Brian A. Hopkins
Adventure Bumpkin

Bahlobo y los Gringos:
"South of the Border"
(Copper Canyon, Mexico) 13 - 22 April 2007

THE LOCALS: I can't say enough about how nice the locals were in the Copper Canyon area, even though very few people spoke any English whatsoever. The Mexicans were generally friendly and helpful.  Most seemed pleased to see us, and my arm got tired of returning waves. It almost seemed as if we were celebrities on parade instead of motorcycle trash. All the merchants we dealt with were honest and hard-working. When Danny asked one jewelry artist about his product -- "Is it silver? Will it tarnish?" -- it would have been very easy for the guy to lie (or at least pretend he didn't understand), but he immediately confessed that the jewelry was not silver and would indeed tarnish, even though it cost him a sale. The kids would warm up to you quick. I carried pocketfuls of Lifesavers and handed them out at every opportunity. When we first arrived in Creel, we asked one boy how to find the hotel. He immediately hopped on his bike and led us to the hotel -- about a 1/2 mile, I would guess -- pumping away at those peddles as only a kid can do without suffering a heart attack, while we four motored along behind him. Chris gave the kid a few pesos for his help, but I don't think the kid did it just for the chance to earn a little bit of money. Our last night in Creel, there was a huge cavalcade of vehicles parading through town with megaphones blaring and horns honking. I walked up from the hotel to see what was going on. The first gentleman I approached on the street corner went to great lengths to explain to me in broken English what was going on. Mexico's presidential election was scheduled for that Sunday and this was a campaign parade of sorts, with every candidate represented. He didn't have to go to so much trouble to explain what was going on to a foreigner, but he did.

The Tarahumara were a bit aloof, standoffish, wary, whatever. I assume this is cultural. They did not care for having their photos taken, so many of the photos you see below are "sneaky shots" or were shot at a distance.

A Tarahumara girl selling beads and bracelets and whatnot.
It took some work for me to coax this half smile out of her.

Another young entrepreneur.

These two guys often hung out around our hotel. I gave them
some pesos and Lifesavers. The one day we had chicken, Danny
saved them some. You can see "hard life" written all over these lads.

Tarahumara woman in the town square -- zocalo is the word, I
think -- in Creel. She reluctantly permitted me to take her photo
after I bought some earrings from her, but she wouldn't look
up at the camera.

Her wares (and my shadow -- sloppy photography, bahlobo!).

Tarahumara family in Creel ... sneak photography.

Another sneaky shot ... but I think you can tell from her expression that
she caught me and was NOT pleased.

Tarahumara craftswoman at work.

Tarahumara girl. "Don't look at the gringo with the camera!"

This shot was taken from across the street at a not inconsiderable
distance. Thought I went unnoticed. The woman in the yellow
dress came barreling across the street and gave me a royal ass
chewing, then produced a sheet of paper in a document protector.
The message on the paper was all in Spanish, but I quickly figured
out that she expected to be paid 20 pesos for her photo. In fear for
my life, I paid her, but then took another shot of her up close. I
wound up preferring the above "unposed" telephoto I had snuck
instead of the glaring scowl she gave me after I paid her.

Impossible to resist this little guy.

"Look, Ma! Gringos!"

Waiting for the bus? (Photo courtesy of Rich Desmond.)

Bet those feet have seen many a mile. (Photo courtesy of Rich Desmond.)

The kids in Batopilas all wanted a turn sitting on Chris's DR-Z.

I'm thinking this guy could have done just as good a job riding the
damn thing up the hotel's stairs as we gringos did. LOL.

"Everyone Loves Baby Girl." No doubt! The kids really got a
kick out of seeing their photos on my camera's LCD. Too bad I
don't have any way to send them copies.

While stopped for a breather at the bridge over the Batopilas River (on our way back to Creel that
last day), this man walked a mile or more just to shake our hands and say hello. Danny gave him
water and a power bar. I gave him candy. He was a happy, friendly guy, wanting nothing more
than to say howdy to the famous gringos he'd heard were in town. You can see how short he is by
the way Danny is crouching in the photo. (Photo courtesy of Chris Marlow.)

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