20 November ‘09 Our GPS Google Map Lat/Long for Creel, Mexico and the Copper Canyon is: 27.7523N, 107.6346W
A taxi arrived for us at 8 this morning to pick the 4 of us up. We were heading for the train, Barrancas del Cobre that would take us up to Creel and the Copper Canyon. This will be the first time that we have left our little Minnie Winnie behind and it was kind of hard. I guess we could have taken a different route into Mexico from the states and driven to Creel from the area of Cuauhtemoc, but that meant that we were going to spend a lot of time traveling a lot of mountain roads and in the state of Chihuahua, which isn’t one of the most safe states to be in right now. We also opted to take the “Economy” train,
A taxi arrived for us at 8 this morning to pick the 4 of us up. We were heading for the train, Barrancas del Cobre that would take us up to Creel and the Copper Canyon. This will be the first time that we have left our little Minnie Winnie behind and it was kind of hard. I guess we could have taken a different route into Mexico from the states and driven to Creel from the area of Cuauhtemoc, but that meant that we were going to spend a lot of time traveling a lot of mountain roads and in the state of Chihuahua, which isn’t one of the most safe states to be in right now. We also opted to take the “Economy” train,
that way we would be more with the “local people” and it would also cost us half of what the “First Class” train would run, besides, we could then take the first class train back and be there quicker. The truth of it was, once we got up there and ready to come back, they were only running the first class train and the prices for the Sunday run was just about triple of the costs going up…surprise, surprise, surprise. All that aside, we had a great time in Creel and the surrounding areas of the Copper Canyon. The train ride up was very comfortable and had everything we needed. We started at sea-level and topped off at over 7,600 feet. Our train route would take us around and over canyons
and twice over the same tracks we had traveled earlier but several hundred feet below us.
The restrooms were spotless, and the prices in the diner were as expected, but we were ready with all the treats and water we needed…well we thought so anyway. We did end up purchasing lunch. We opted for a micro-waved ham and cheese and a dish of “cheeps”. The sandwich was as expected, but the cheeps…it was a dish of corn chips covered with queso fresco cheese (a soft crumbly cheese), and hidden below the first level, a soup of cheese/brownish stuff. It must have been good because we finished it all…with a spoon. The views from the doorways at the end of each rail car were stunning.
We were able to take a lot of photos from there as we hung out the top half of the door. We didn’t have to “fight” for position, but we did have to hold it. It also gave us an opportunity to do a little shopping when we pulled up to one of the smaller stops along the way.
While I was taking the pictures of these two ladies, Louise was buying a bag of fresh made cookies and empanana's (filled with sweet jam)... they were good!!! We did have great window seats for the views but for photos it was best not to have to shot through the windows. One difference from the “First Class” train vs. the economy was all the short stops along the way. We stopped to let one person off to a dozen, and some of those stops were out in “no-man’s land”. Then of course, we stopped at 8 or 9 other villages that clung to the tracks along the way to Creel. Arriving at Creel
kind of reminded me of arriving at the airport in Cabo San Lucas many years ago. As soon as the doors of the train opened for us to disembark, we were pounced upon by hawkers. It just so happened that all of them seemed to have been working for the same hotel and that hotel was the one that we already had decided to stay at. All worked out fine, the couple of guys that stayed and fought the hardest to get our attention got their commission, the others will have to work harder next time.
We paid $350 pesos a night for 2 and that included breakfast and dinner. The room was nice, clean, and had a great heater that we found was really needed.
We had traveled from sea-level to over 7,600 ft. and a temperature difference of mid 80’s to Creels high of 60. The low for the night left ice on the windows and I really didn’t care to ask how cold it might have been. Fortunately the sun was out beautifully the whole time.