At the airport

Hello family

This morning is interesting!

Fernando took us to the airport at 0200 and then we sat around til 3:30 at which time we checked in with Air Canada. What a smart move to do a web check-in as the our line-up to complete the bag check was exactly 2 people long whereas those who waiting in line for an airport check-in was probably 50 long. We were through security in no time and then used my "Priority Pass" to get into a lounge (first time ever in an airport lounge-Wow, nice). This place is awesome! We started with coffee/hot chocolate and at 0430 we had breakfast. Now Caro is sleeping in a comfortable chair until we leave here about 5:20 for our 5:30 boarding time.

I think my Priority Pass came with my ATB mastercard but I don't remember exactly. Caro and I can use it once per year without cost.

Tuesday August 22 Mexico City

Hello Family

Today was a quiet one. Caro's plans were to see her sisters Vicky and Mary (and her family) and I was going to a museum with Fernando that has paintings I really like.

Plans changed when Fernando and Edu had to deal with a credit card phishing event so they needed to go to their bank ASAP. I initially went with Caro to meet Vicky nearby (I haven't seen her in about 4 years). After a few minutes of conversation I realized that it was not going to be a great day for either Caro or I if I stayed with her because this was to be her time to visit with her sisters, and not be be worried about me (if I was bored etc.  and yes I was pretty sure it was going to be a dreadful day!)

We phoned Fernando and caught them just as they were leaving to the bank  so I was able to get back to their place and I caught up on Utube videos. When Fernando and Edu came home we went to Toks restaurant for a great meal then drove over to a nice park for a look. It was nice driving past the apartment where Caro and I first lived after we were married.

Caro got back in early evening and after some catch up conversation we packed our bags and printed off our boarding passes for tomorrow's return flights home.

Monday Aug 21st/2017

Hello family

Fernando,Edu,Caro and I met Tete and Ruben at a toll booth on the highway to Cuernavaca. Tete and I switched vehicles and I went with Ruben and both cars headed down the highway about an hour to a small town called Tepoztlan. It is a town with a beautiful sharp cliffs in the mountainsides. The main attraction is a pyramid built on top of one of the cliffs. We climbed part way up the mountain path but the trail was too rocky and it was too far to go for the majority of us so we went back down after going about half way up.

Today was the day of the eclipse of the sun so there were many young people climbing to the pyramid but the sky was overcast and the eclipse was not very significant in this area so why they were climbing, I don't know.

I pointed the camera up towards the sun to get this photo during the eclipse

Nice church

We went to a beautiful restaurant in the town and then came back to Mexico City. One of the main roads in the city has been doubled by building a second level above the original roads. The road is super fast and if time is important and you have about $30 for the toll it is a good way to get across a major part of the city.

Caro had a couple of appointments tonight and now we are just sitting around.

Sunday in Mexico City

Hello Family

Today was a day of seeing family

Ruben, Tete,Vanessa,Lorena, Joachin,Lorenita and Mary Fer joined Fernando,Edu,Caro and me for a great lunch and a later walk at the Coyoacan zocalo.

As we haven't seen Lorena and her family for many years it was very nice to catch up on all the news. It is 25 years ago this past June when we said good bye to Lorena after she had lived with us in Elk Point for almost a year.

Saturday-back in Mexico City

This morning we were on our way to the airport at 0700. We checked in with Interjet and then went for breakfast.

Our flight here was very interesting because the plane had a forward facing camera and so we watched the takeoff and then 2 hours later ,the landing. Really neat! Interjet is a budget airline and instead of going to a gate at the terminal they stopped at their hanger location at a distant part of the airport and bused us around to terminal one where we waited a short while for our bags to arrive (our bags are no longer "OK" for carry on due to recent purchases).

She who buys souvenir gifts!

Fernando and Edu picked us up and we went to their place for a bit before leaving again and meeting Ruben and Tete in a very popular seafood taco restaurant for an early supper. After another drive to a coffee place for dessert we said our "good byes" to Ruben and Tete and went back to Fernando and Edu's house to wind down.

Friday in Chihuahua

Hello family

After a great sleep we were up and eating breakfast by about 8 AM.

The hotel is located in the centre of town right behind the cathedral and the breakfast room is located on the 4th floor (5th really) with the option to eat inside or out. Naturally we ate outside!

We found a 2 hour city tour leaving at 10 AM so we bought tickets and walked around until it was time to get on the tourist bus. The tour was in Spanish and the guide was super funny (to all those who have a good grasp of Spanish-not me!). We stopped at the only place in Chihuahua that I wanted to see. Pancho Villa's mansion. The house contains many of his personal effects as well as the car he was riding in when he was shot to death.

The rest of the tour included a stop in a beautiful French style house that was built in the early 1900's.

In the afternoon we walked around, and tonight we went to a recommended restaurant which was essentially a steak place. It was great. This city has a very clean central area with many streets for walking only. There weren't as many restaurants as had expected and as 8 PM came many of the stores were closing. There were always street musicians playing so the entertainment was wonderful.

Tomorrow we are back in Mexico City

Thursday-El Chepe

Hello Family

This morning we walked downtown and watched the train coming westward from Chihuahua on its way to Los Mochis. The poor people getting on and off had to do scurry into the station or get drenched. We were just watching so stayed under cover. I got video of the train arriving and leaving again.

After checking out and having a last great meal at the hotel restaurant (Caro told the cook that the smells were just like her home when growing up) we got a ride to the train station to catch the train going eastward to our destination. While waiting we were talking to our shuttle driver and he had a photo of a train derailment. This had happened on the tracks we had come over earlier on Monday when our train ride was shortened. We had heard on Tuesday morning that both directions were closed due to problems caused by heavy rains. We were going through heavy rain on Monday before we were bused to Creel. I think there is a good chance that it was the train that dropped us off and had to reverse its direction back to Los Mochis with the people bused in from Chihuahua that derailed. Those people will have stories!

Photo of a photo of train derailment

The trains started running after two complete days of cancellations on the very day we were scheduled to leave. Talk about lucky. Four hours into our run we stopped in the middle of no where because the tracks were getting emergency repairs again in the same location that forced the people on Monday to get bused.

We made it to our hotel by 11 PM and I hit the sack immediately.

Another awesome day in Creel

Today we had a double tour of the local area. Unfortunately our pocketbooks took a hit as we were the only ones on the tour and we had to pay for the the minimum group of four people so our initial cost was about $150.

We had the same guide as yesterday and he was really worth it (and got a health tip just like yesterday). We saw a lot of the local Tarahumara people and their homes. These people are very poor and we gave quite a few donations/gifts throughout the day.

We started our day very near Creel seeing a family living in a cave (which is/was typical here). I found it very hot and really unhealthy. The roof was black from the burning of wood/kerosene inside over many generations. The old woman is the granddaughter of the first person to make a permanent home in this cave although it has been used for numerous generations.

Next we saw a beautiful waterfall. We walked to the bottom (of course) for a refreshing spray filled breeze. The temperature today is about the same as yesterday (23 degrees) so it is very pleasant walking around.

We visited about a dozen sites including churches, a lake, and modern Tarahumara towns before finishing very near here in the Valley of the Monks. This place is made up of large thin rocks projecting up into the air. Over the years many of these large rocks have been named because they look like something else (including some that look like monks), The rocks are what has been left from the "frozen" magna of a worn away volcano and these rocks have been sculpted by eons of rain,snow and wind.

We were back to the hotel by about 2:30 (a 5 hour tour) and I booked tomorrow nights lodging in Chihuahua. The word is that the train will be running tomorrow. There have been numerous hotel and tour cancellations because the train was not running therefore there was not as many people here.

First full day in Creel

Hello Family

Now today was great!!

First off I was able to upload a photo from yesterday on the train.

We had booked a tour that ended up taking us back to the viewpoint we couldn't see yesterday! It turned out most of the tour today was in the same area. The viewpoint was foggy again but we went over to a skytram nearby. We bought tickets even though it was foggy. As luck would have it the fog cleared about 100 metres lower than the start point. What a fantastic panorama of canyons!

We spent about one hour enjoying the views (there were 5 other people on the bus but only Caro and I went on the tram). there were also ziplines (OMG!)  but we didn't go on them. From there we went to different viewpoints. Our guide was a 71 year old Tarahumara Indian who was really friendly. I think we have him tomorrow as our guide as well.

Caro bought MORE souvenirs! Go Figure!

We got back to our hotel in late afternoon and so we did a walk to the main street and back. We ate at the hotel here and also we did some "facetime" with Vanessa and Hannah.

a photo taken yesterday on the train

Creel part two

We were informed that there was a problem with the train tracks on the other side of a viewpoint called Divisadero (this viewpoint is the famous one which has a magnificent view of the canyons) and that unfortunately we were going to be bused the final 50 or so kilometres.  Too bad : (

As we got closer to our stop the rains started and soon there was fog. We got to the viewpoint stop and we had to exit the train and find our bus to Creel. It was pandemonium as there were haphazard instructions being yelled out which Caro couldn't hear because the train was still running its engines,people were trying to figure out what to do and where to go,there were all the locals selling their wares, smoke from the train engine and all the locals restaurant fireplace smoke choking us and there were at least 150 people waiting to get on the train so they needed instructions too. The reason there were people getting on the train we just got off of was ALL of them had been bused from Chihuahua (5 hours away) so they could at least see most of the Copper Canyon tour so the train moved its engine around to the other end for the new people to return to where we started. Hopefully the weather smartened up for them. It was so awesome for us for most of our ride.

I never got to see the beautiful viewpoint as I had to get our bags to the correct bus and this gave Caro a chance to run over and snap a foggy photo.

We got on our bus and were in Creel within the hour. A small panic followed with us getting our shuttle to the hotel. When we got here it appeared they were not aware we were coming but I showed them the Hotels.com printout so all ended well. The hotel looked so crappy from the outside that both were thinking I had made a bad mistake when I booked it but it is OK now that we have been in it a couple hours (very basic). We went to the downtown for supper (really good) and walked back (about 10 minutes from here to downtown).

We have booked a tour for each of the two days we are here but the cost and the number of people going are not confirmed yet (we may end up having pricey private tours but I hope not)

In Creel

Hello family

Today we were up at 4:30 AM which gave us enough time for a shower, checkout and a taxi ride to the train station. The train (El Chepe) left on time at 0600 and for two hours we went over flat boring landscape. Sometime in the third hour we went through a tunnel over a mile long and when we came out the scenery started changing. Soon we were climbing up into the mountains. Fresh green foliage covered everything and a small river tore down the river bed around numerous large rocks. We could see occasional waterfalls high up on the mountains. Each side of the train would give us good views and we spent quite a bit of time on either side (including outside in the area between the cars).

I am going to upload this now and will add more later. It appears I can't upload photos.Too bad!

Second night in Los Mochis

Hello Family

Last night we had a good nights rest in the Fiesta Inn. This is a new building and it has quiet air conditioning.

This morning we went to a nearby restaurant for a buffet breakfast. It was OK. I forgot my hat there so I went back and there was a mariachi band playing for some of the restaurant patrons. It was nice to listen to.

With a whole day to use and nothing much to see here in town we flagged down a cab and asked to go to the beach (about 20 minutes away). We first planned on stopping in the town of Topolobampo but as the taxi driver took us to the malecon there we were completely turned off by the large amounts of garbage everywhere. The town was disgusting. While still in the cab we decided to go farther north to a  beach that we were told was nice; so off we went.

We were taken past mangrove swamps and over several bridges before we were dropped off on Maviri Island. We walked the beach (this was at 10 AM so there was hardly anyone around).

We found a beach front restaurant that had been recommended to us so we grabbed a table and chairs next to the beach until a huge palapa and over the next five hours had some fish, some crab,some beer and some pop. Caro went swimming a few times in the ocean and said it is the warmest ocean water she has ever been in. We were located on the Sea of Cortez so the water is protected from the Pacific Ocean.

By 3 PM we were in a cab on our way back to Los Mochis. The driver asked if we wanted to see the nice houses in town so we drove around for 20 minutes or so before being dropped off at the hotel.

A short time later we walked over to a botanical gardens/picnic /play area that is the #1 thing to see here. HO HUM.....

I picked up a milkshake at Carl's Junior which was fantastic and then Caro went to a nearby Liverpool store. Right now it is 7:11 and we are getting ready for a 4:30 AM wake up and our day on the Copper Canyon train. Can't wait!

Los Mochis here we come

Hello Family;

After a nice breakfast at Vips restaurant we walked the lagoon malecon (saw an alligator) for an hour before checking out of the Hyatt at noon

 A 25 minute, $15 taxi ride and we were at the airport for our scheduled 2:40 flight. A funny thing at the airport was the check-in at AeroMexico. Caro has expanded the size and weighed down her suitcase with purchases. The check-in lady took a look at Caro's suitcase and asked to weigh it. It was 2 kilos overweight (for carry on) so Caro was asked to "check it" in (which we definitely did not want). Caro took 2 kilos out of the suitcase and put it in her backpack and "Voila" no problem. She was able to take it as carry-on. Ha Ha Ha. Too funny!

Our plane left 20 minutes late and we arrived in Mexico City only to discover that we didn't have a regular gate but were parked away from the terminal so we walked off the plane onto a portable stairway and buses took us in. When we got off the bus we went to the "connection" hallway only to discover we had to go through *!#$$**! security again and then haul our gear up one flight of stairs (!) to the main floor where all the gates were. We heard "last call for Los Mochis" so we ran to our gate number. The gate was 75A but 75A,75B,75C,75D were all together and there were three flights leaving from these gates at the same time. So what happened is that there were people everywhere figuring out which line to get into (no obvious information available for who goes where); getting their ID checked by the appropriate AeroMexico person (for their particular flight) and then everybody went back down more stairs only to remixed together in a common area before figuring out which bus to get on. SERIOUSLY STUPID!. Any way we made it and because of the tight connection time I am quite sure any checked luggage would not have made it. I think I have convinced Caro of the advantages of carry on only!

On the flight Caro noticed that they had liquor (for free) so she asked for a vodka. The Mexican liquor bottles have a special insert in them to slow flow so the stewardess had to shake the vodka bottle to get enough vodka in the glass for Caro's drink. I said to the stewardess that I wanted a rum with more shakes so she proceeded to shake and shake and shake to the point where Caro and I were laughing because I ended up with a STRONG double!!. I had to ask for an extra glass of coke just to mix it properly. Anyway both the stewardesses and Caro and I were laughing. Can't see that happening on a Canadian Airline!

Tonight we are in Los Mochis. We got a good recommendation from our taxi driver for a seafood restaurant within walking distance of our hotel. I think it was about a kilometer away. We had a good meal. The photo below is Los Mochis version of a shrimp cocktail. Very different from what we usually get.

Another hot day in Villahermosa

This morning we went to VIPS restaurant for breakfast. Yummy!

We walked along the lagoon malecon for  a short while before getting to the La Venta museum (which is why we came here). We started walking through the park (beautiful jungle setting) looking at the Olmeca rock carvings. These carvings were done between 400-900 B.C.

This head carving has been shown in National Geographic

The walk was constantly being interrupted by "no-see-ums" and mosquitoes that were harassing and biting us to the point that we moved at a faster pace than we wanted. UGH! We made in through the sculpture walk and then spent some time in the zoo. I got a good video clip of a black panther roaring (or whatever the sound is called) and we were out the exit by about 11:30 AM. As we walked along the lagoon malecon we saw many coati-mundi animals around. They are used to humans and not terribly afraid.

The lagoon walk finished near the hotel. Because there wasn't much more we wanted to see or do here we went to the pool. It was very nice to cool down in the water because the outside temperature was about 31 degrees (and according the Weather Channel app it felt like 42 degrees with the humidity).As we were relaxing in the pool I discovered that I was washing all my money and credit cards inside my wallet which was in the pocket of my swimming suit!. Oh well,no harm done (except my wallet is taking a long time to dry out).

In late afternoon we were about to walk a couple blocks to the same restaurant where we had supper last night when a seriously amazing thunder and lightening storm came overhead. Oh WOW; one hour of VERY close lightening strikes!! Too cool! We sat outside by the pool to watch and listen.

We had a late supper and after a walk along the lagoon malecon again we made it back to our hotel room just in time to catch Lisa calling us on Facetime. Thanks Lisa for the call!

Tomorrow we fly to Los Mochis via Mexico City and Guadalajara. The same temperature conditions are occurring there even though it is more of a desert.