Copper Canyon & Alamos Tour -
Spring 2008
7 days by train to Creel, El Fuerte and Alamos - $1,245
Departs March 16, 2008
Highlights: Airconditioned, comfortable train; contrast of mountains and subtropics; hike to waterfall; delicious seafood in El Fuerte; immaculately preserved, historic Alamos.
March 16-22 , 2008
$1,245
By train, Chihuahua/Creel/El Fuerte & Alamos. Return to Presidio.
Small Group, led by Jim Glendinning
March 16, Sunday
Assemble in lobby of Holland Hotel, Alpine 7.30 a.m. Drive to Presidio (90 miles). Breakfast at El Patio restaurant. Taxi to Ojinaga to board our van and drive (3 hours) via the new toll road to Chihuahua: Hotel Palacio del Sol. Lunch. City tour: Cathedral, Father Hidalgo’s cell, Pancho Villa’s house, Government Palace, Aqueduct and Quinto Gameros. Dinner in a downtown café. Glenn Willeford, Sul Ross graduate, a historian who lives in Chihuahua, will speak to us about Mexican history.
March 17, Monday.
Chepe Train Crossing River
Taxi to train station for 6:00 a.m. departure. Breakfast on the train while it passes through fertile apple orchards, not far from the Mennonite community near Cuatémoc. Gaining altitude, we reach Creel (altitude 7,690 feet) by 11:30 a.m. Transfer 13 miles to Sierra Lodge (“a rustic jewel of rich- toned, varnished logs set in a pine-scented valley overlooking Cusarare waterfall”). Lunch. Easy hike to the waterfall. Optional visit to Loyola Museum of religious paintings. Margaritas and music. Dinner.
March 18, Tuesday.
Hotel El Fuerte
After breakfast we drive to Creel for shopping and museum visit. We catch the train at 11:30 a.m. Stop at Divisadero for a panoramic view of the Copper Canyon. Lunch on train as it passes over the continental divide, at 8,071 feet (and over 87 bridges and through 37 tunnels). We notice the change in vegetation and feel the increase in temperatures as we drop down to the subtropical plain. Arrive in El Fuerte 6:30 p.m. Taxi to Hotel el Fuerte, a 350-year old Spanish hacienda. Dinner at our hotel.
March 19, Wednesday.
Early breakfast, then we board our van with guide Cristina for a 3-hour ride to Alamos. This small town (pop, 6,000) was declared a National Historic Monument by the Mexican government. No billboards or neon is permitted. The streets are immaculately clean. In addition, many of the old Sonora-style mansions in the center of town have been restored. Lunch in a popular local restaurant. In the afternoon a local guide will walk us around the charming center of town: we will visit the 1786 stone-built church, the Plaza de Armas, and the museum of mining history. Return to El Fuerte. Dinner on own (choices are explained). Overnight.
March 20, Thursday.
Tarahumara Family
Selling Crafts
Breakfast at our hotel. Two-hour walking tour around El Fuerte with local guide, visiting the old fort, now a museum, the Posada del Hidalgo, a huge colonial mansion, the bullet-pocked Palacio Municipal, the plaza and the local church. In the afternoon, a choice of strolling around, shopping, people watching in the plaza or taking an optional boat trip on the El Fuerte river, bird watching and visiting petroglyphs. Dinner at El Meson del General, a popular restaurant known for its lake bass and seafood. Overnight at Hotel El Fuerte.
March 21, Friday.
Chepe Train Dining Room
We take taxis to the rail station (8 miles) to catch the 8:30 a.m. train. Lunch on the train, as it starts to climb steeply after Temoriswhere the track loops upwards on three levels of rail bed. By late afternoon we are back in Creel, to be met again by Roberto, manager of Sierra Lodge.There is time for a short hike to the “painted cave” before margarita and music time. Dinner. Overnight.
March 22, Saturday.
Canyon View
An early start in a minibus for our 300-mile trip home. We wind down off the mountains, reaching the plain at La Junta and stopping for a picnic lunch in the small town of Santa Isobel, just 40 minutes from Chihuahua. We catch the 1:00 p.m. Omnibus de Mexico departure for Ojinaga, driving via Coyame (short stop) and past Peguis Canyon arriving in Ojinaga at 4:30 p.m. Taxi across the bridge to Presidio, where we rejoin our cars and drive back to Alpine. Our Copper Canyon adventure is over.
Included in the price:
Seven breakfasts, six lunches, five dinners. Six nights accommodation (sharing). Guide service as specified. Tours and entrance fees where mentioned. Tour escort for the whole trip. Transportation by train, public bus, taxi, minibus and Suburban.
Not included:
Tips to guides, hotel staff etc. Insurance (Insurance is recommended) - I will suggest an insurance company.
Price: $1,245 per person.
Single room supplement $140. Deposit of $150 per person by January 1, 2008 will secure a place. Balance of $1,095 due by January 20, 2008. Cancellations may be made up to 01/20/08 without penalty; after that date the full amount is forfeit unless a replacement is found. Please make payments to Jim Glendinning, 904 N 11th Street, Alpine, TX 79830.
I will send out two information bulletins after receiving your deposit, with details of what to wear/bring, spending money, tourist card requirements, and insurance. Please email or call me if you have any questions at all.
Email or phone Jim Glendinning for more information and space availability.
jimglen2@sbcglobal.net 432.837.7320