Huarachis worn by a little Tarahumara man. Miguelito, who came with his donkey to sell vegetables at Cabanas Diaz in Areponapuchi.

 Often Tarahumara feet will be dry, crusted, and sometimes a little wounded from banging around the hills in these things. They do protect pretty well actually and seem to work year round.

These feet of a woman along the train at San Rafael have seen many miles.

How to tie huarachis:

I am going to do this by showing you a series of photos. I met this guy at theDivisadero train stop one day last year and he had a new pair- you can easily get the details on how to tie them:

Gus and his family with my wife in Arepo.

1. Authentic Copper Canyon gives you much more of a local, connect with the people type of experience. One way we do this is by using an array of skilled, bilingual, local guides. These are folks who live in the little towns along the canyon areas and know it well. One great example of this is Gustavo Lozano. Gus actually lives right in Areponapuchi- near the huge views at Divisadero and Mirador Hotel. Their home is a warm place and our guests always enjoy Gus’s insight and humor.

2.We also often stay at little local ranches or small hotels. This lets you actually interact with local people and eat the delicious truly local norteno food. Contrast this to the larger corporate hotels- they are fine but the staff tends to be more tourist savvy- like lots of English and a bit od cynicism. One great example of this is the little Cabanas Diaz in Areponapuchi. Great food, no English, gracious Chihuahua hospitality- and there is always a horse or two available if you want to explore the area that way.

Evening in the Diaz kitchen with a group.

What is largely ignored is the wealth of culinary delights which originated and now can be enjoyed in the north- especially Chihuahua. Its called Norteno food.

The Basics of Chihauhau Cuisine

This is cowboy country and much of the food reflects that. It is simple, hearty, Meat and vegetable oriented- this is not fine wine country. There are also the direct influences of the Tarahumara Indians (not the Incas) and the Mennonites who migrated there in 1922.

Distinctives of Norteno Foods

Meats are big – including Machacha seen here drying on the ceiling at Cabanas Diaz in Areponapuchi. Also alot of poultry and pork are enjoyed- even goat (cabrito).

The burrito stands will have a wide variety of meats to enjoy. Also the little sandwiches- tortas are often filled with locally prepared meats.

In the markets, be sure to seek out the meat markets- they can be a little smelly, but they give you as great view of all the cuts of meat- including heads, tongues, heart, kidney, etc.

Another distinctive is the wide use of vebetables- especially in the stews or caldos. Carrots, onions, beans, tomatos,etc fill these delicious caldos- and they are often the main dish.

Warm chicken stew at Cabanas Diaz

More on these delights of Chihuahua later.

Remember that you can enjoy and learn about these great foods on our culinary trip called “The Blue Corn Express”.

At 6am a few days later, I feasted on blue corn tortillas with a friend in Cerocahui. There is nothing better to get the day started than on of these thick tortillas and some black coffee.

Several days ago as I was coming up out of Copper with teh folks from Trans Americas Journey, I enjoyed some crunchy tortillas with some workers at the new telocarril near Piedra Volada. Great flavor.