Copper Canyon Tour Map

A map of the Gate 1 Copper Canyon tour that I took. The map is a bit incorrect as to where we crossed the U.S. border into Mexico––not at Douglas, Arizona, on the map, but at Columbus, New Mexico. The map also doesn’t give the name of where we stayed for two nights on the Sea of Cortez. This was at San Carlos. Also, our tour was in the opposite direction of the arrows.

Day 1: The tour started in Tucson, Arizona, which was just a short hour–and–a–half plane ride from Los Angeles for me. We had an orientation meeting the first night and met our tour manager, Charly, and our fellow tour mates––39 in all, all Americans except for one young woman from Australia. I think we were a very happy group, encouraged by all the welcome margaritas at our hotels plus wine with dinner. Almost all meals were included in the price of the tour.

Chihuahuan Desert

Day 2: We started out early at 6:45 a.m. as we would lose an hour after we crossed the Mexican border. Arizona doesn’t go on daylight savings time, so the time there was the same as it was in Los Angeles, though the cities are in two different time zones. But in Mexico, even when in the same time zone as Arizona, the time would be an hour ahead.

It was a very long, five–hour drive from Tucson to the Mexican border through what seemed to be the never–ending Chihuahuan Desert, which is the second largest desert in North America, covering parts of the Southwest United States and northern Mexico.

Chihuahuan Desert

However, there were some interesting scenes in the desert. We drove through Arizona’s Cochise County, which was named for the infamous Apache chief Cochise. He led the Apache Wars, which was an uprising which began in 1861 against the U.S. government. A peace treaty was signed in 1872.

Palamos Border Crossing

We crossed the U.S.–Mexican border at Puerto Palamos de Villa (shortened to Palamos). Across the border from Palamos is Columbus in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It took a long time at the border as we had to have all our luggage hand–searched by Mexican customs––that was about 41 suitcases and at least 20 carry–ons and this was done by us opening all our suitcases right on the cement. Surprisingly, this border crossing was almost empty. They were looking for guns (you cannot take guns into Mexico and the penalty is prison), illegal drugs, and too much money

Palamos, Mexico

Palamos is in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, the state where our tour manager, Charly, lives. Mexico has 32 states. Many Americans cross the border here to obtain lower–cost dental care, eye exams, and prescription drugs than in the U.S. and for shopping and eating. Most U.S. visitors park on the U.S. side of the border and either walk or take a shuttle across the border. Palomas has a population of about 4,700.

La tienda Rosa

We had lunch and shopping at La tienda Rosa––The Pink Shop–– almost at the border on the Mexico side. Not only did have a large restaurant but also a very large shop of Mexican handicrafts from all over Mexico. It turned out to be the best place to shop on our entire trip.

Mexican Handicraft and Pottery

La tienda Rosa carries not only the usual talavera pottery but also pottery that you don’t often or never see in stores selling Mexican pottery.

Pancho Villa

Columbus, New Mexico, and Palamos, Mexico, are Pancho Villa country. Across from the restaurant in a small park was an equestrian statue of Pancho Villa. He is a Mexican hero. Pancho Villa launched an attack on the United States at Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, during the Mexican Revolution. In retaliation, General John J. Pershing launched the Pancho Villa Expedition to capture Pancho Villa, who was never captured. George S. Patton was part of the expedition.

Indigenous People

An indigenous family was also in the park. There are 89 indigenous languages in Mexico and 21.5% of the Mexican population is indigenous, meaning their roots in Mexico are from before the arrival of Europeans.

On the Road

We had about a three–hour drive from Palamos to our overnight stop at Nuevo Casas Grande through more of the Chihuahuan Desert and small towns.

Nuevo Casas Grande

We had our welcome dinner at the restaurant in this house, owned by a man from Belgium.

Mata Ortiz Pottery

We were supposed to visit the Paquime ruins this afternoon and also the pottery village of Mata Ortiz, but the hold–up at the border didn’t give us enough time to do this. So two of the sculptors from Mata Ortiz came to visit us at the restaurant.

Mata Ortiz Kiln

In the 1980s, Juan Quezada Celado developed a pottery industry in Mata Ortiz, a revival of the Paquime ancient pottery. The pottery is sculpted without using a pottery wheel. The pottery clay is hardened in a kiln like the one in the photo. Three pottery pieces were auditioned off and two of them were sold at very good prices. Not enough was bid for the third piece.

For more photos of Day 2 of the Copper Canyon Tour on a slideshow, go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/tuscon–az–to–nuevo–casas–grande–mexico/ (Slide Shows, Central America, Mexico, Copper Canyon Tour, “Tucson, AZ, to Nuevo Casas Grande, Mexico”).

Restaurant Singer–MOVIE

We had entertainment during our dinner. First, this man whose first song was an Italian one. Too much noise in the restaurant to get a good video.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZruxXaXlwdE

Mariachis–MOVIE

We also were entertained by a Mariachi band: “Cielito Lindo.”

Youtube: https://youtu.be/IhH2wyLAXqE