Bahuichivo Station, Then Cerocahui

View from Walk to the Rim

Another View From Our Walk Along Rim of Canyon

This morning we went for a walk, not sure of where we were headed.  We crossed the main road of the town, went up a dead end road, walked  though the grounds of what appeared to be a defunct hotel, and soon found the rail track.  We found a path on the other side of the track and soon found ourselves at the rim of the canyon and enjoyed splendid panoramic views.  With a bit of walking I was able to see the tourist center that we had visited the previous day  as well as the cable full  extent of the cable car.

We were driven to the Posada Barrancas train station at 1.45 PM expecting to catch the train for Bauichivo at 2.11 PM.  Brenda and I had different ideas about the direction from which to expect the train.  Shortly before 2 PM we heard the whistle of a train coming from Brenda's direction and we figured that the train was a bit early.  We got on board, were escorted to our seats, and fortunately I asked about payment for two for Bahuichivo.   The conductor told me that the train was headed for Chihuahua, where we had come from.  I could hardly believe my years.  “Quando Otro Tren?” I asked.  “Media hora” was his reply.  We got off that train as fast as we could.  That was a close call.  If I had waited for the conductor to ask us for our fares we would have been well on our way back to Chihuahua before discovering the mistake.

Train Arriving at Bahuichivo Station

The train heading in the opposite direction to Los Mochis arrrived 40 minutes later, about 30  minutes late. Boarding was a fast operation:  The train stopped, we climbed on, then the train was off again well before we got into our seats.  A few minutes later the conductor collected our fares (400 pesos for the both of us)  to Bahuichivo.  This was the most scenic section of the line yet, with plenty of mountains, gorges, rivers, tunnels, and bridges.

We got off the train at Bahuichivo and soon found the hotel Plaza's car.  Ten minutes later the proprietor arrived, asked “Senor Morales?”, we shook hands, and Brenda and I climbed into the van and watched for 10 minutes while an unbelievable number of people and baggage were crammed into a bus.  Brenda and I were pleased not to be riding that bus.  The 16 km drive to Cerocahui was along a dusty road and I was wondering what we had let ourselves in for.  But soon we found ourselves in a beautiful valley with a large river and surrounded by mountains, and not long after that were in the charming village of Cerocahui, with its paved road, central plaza, and venerable church started by a Jesuit priest in 1680. 

Church at Cerocahui

Unfortunately the Internet service was not good enough for Skype and probably e-mail.  Worse, none of the shops sold beer.  Maybe to make up for this we had dinner at a very up market hotel – not that we had a choice, really, because there did not seem to be any other restaurant open in the village.