE train. I had chosen to travel first class - it really wasnt much more money and Id been told it was worth it - although Id soon find out that the dining cart was anything but. More on this later. Having woken so early (Ive never been a morning person...) I immediately fell asleep the minute I collapsed into my seat on the train. I managed to get a good couple of hours shut eye before I was suddenly awoken by loud mariachi music blasting out through my carriage. The train staff clearly didnt think anyone needed any more sleep and felt the need to remind us that we were still in Mexico. Im pleased to say the music changed throughout the day and we were treated to some classical music which reminded me of spending Sundays with my Dad (like most Fathers he is quite partial to Radio 2 and Classic FM) and visiting the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.

Whilst the Bluebell Railway does have some very scenic views (especially during the Winter when it snows), the CHEPE train somewhat overshadowed these with its panoramic vistas. When I managed to get a view of them that is. I had to pretty much rugby tackle the Mexican grannies who were dominating the open windows by the doors taking pictures!

CHEPE

Emergency axes

Seating

One of the bridges we crossed

The route of the train

I was surprised to see that the train had several armed guards on board. They each had enough arms and ammunition to see off a small army. The train does go through miles of nomansland so Im only assuming that there must have been some attempts of an ambush historically and hence the need for armed guards. Either way their regular patrols throughut the carriages were quite a sight.

Armed & dangerous

My destination in the Copper Canyon was the town of Creel. I was to stay here a couple of nights before heading back once again to Snotville A.K.A. Los Mochis. Creel is named after an American Delegate in Chihuahua which makes sense as initially I was wondering whether there was any Scottish or Welsh heritage here. It was literally like stepping back into Bolivia again in the way that I was immediately hassled by indigenous locals the minute I stepped off the train. It was also like going back in time, everything appeared to be stuck in a timewarp - the decor, the clothes people wore and the lack of customer service. Saying that, everything price wise appeared to be well and truly in the 21st century. Despite this Creel held a certain charm, especially the quite impressive taxidermy that could be found in the lobby of the Best Western hotel I took afternoon tea at. Im not sure they would be able to get away with displaying some of this anywhere out of Mexico...

Antler lighting. Genius. 

Mountain leopard

Stuffed Pelican

During my time here I visited the nearby cable car in Divisidero. The cable car, built by the Swiss naturally, stretches almost five and a half miles across the Copper Canyon making it the longest cable car in the World! Again I would never have known about this and the Mexico tourist board needs to up their ante, especially given this incredible feat of engineering (the Swiss apparently used helicopters to transport the cable across the canyon) has been in operation over the last couple of years.

The views were once again spectacular and I couldnt quite believe how high we were. Whilst my legs did register this, my brain chose to ignore it so I manage to fight off the shakes. The scenery en route to the cable car was reminisent of the views I saw whilst in Yosemite National Park, California last year. Again, another place you ought to go if you have never been.

Copper Canyon. Magnificent.

Spot our cable car...

Open wide

Swiss engineering

Mini citygirltravels

More magnificence

Had to be done. 

The train journey back to Los Mochis was equally as impressive as the journey to Creel. Once again we got to see the amazing waterfalls and go over vertigenously high bridges through the canyons. The best part of the journey for me was when we descended and literally went around the canyon several times, each time admiring the track we had just come from. It was like being a train on a giant Hornby track.

As I mentioned earlier, despite it being a first class train, the dining cart was unfortunately anything but. The staff were all incompetant and the food generally below average and massively overpriced. Needless to say during my return journey I brought my own pack lunch with me and I would advise any of you to do the same should you take the train.

My only regret, due to not having sufficient time, was not visiting the town of Chihuahua. My friend Julia had visited and was raving about all the cowboys she had seen. Ay, Chihuahua!