Jesinia comes to the door. The pure beauty of this little girl flows. She and her sister Daniela live here with there parents. Daniela is actually in school now in Chihuahua- I have no clue how they pay for this.

Little Jesinia says her dad is out working. Fifteen minutes later I am running along the only road in “town” and I flag down Jilo. We set a time in two hours to take a ride. I tell him no group- just me- and he looks a bit downcast. He needs the money from a big group.

Jilo shows up with two gaunt, but sure footed horses and we head up through the pines. Over rock inclines we climb past verdant fields of corn, beans, squash, and potatoes in the Tarahumara ejido.

Heading south from Arepo along the rim.

2011 was a good rain season and the fields are green. Note the goats in the pen at the bottom of the pic.

Then up to incredible vistas…the far green fields of the Pomochi plateau.

There are no views like these Copper ones- take your soul away!

Two hours goes fast and we are back at Mansion Tarahumara.

I pull out 500 pesos (typically a ride is 250)…about $35 USD. To me this is a shy tank of gas, a night out, 1/30th of a mortgage, a low water bill, 10 bottles of Charles Shaw.

But Jilo’s response communicates it is much more to him. He offers change and I say no, kepp it all.

He stares.

Off comes his hat and up go several “Gracias Adios” and he crosses himself over and over.

His eyes are wet.

To Jilo and his family it is food.

Jilo Mancinas at the first communion of his niece at the little church in Areponapuchi.

Walk Across What???

Juarez seems to be the LAST place any sane person would chose to even go to, let alone walk across. Most people assume that my body will end up filled with bullets, decapitated, and hung from some bridge with a scrawled cartel note tied to it.

But the actual situation and threat to US citizens is actually much different than what we expect based on press reports. I will walk across this border city from the Rio Grande to the south neighborhoods and simply report what I see moment by moment…and let the results speak some reality into the situation.

When is this?

 For three days, Friday, August 19 to Sunday August 21, 2011 I will amble through this border city.

Who I am:

I am the owner and lead guide of Authentic Copper Canyon, the premier supplier of culturally rich small group experiences on the train through Copper Canyon, Mexico. I have a deep love and respect for the people and land of Mexico. Our groups often travel through the border in the Juarez/St Teresa area, and I am pursuing this walk as a small step in bringing understanding and connection across the border.

Purpose: To give a clear view of life right now on the streets of Juarez from an outsider’s point of view. People on the US side are filled with negative images only and this will give an actual moment by moment story of what it is actually like on the ground in Juarez.

Certainly some of the impetus for this comes from me and others in the guide community that wonder how we can do better. There have been zero incidents involving tourists and we aren’t sure how to improve that stat. Yet, the overwhelming assumption is that this area is deadly dangerous. The Mexicans there just wag their heads when we discuss it with them…and they often point out what an issue we or other countries have with insecurity and tourism.

Plan: Enter Juarez by the Bridge of the Americas on Thursday evening or Friday morning and simply walk across the city. I will stay overnight, interact with people, etc. Moment by moment I will send pictures, text, audio and videos via twitter and blog to followers across the USA and the world. Then I will follow with more in-depth articles and videos of the experience.

Rational: Many of us who work or live in Mexico have been frustrated by the one-sided perspective that most US side folks hold to of everyday life in the border areas.

Of course there are serious problems there. Yet when people travel there, almost all of them are amazed at how tranquil it is. So if it is possible to take a larger number of people there via the internet, perhaps they can understand more accurately how it is that there are not serious concerns with tourist travel to Mexico now. More broadly this little journey may help to renew respect and interaction.

Perspective: The idea is not to make a political point, but rather to communicate an accurate, on the ground picture of what life is like. I will not carry signs, make political or policy statements, meet with officials, etc. I will simply walk a path across the city to include busy streets, parks, markets, stores, restaurants, etc, and the message will be whatever I experience.

Interestingly as I have been preparing for this walk, 100 % of the people who know something about Juarez have very strong cautions. On the other hand, 100% of the people who live there or who know it well are very positive. Perhaps my observations will help connect those two groups.

Contact:

Dave Hensleigh, 217.369.9897, davehensleigh@gmail.com

Follow on Aug 19, 20, and 21 twitter @CopperCanyonGuy

www.AuthenticCopperCanyon.com

There are some 80,000 Mennonites in Mexico, most of them in Chihuahua. The largest concentration is around Cuauhtemoc. This area is right along the CHEPE train to Copper Canyon and also is traversed by a very serviceable road.

History

The immigration of these folks mainly from Canada began in 1922 whena deal was made by President Obregon. The details of this and sunsequent developments are well documented in a Wiki article “Mennonites in Mexico”.

Our tours to the area

I always enjoy rolling out of Chihuahua City on the train early in the morning headed for Copper Canyon. One crisp fall morning I remember particularly because the early sun was so warm, and as we climbed up into the Cuauhtemoc basin (it takes about 2 hours from Chi City) the air cooled a bit and made that sun feel so good.

Before us out the windows of the rocking CHEPE were miles and miles of apple trees (recently harvested) and maturing oats with their gray green color flowing as far as we could see. The apple orchards were full of workers weeding, pruning and bundling up the huge nets used for hail protection.

One May morning not long ago

Smudge fires above Cuauhtemoc in the apple fields.

I was out of Cuauhtemoc early one morning to catch up with a group and the temperature on the car dash read 1 degree…then zero, then minus one. All across the vast basin. smudge fires were flaring and the wind circulators made a roar like some giant fly in. It was quite a site and made the usually bucolic farms seem to bustle with warming activity.

Early morning smudge fires above Cuauhtemoc.

The most notable of the crafts is certainly the woven baskets. They are made right on the spot in most cases and almost completely fromaterials gathered in the canyons.

Usually the basic weaving material is of two plants: the long needles of local pines and the levaes of sotol split into strips 1/16th to 1/2 inch in width- depending on the size and design of the basket.

Sometimes dyes are used on one or both of the weaving materials and so you will see orange, red, blue, black, brown, purple, etc. Some of these tints come from soils or other plants and some are artificial- purchased in Creel or some other source.

The weaving is fun to watch. Usually they start with the base and typically the baskets are double walled. Seems to me the skill is in keeping them round.

Often when you get a basket they smell of fresh pine. When we are on an excursion headed at the end for the border, the van will have a pleasant woodsy aroma from recently purchased baskets.

Baskets will range in price based on size, design, and intricacy. Lower end baskets that are 3-4 inches tall will be about 20-30 pesos (about 3 dollars) and larger ones that get as large as 12-14 inches in diameter can be 12-15 dollars.

Alfredo Murillo...one of a kind.

One of my main guides on Copper Canyon tours is Alfredo Murillo. People love his skill, humor, insight into culture, etc.

Due to reduced tourism trade in Mexico, the Murillo family has been hit hard financially. They have one son in college ( third year of architecture school) and one starting next year. Alfredo mentioned recently that his daughter Rebecca was tying to find a laptop as she starts next fall majoring in Chemistry. He also mentioned that her favorite color is purple.

Jason and Ruth Wood emailed me right away and told me they had a laptop that would do the job. Jason runs Immersion Technology Inc. in Doylestown, PA and has helped us get our sites running – excellent work. Jason and Ruth were on a recent trip to the Sierras.

Also other Authentic Copper Canyon fans donated money and we were able to get a case, mouse, etc.

When the laptop arrived, I could not believe it- excellent machine with new hard drive- and it was purple!!!

It was delivered last week on one of our Copper Canyon train trips and she loves it!

Alfredo Murillo and daughter Rebecca with her new PURPLE computer.

Recently we were kicking back in Casas Grandes and he began to imitate the propane sellers driving the streets of Chihauhua advertising their goods. This is just one of the “value added” parts of our excursions.

I have been there many times with groups on our Copper Canyon tours and I never tire of the charm of this place.

Recently we arrive from the Sierra Madres (the end of a Copper Canyon train trip) and Diana Acosta arranged for a firing in the courtyard of the historic hacienda style Casa de Nopal owned by Spencer and Emi MacCallum. The potter was Kiko Marquez.

We watched enthralled as the wood was arranged- softwood mostly bark from local cottonwood trees. Inside was a wonderful little black pot. The fire burned for about 15- 20 minutes and then the fresh pot was uncovered- perfect!

Recently we came into Creel in Copper Canyon - actually we hardly ever go to Creel because it is a bit touristy.

But we dropped into town and here was the Guadalupe parade starting…cool. We watched as the portrait of the virgin from the local church was paraded up the street on the shoulders of dancers outfitted in Tarahumara dress.

The destination was the plaza in front of the “new church ” in Creel and the large painting was then transferred into the sanctuary.

There was music, hands in the air, balloons, first communion kids- a real celebration.

One other note on Creel: places we stay there are Cabañas Bertis (cheap, clean, basic), Best Western (Very clean, with decent food and much like a US hotel), and Quinta Mision (neat place with large rooms and very nice).

The woman in the video above has produced a little booklet with genuine Copper Canyon recipes in it and we are working on getting it translated. Her little cabin area is not impressive (very comfortable and affordable) but her foods are beyond belief!

I love the foods of this area and have created the first ever culinary trip there. It is called “The Blue Corn Express” and the next one is coming up April 30-May 7…<<click here for itinerary of this culinary trip.