Travel
Copper Canyon Spectacular
Over the Sierras to Topolobampo and back by the headiest of Mexican railroads.
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Rail construction must have been a nightmare. Using tunnels, bridges, and countless curves, the track drops 7,000 feet in 122 miles. The crowning engineering achievement was accomplished at the small mountain town of Temoris. Here, at about 10:30 in the morning, the train begins the descent by going through the mountain on successive lower loops of track, crossing the Septentrion River and finally completely reversing the direction of descent. Successful completion of this leg of the journey was an incredible engineering feat, and was so recognized when on Nov. 23, 1961, President Adolfo Lopez-Mateos traveled to Temoris on the presidential train to dedicate the entire Chiahuahua al Pacifico railroad system.
After the bands had finished and the speeches were over, Lopez-Mateos unveiled on the side of the mountain a huge memorial made of a frame of rails from the old road and stainless steel white letters two feet high.
The fabled Tarahumara Indians, by legend the greatest footrunners in the world, live in this barranca region between Copper Canyon and Temoris. There are not many of them left and only a few traces remain of their primitive ways: rudimentary agricultural methods and huts built of cardboard, Coca-Cola boxes and aluminum.
Many of the Indians live in abandoned box cars alongside the main trunk line and earn their living selling oranges and tacos to passengers during the brief stops. You are not likely to encounter any beggars after leaving the border. The Tarahumaras work hard and do not rely on the out-stretched palm.
Leaving Temoris and coming out of the mountains, the train descends through rough, thorn-bush country. There is an air of openness but the 20 to 30-feet high vegetation is dense and untouched.
By early afternoon, the country has changed again to a wide coastal plain, Mexico's most ambitious irrigation project. Waters from the Yaqui, Mayo, the Fuerte Rivers form a productive agricultural area similar to the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Nearing Los Mochis you see field workers bicycling to work in the vast fields of cotton, sugar cane, wheat, tomatoes and vineyards.
According to the timetable, arrival in Las Mochis is 2 P.M., but 3 or 3:30 is more likely. If a tour service has planned your trip, a taxi driver will meet and take you to your hotel, usually the Santa Anita. It is a four-storied, air-conditioned hotel in the middle of town with a good restaurant and bar. Avoid the steak and try the fresh seafood. The Santa Anita, Yacht Club in Topolobampo, and the hotel in Creel are all owned by the same man, so reservations can easily be changed around.
Los Mochis was founded in 1903 by Benjamin Johnston, a U.S. citizen who, almost alone, created the town's sugar refining industry. He became Northwest Mexico's major financial power, and the town has continued to prosper to its present 90,000 population.
Twelve miles farther to the coast is Topolobampo, a small village built on a hill overlooking a perfect natural bay. Albert Owen's dream of developing this city into a major seaport has not come to pass, and it remains a quiet shrimping village of about 10,000 people. There are no beaches in town but boats will take you to near lands for shell fishing and swimming. Cabin cruisers are available to take you towards Farrallon Rock, 25 miles out in the Gulf, for deep sea fishing and seal watching.
The only place to stay in Topolobampo is the Yacht Hotel, located at the end of a dusty, bumpy road on the far side of town. It is a very posh inn, built in the shape of a boat with the top deck, an open dance area and the middle deck, a glassed-in restaurant. The rooms are located in a separate building and each has a balcony facing the sea. Seafood is the item to order everywhere on this trip, but nowhere more so than the Yacht Hotel Restaurant.
For openers, the fresh fish seviche cocktail, baby octopus cocktail, or tropical fruit cup with port wine are all excellent.
The main course must be fresh baby octopus creole with rice. Succulent and not at all too "fishy" tasting, it is a delightful surprise.
Flan Caramelado Sobre Panque (Carameled custard on pastry) is the finish to this superb dinner.
Neither Los Mochis nor Topolobampo is noted for heavy night life. There are few clubs, certainly nothing like Acapulco's Le Club or Tiberios, but Mazatlan is just a shot away, south of Los Mochis on the main west coast highway (Mexico 15). There you are free to contribute to Mazatlan's growing reputation as Mexico's new Acapulco.
The day before departure it is advisable to spend the night in Los Mochis. If you want to take advantage of the free bus ride to the train station, you must be in the Santa Anita hotel lobby with luggage at 6 A.M. If you are in Topolobampo the night before departure, you must arise about 4:30 A.M. This is not a good deal.
Moses Ochoa is the wonderfully efficient and good humored man in charge of getting large, grumpy groups of travelers from the hotel to the rail station on time and he does it with great elan. Such hustling you have never seen, so tip accordingly.
The magazine ads you see nowadays ring true: "Mexico—Why Go Farther?" It is a beautiful country, richly varied in climate, terrain and things to do. It is not hard to argue that its most valuable export is something intangible you sense after a few days: a way of living that is less frantic and filled with more grace and spirit than we're accustomed to.
Mexico isn't the border town most Texans are familiar with anymore than New York City is typical of this country. Plan a trip into the interior and you will fall in love with a beautiful neighbor.
Making the Mexico Connection
EL PASO-JUAREZ TO CHIHUAHUA:
By car: Take Central Highway 45 from Juarez. Excellent road throughout. A five hour drive to Chihuahua.
By air: Aeronaves de Mexico leaves Juarez each day at 10:50 A.M., arriving Chihuahua at 12:30 P.M. (Pacific Standard Time)
By train: The National Railway leaves Juarez each afternoon at 5 P.M., arriving Chihuahua at 9 P.M.
CHIHUAHUA TO LOS MOCHIS:
The Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad arrives in Chihuahua at 9:30 P.M., departing for Los Mochis at 10:15 P.M.
A self-propelled Fiat Autovias of the Chihuahua Pacifico offering reclining seats or chair coaches with buffet service at your seat, leaves from Chihuahua each Wednesday and Saturday at 7 A.M. for the east-west Pacific coast run. Coming back to Chihuahua the Autovias leaves Los Mochis each Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8 A.M., arriving back in Chihuahua at 8:40 P.M. This train does not go to Ojinaga.
If this is your first trip, I urge you to use a "package tour" arranged by Big Bend Travel Service (Box Y, Marfa, Texas 79843; telephone: AC 915-729-4364). Mollie Lowther and her staff will plan any tour combination along the rail route you wish.
In her package is included: round trip rail tickets, pullman accommodations, first-class hotel reservations, transportation to and from the hotel and meals at the hotel. Not included are tips, personal expenses, meals on the train, or baggage and trip insurance. Big Bend will take care of your border crossing from Presidio to Ojinaga, where you get your tourist card, go through customs and board the train.
A five day trip to Los Mochis-Topolobampo arranged by Ms. Lowther costs $105.25. A 10 per cent deposit is required.
If Big Bend has arranged your trip, plan to arrive in Presidio by 1 P.M. of the departure day and to their office on Presidio's main street. Mrs. Joe Hendrix will have your personal packet ready with everything included: rail tickets, baggage tags, hotel reservations, even a money conversion table. You must bring proof of citizenship to get the tourist card. Birth certificate, voter registration card or passport all qualify.
Store your car in Presidio at Fowler's Texaco for $1.00 a day. Mr. Fowler takes personal care of it, but to keep the inside from looking like the interior of a vacuum bag, roll up the windows.
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