Caminata

Since I checked in at 3:30 and had a minor moment of drama, I only had just enough time to have my breath taken away by my view and change into appropriate clothes before the free walking tour.

We met up with Berto (orange shirt and ball cap) and he and I got some quality chat time after explaining I was from the States.  I also met a young couple from DF and hoped I would get to see more of them since they seemed to be the two in my age range that weren't annoying (wait for it).
We hiked casually for about 15 minutes to the home of some of the Tarahumara people.  THe people in this area usually charge to see their homes as a form of income, but Berto suggested we buy something from their tables instead.  
He told us how they live in these "caves" which are not caves by a Mammoth Cave standard.  They're more like rocks that happen to have about 6 feet of overhead coverage.  In the picture above, you can't see it, but in the "ceiling crease" on the wall, there is a string of freshly caught fish.  They don't have refrigerators, so their fish just hangs until they eat it.  Ugh.

He also told us (which I had already read) that there are some migratory Tarahumara.  They live at the bottom of the canyon in the winter months since it snows at the top.  In the summer, they live at the top because it's tropical temperatures at the bottom.  There are mango trees and other tropical things that survive the summer down there.
The picture above was taken because this little boy was climbing up and sliding down that ledge.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but all the tourists were nervous and secretly mentally beckoning the kid back from the cliff.  It reminded me of a story I've heard from my trip to the Grand Canyon as a little girl.  I don't really remember the trip at all, but I'm assuming it was a part of the genius cross-country venture that included lots of car sick little Laura, vomit-filled towels, and never-ending offers of gum.  Maybe not.

Anyway, apparently there was a little boy (like 3-5 years old) crouched at the edge of the grand Canyon and my whole family (or at least my parents- PK probably was mad he was with his family and Andy was probably jealous that that boy got to got to that far and he didn't) was a ball of nerves.
Our tour guide was a great photographer and spent about 5 minutes taking pictures of anyone that wanted from this picture-perfect rock.
While we were waiting on everyone's pictures, he told us about the 6am sunrise hike.  It was "optional," which meant you had to pay for it, but it was only 200 pesos.  It would take about 2 hours.  First we would hike to see the sunrise.  Then we would spent the next hour and 15 minutes seeing a Tarahumara cave, a Tarahumara school, and some views along the way.  I decided then and there that I was in.  I mean, seize the day, right?  The picture above would be our final destination for the sunrise.  It's the highest point in the Canyon.  We had already climbed about 20 minutes at this point mind you.
The Copper Canyon is a misnomer for several reasons.  First and foremost, the color of the canyon is green-ish from all the lichen.  While copper jewelry and pots were sold, I've heard that there are no copper mines (or at least not anymore).  The third reason it's a misnomer is that the Copper Canyon is actually just one canyon in the set of 7.  This is why it's so much bigger than the Grand Canyon.  It's a system of 6-7 (depending on who you ask).  In Divisadero, where my hotel was (the stop with the best view- the hotel with the best view, too!), four of the six or seven canyons come together, calling it the heart of the canyon.  No wonder I was in such a good place!

We finished our little hike and passed these friends below.  How ironic that I was on a swine-flu induced vacation, trying to avoid swine flu, staying next to some pigs!  My new friend from DF said, "How cute!" and even though I try to hold back at first with new people, I had to ask her if she was out of her mind!  They were the ugliest creatures I've seen in a long time!