View of Copper Canyon

A view of the Copper Canyon (Barrancas de Cobre) from the balcony of my hotel room. Copper Canyon is made up of three to seven or more canyons depending on the source of the information and is bigger than is the Grand Canyon and in some places deeper. The canyons were formed from rivers, all of which flow into the Rio Fuerte which then empties into the Gulf of California (the Sea of Cortez).

Copper Canyon

Copper Canyon gets it name from the green color of its hills––the green color that copper turns into when it is weathered. Its highest altitude is 8,000 feet (2,500 m).

Mirador Hotel

We stayed at Mirador Hotel on the edge of a canyon cliff. A very nice hotel and, of course, with a great view of the canyon, but we had no wifi, cell phone service, or even a hotel phone in our rooms. There were both wifi and cell phone service in the lounge. I wondered that if I had an emergency alone in my hotel room and if I had dialed 911 on my phone (911 is the emergency number both in the U.S. and in Mexico) it would connect with the cell phone service in the lounge. A bit disconcerting.

Tarahumara Indians

Tarahumara Indians were selling handicrafts outside our hotel. There are estimated to be between 35,000 and 70,000 Tarahumara in Mexico. The Tarahumara are known as long–distance runners, sometimes running nonstop for 125 miles or more over narrow paths and sheer drop–offs. Some races are won by men in their fifties. A book to read about the Tarahumara Indians is “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” By Christopher McDougall.

Tarahumara Handicrafts

The Tarahumara handicrafts were priced in U.S. dollars, not in Mexican pesos. I had brought along a lot of pesos, so I asked for prices in pesos. This resulted in the vendor taking out his or her calculator to figure out the exchange rate. You need only a small amount of pesos when traveling in northern Mexico and really only to use in convenience stores where prices are in pesos and dollars cannot be used and once in awhile for a bathroom entrance.

Tarahumara Children

It was a Saturday and the Tarahumara children were not in school.

Cable Car

We took a cable car across the canyon, a distance of 1.67 miles (2,700 m).

Copper Canyon

A view of Copper Canyon from the cable car.

Copper Canyon Cable Car

Our destination was the outcrop in the photo.

Hotel Mirador

Looking back across the canyon to our hotel, the Hotel Mirador.

A Little Vendor

This little Tarahumara girl was selling souvenirs at the cable car station.

A Very Young Tarahumara

This little girl was staying by her mother, another vendor.

Extreme Sport

We saw these rock climbers on the edge of a steep cliff on our return. There are a number of sports available at Copper Canyon, some of a daredevil nature such as zip lining. I don’t think anyone in my tour group did any of the more adventurous options but I do know of a former tour mate and his sister who did do zip lining here at Copper Canyon and lived to tell about it.

Tarahumara Woman

Back on solid land, a Tarahumara woman selling apples.

Shopping

We visited a large shopping area before returning to our hotel.

I have put my photos of our day at Copper Canyon on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/cable–car–tarahumara–shoppint/ (Slide Shows, Central America, Mexico, Copper Canyon Tour, “Day 4, Copper Canyon Cable Car; Tarahumara; Shopping”).

Wine and Cheese

Tonight there was an optional wine and cheese event at our hotel for 100 pesos (about $5.10) that you could pay for in pesos, in dollars, or by credit card. Only two from my tour group attended, I being one of them. A moderate–size crowd attended but I was the only one who didn’t speak Spanish, so I was given an interpreter. Photo: the cheese plate.

Wine and Cheese

The Mirador Hotel is part of the Balderrama Hotel Collection and has their own vineyards for house wines. They also grow apples, oranges, and star fruit for fresh juices for their hotels and they also make their own El Zorro tequila. I had five samples of their wines, from chardonnay to mixed merlot to all merlot.

Wine and Cheese

The wines kept coming.

Wine and Cheese

And kept coming. I’m glad I stopped drinking when I did––there was still more wine to come. These wines had a very high alcohol content. I definitely could feel their affects.

Rainbow

During the wine and cheese event, a beautiful rainbow formed in the canyon.

Double Rainbow

And then a double rainbow.