This eight day program that takes a look at the natural history of the States of Sonora & Chihuahua as well as the lives of the Tarahumara or Raramuri.  Widely believed to have retained their traditional way of life more than any indigenous people in North America.  

As we pass through Sonora, you'll enjoy rolling lectures of the natural history and regional cultures from experienced guide Robin Baxter. We spend our first evening at the Classic Playa de Cortes Resort on Bahia Bacochibampo.  We'll celebrate our first evening with a cocktail reception at the seawall as another spectacular sunset passes before us.  

Day two, we'll visit the only cultured pearl oyster farm in the Western Hemisphere.  Here a small group of graduate students have developed they're own techniques using the Rainbow Lipped oyster to create spectacular colorful and unique pearls.  We'll enjoy an informative tour and they'll explain the process and dispell many misconceptions you may have regarding cultured pearls.  

After lunch at the family run Cafe Bibi in Obregon, we travel to the most northern Colonial town in Mexico.  Alamos, Sonora.   Here you'll step back 100 years to a simpler time and more tranquil lifestyle.

Alamos is certain to be a highlight of your Copper Canyon tour.   We're treated to dinner at the home of former silent actress Mary Astor, followed by a private performance by the Estudiantina of Alamos.  A group of talented local kids associated with the Museo Custumbrista.  "Tunos" perform folkloric songs of life and chivalry in the manner and dress of 11th-13th century Spanish Troubadours.

Day three, you'll enjoy exploring the historic district of Alamos.  After lunch we make the short trip to El Fuerte, Sinaloa.  This is another colonial town but unlike Alamos, the former haciandas have not been painstakingly restored.     We stay at the Hotel Rio Vista.  A charming hotel that as the name suggests, looks down upon the Fuerte River.  It also is close to the historic fort, for which the town is named. The fort that once protected the area from maurading Indigenous groups is now a museum.     Tonight we dine on the local delicacy of Black Bass, fresh from the Fuerte River.

Day four, we hop aboard the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad to the Barranca del Cobre.   The rail route begins at sea level and ascends to nearly 8000 ft.   An engeneering wonder, "El Chepe" snakes through the barranca over scenic bridges, swichbacks and multiple tunnels to the rim at Posada Barrancas.   Our hotel is the famous El Mirador and is one of only a few hotels that have spectacular views from each guest room.

From your balcony you can see the intersection of the Urique Canyon and Copper Canyon.    We'll spend two nights at the Mirador Hotel and enjoy local tours of different overlooks as well as experiences with the Tarahumara or Raramuri.  It’s well documented that the Copper Canyon is four times larger than the Grand Canyon.  This is not a fact that will overwhelm you as you gaze into canyons.  What will capture you is how alive the canyon seems.  Which in fact is true, but not bustling and teeming with tourists, it’s the serenity in the everyday life of the Tarahumara who make this incredible rugged topography their home. 

Often you will hear the faint clanging of bells from goats being hearded to new pasture.  At dusk you’ll see the women returning from selling their baskets on the rim, traversing the trails to their dwellings, unseen in the rugged folds of the canyons below. 

Our brave Coach driver passes through the rugged sierra to meet us. 

We'll spend our final evening in Barranca del Cobre

 in the town of Creel. We'll offer an optional hike to the Casarare Falls and visit an 18th century Tarahumara church.   

Day seven, we depart the sierra through the town of Guerrero, in the high Chihuahuan desert.   We finish our day in the village of Mata Ortiz.  Here a single man, Juan Quezada has created a center for fine pottery in northern Mexico.  As a young man, Juan found complete pots and pot shards of the ancient Paquime culture.  He set upon teaching himself, through trial and error, the process of creating these utilitarial pots.  Today a great majority of Mata Ortiz specializes in the pot making process.   They're purely decorative and have become widely known in the ceramic pottery circles to be of high quality and reasonably priced.   We'll spend the night at the Adobe Inn.

Our final day we visit the Hacienda San Diego, one of the "Land Baron" Luis Terrazas' vast Haciendas in Chihuahua.  We then visit the ruins and world class museum at Paquime.   Thought to be a center of trade between Mesoamerica and the Puebloan cultures of the American southwest, Paquime reached its apex in the 14-15th century.

We cross the border after lunch and arrive in Tucson by 5:00 pm

You're certain to enjoy this fabulous introduction to the Copper Canyon region. 

April 18-25 & October 3-10, 2010

$1500 per person twin.  $500 ss