I've finally managed to tear myself away from the Barranca del Cobre, even though there were a few things that I wanted to see (ah, the sacrifices I make in the name of exploration and the advancement of human knowledge). I caught the Copper Canyon railway (or the Chepe as it's known locally) from Creel to a suitably awful town on the coast called Los Mochis (stopping to catch a view of the actual Copper Canyon itself, and going a bit trigger-happy with the camera as a consequence, at Divisadero on the way). The railway really is a feat of engineering as it winds through the least railway-friendly territory known to man. What's more, when they were building it I think they were given all the reject track pieces from the Americans after they had built their own railways, because there is not a single piece of straight track on the whole line! Not only that, but there are some incredibly tortuous meanderings and doubling-backs to accommodate the ever-changing topography. Not only is their track-laying incredible, but the speed and and punctuality must be the envy of Virgin Rail: with an average speed of under 30km/h and a delay of just under 3 hours, it's a record Mr Branson would be proud of! (For those of you (luckily) unacquainted with the British railway system, this final remark will probably be rather obscure.) However all that can be forgiven because of the stunning scenery through which the railway passes, which must surely rank it alongside one of the rail journeys of the world.
I arrived at Los Mochis at 2:30am and decided to save money on a hotel room by getting a bus to the town of Alamos and sleeping on it instead. Alamos itself is a small town, with charming colonial architecture that reveals its important history (another mining town, and also an important stopping point on the Camino Real). But more important to me is the fact that Alamos is the epicentre of the breeding range of the small moth Carpocapsa saltitans (again ex-students should note the italics, capitalisation for the genus name but none for the species name) that lays its eggs in the seeds of a local shrub. When warmed the larva pulls on threads that it spins within the seed, causing it to move around. That's right folks, they are Mexican Jumping Beans, and unfortunately this year's crop was a complete failure and so there are none about, and consequently I am not a happy bunny. Ah well, some things are just out of our hands.
The next couple of days are going to be a bit bus intensive as I return to Mexico City via Mazatlan, each time taking the night bus to save money on accommodation. But since I'm not much of a beach bum I doubt I'll stay long on the coast.
I arrived at Los Mochis at 2:30am and decided to save money on a hotel room by getting a bus to the town of Alamos and sleeping on it instead. Alamos itself is a small town, with charming colonial architecture that reveals its important history (another mining town, and also an important stopping point on the Camino Real). But more important to me is the fact that Alamos is the epicentre of the breeding range of the small moth Carpocapsa saltitans (again ex-students should note the italics, capitalisation for the genus name but none for the species name) that lays its eggs in the seeds of a local shrub. When warmed the larva pulls on threads that it spins within the seed, causing it to move around. That's right folks, they are Mexican Jumping Beans, and unfortunately this year's crop was a complete failure and so there are none about, and consequently I am not a happy bunny. Ah well, some things are just out of our hands.
The next couple of days are going to be a bit bus intensive as I return to Mexico City via Mazatlan, each time taking the night bus to save money on accommodation. But since I'm not much of a beach bum I doubt I'll stay long on the coast.
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