The Chepe Express train, commonly called “el Chepe “ is considered one of the great train rides in the world! Uncommon Journeys, with whom we are traveling, prides itself by offering tours that include a train ride sometime during its tour. That is why we chose to travel with them. The total Chepe Express route covers 350 km (220 miles) and can take over 9 hours to complete. However, it is common for people to break up the trip, giving them time to explore the Copper Canyon area. This is what most visitors do. Today we taking the first phase the trip; one that will last about 1.5 hours.

After breakfast at the hotel we were taken by hotel vans (along with many other hotel guests) to the train station in Divisadero where the train was expected “around 9:30” but we were warned that can be late! As it turned out we were lucky today as the train showed up at 9:32 AM. It was a bit chaotic getting on board as there were probably 100 people boarding this day. Luckily with the excellent leadership of Christopher and Abraham we were told where to stand on the platform before the train arrived and once the train arrived they led us to the proper coach where reserved seats would be waiting for us.

Before boarding I was apprehensive about the train and the seating. Having ridden Amtrak trains in the US I was not overly optimistic. I was encouraged as we worked our way to our assigned coach that had a sign hanging on the side that said  “executive class” coach. YES! And once we boarded I was really impressed: wide comfortable seats, lots of legroom, and even TVs at the end of the coach showing scenes of the area. And once we left the station I was impressed with how quiet was the ride. We were told there was a restaurant car and bar located a few cars away if we were so inclined. By 9:47AM we were on our way. Time passed quickly and by 11:22AM we had arrived at our destination for this part of the trip-Bahuichivo.

We had been expecting to be taken to another hotel in the Balderrama chain. Given how much we loved the Mirador we just stayed at,  we were looking forward to staying at their hotel “Mision” here. Instead we were confused when we arrived at a small hotel called “Hotel Paraiso del Oso”. It got its name from a nearby mountain that looks like Yogi Bear! Most named rock formations need a lot of imagination to see why it is named as it is. There was no problem agreeing that this mountain, indeed, does look like Yogi Bear.

When we were shown our spartan rooms there was a pretty collective “this is not what we were promised and paid for”.  Abraham explained that the request for rooms at Hotel Mision came too late and this hotel had been substituted. Even Christopher was surprised at the unexpected change.  To his credit he immediately instructed Abraham to go to the Mision Hotel and “plead, if necessary” for rooms for the second night of our planned stay in the area.

As he went off we were treated to a very nice, tasty home-made lunch and a sample of local tequila. We all accepted a sample of the tequila, but were somewhat taken aback when the owner showed us the tequila bottle which happened to contain the carcass of a poisonous (?) snake!  It adds flavor and complexity to the tequila, he said! The good news is no one had any lingering effects from trying it!

Abraham arrived shortly after lunch and told us he was only able to secure four rooms at Mision for the next night- not enough for everyone in our group. Christopher and Abraham said they would stay here and Henry, our single gentleman, kindly offered to also stay. Kudos to Uncommon Journeys for handling the situation quickly and properly.

We were free to hike in the area the rest of the afternoon or simply relax. I am pretty sure everyone took naps, read books or played cards in the “funky” bar area, which reminded me of an old-time western saloon. The only lighting was with kerosene lanterns! The host provided popcorn later that afternoon and made some pretty good margaritas. Dinner was also made by their local staff and again it was tasty and good.

After dinner Christopher invited those who were interested to join him outdoors where a bon fire was underway and he proceeded to hand out marshmallows for us to toast. We were joined by a family of five people from Germany who were hiking in the area and were also staying at the hotel. We had a pleasant time telling them about our American tradition of roasting marshmallows and hearing of their adventures visiting this area.

Because the rooms had no heating other than a wood burning stove, the staff started a small fire in each of our rooms to stave off the night time cold. It worked and we slept soundly.

Tomorrow there will be more sightseeing in this area of the canyon.