September 26
At 9am we met Yolanda and Ivan of 3 Amigos tour company. She was incredibly helpful with last-minute reservations for our trip. We took a 3 hour kayak trip down the El Fuerte River which is running swiftly and I barely had to row. The banks were lined with dense vegetation, reed, bamboo and lilies. Egrets and herons were flushed from their perches as we floated by. Chico was our guide, and he took us on a brief hike to see the petroglyphs. He gave us quite a bit of information about the symbols, none of which I can remember now. A couple times we hit “rapids” on the river which were just challenging enough to make us feel like real adventurers, lots of fun and easy to run. Along the way we stopped at a river restaurant where Yolanda and Ivan were having la comida on the beach – a perfect opportunity for cerveza for Jim and te helado for me. Afterwards I spent some time in the patio of 3 Amigos, perusing their books, while Jim went back to hotel to recover from heat stroke. While he was recovering in the cool air-conditioned room I was sweating up a storm around town taking the personal walking tour with Ivan. I remember virtually nothing of what Ivan explained except that our hotel was originally the rectory of the church and during reconstruction they found a dead body inside one of the walls.
Dinner was saltines for me since Jim was still recovering from being sick.
September 27 - We left El Fuerte and got to the train very early. The rule of thumb is to arrive at least 45 minutes early. We were warned that the train is often late but occasionally arrives early and leaves as soon as everyone is aboard. They waste no time getting on the train. We waited in the train station of this tiny little pueblo with dirt roads and not much else. Some local kids showed up with their burro who let us know he was bored by honking loudly – what a pitiful sound he made. The train was very comfortable with reclining seats, AC and large windows. We visited the dining car where we sipped coffee while watching the landscape. But most of the time I was in the area between the cars where I felt the wind and took pictures – lots and lots of pictures.
Pictures I missed but will not forget:
The vulture sitting on the dead cow beside the tracks
Group of boys sitting next to a pile of watermelons at the intersection
The bone beside the tracks
When we arrived at our stop – Bahuichivo – there was lots of commotion with pickups and SUVs collecting people and driving back and forth across the RR tracks. The town of Bahuichivo is really just a train stop, a very small town, and I saw plenty of photo ops but we didn’t stop. We headed out to Paraiso de Oso which is just outside of the small town of Cerocahui. David, our driver, was volunteering at Paraiso de Oso for a few months but he’s originally from Santa Fe NM and CA. After we settled into our room I took a hike into the meadow beyond the hotel and later we were driven into Cerocahui, located in a valley of apple and peach orchards, for a brief tour. I opted to walk back along the road to take pictures and chat, in my limited Spanish, with the people living along the road. Cerocahui is an ejido (communal landholding) dedicated to forestry with plenty of fir and madrone trees. It’s a good place for hiking and birding. Paraiso de Oso was named for the rock formation to its side that looks like Yogi Bear. It’s an eco-tourist hotel offering horseback riding and hiking but we opted to relax and enjoy the quiet of the surrounding meadows. It felt like we were visiting relatives with its relaxed atmosphere. And they were kind enough to offer me a vegetarian dinner which was way too much food.
At 9am we met Yolanda and Ivan of 3 Amigos tour company. She was incredibly helpful with last-minute reservations for our trip. We took a 3 hour kayak trip down the El Fuerte River which is running swiftly and I barely had to row. The banks were lined with dense vegetation, reed, bamboo and lilies. Egrets and herons were flushed from their perches as we floated by. Chico was our guide, and he took us on a brief hike to see the petroglyphs. He gave us quite a bit of information about the symbols, none of which I can remember now. A couple times we hit “rapids” on the river which were just challenging enough to make us feel like real adventurers, lots of fun and easy to run. Along the way we stopped at a river restaurant where Yolanda and Ivan were having la comida on the beach – a perfect opportunity for cerveza for Jim and te helado for me. Afterwards I spent some time in the patio of 3 Amigos, perusing their books, while Jim went back to hotel to recover from heat stroke. While he was recovering in the cool air-conditioned room I was sweating up a storm around town taking the personal walking tour with Ivan. I remember virtually nothing of what Ivan explained except that our hotel was originally the rectory of the church and during reconstruction they found a dead body inside one of the walls.
Dinner was saltines for me since Jim was still recovering from being sick.
September 27 - We left El Fuerte and got to the train very early. The rule of thumb is to arrive at least 45 minutes early. We were warned that the train is often late but occasionally arrives early and leaves as soon as everyone is aboard. They waste no time getting on the train. We waited in the train station of this tiny little pueblo with dirt roads and not much else. Some local kids showed up with their burro who let us know he was bored by honking loudly – what a pitiful sound he made. The train was very comfortable with reclining seats, AC and large windows. We visited the dining car where we sipped coffee while watching the landscape. But most of the time I was in the area between the cars where I felt the wind and took pictures – lots and lots of pictures.
Pictures I missed but will not forget:
The vulture sitting on the dead cow beside the tracks
Group of boys sitting next to a pile of watermelons at the intersection
The bone beside the tracks
When we arrived at our stop – Bahuichivo – there was lots of commotion with pickups and SUVs collecting people and driving back and forth across the RR tracks. The town of Bahuichivo is really just a train stop, a very small town, and I saw plenty of photo ops but we didn’t stop. We headed out to Paraiso de Oso which is just outside of the small town of Cerocahui. David, our driver, was volunteering at Paraiso de Oso for a few months but he’s originally from Santa Fe NM and CA. After we settled into our room I took a hike into the meadow beyond the hotel and later we were driven into Cerocahui, located in a valley of apple and peach orchards, for a brief tour. I opted to walk back along the road to take pictures and chat, in my limited Spanish, with the people living along the road. Cerocahui is an ejido (communal landholding) dedicated to forestry with plenty of fir and madrone trees. It’s a good place for hiking and birding. Paraiso de Oso was named for the rock formation to its side that looks like Yogi Bear. It’s an eco-tourist hotel offering horseback riding and hiking but we opted to relax and enjoy the quiet of the surrounding meadows. It felt like we were visiting relatives with its relaxed atmosphere. And they were kind enough to offer me a vegetarian dinner which was way too much food.
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