Recuerdos: El Chepe (Parte Uno)

In February 2020, right before COVID became ubiquitous, I went on a trip that I had wanted to take for years. A friend and I went to Sinaloa, Mexico to get on the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico, more commonly known as the Chepe. The Chepe is a passenger train that travels over 200 miles from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, up to Chihuahua City, the capital city of Chihuahua. It goes through the Copper Canyon, which is commonly thought of as the Mexican Grand Canyon but is a whole different kind of beauty. There are around six major stops and we got off at three of them: the actual Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon), the pueblo of Creel and then Chihuahua City.

It’s coming up in my Facebook memories so I thought I’d share what I wrote then, as well as some of the photos which of course did not do this trip justice.

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Feb 15, 2020 

We made it to Los Mochis, Sinaloa. I got about 3 hours sleep on the 4.5 hour flight to Mexico City and then about 30 min sleep on the 2 hour flight to Los Mochis. Fortunately we had nothing really planned for today because there is not much in Los Mochis and I’m very tired. 

We went through immigration in Mexico City and it was really easy. Then customs in Los Mochis basically consisted of “did you bring any produce? OK, you’re good.”

The city reminds me of a smaller version of Reynosa, where my friends’ orphanage is. It’s for sure not made for tourists, but you can find taco stands and muffler repair etc. everywhere. I found elementary schools, party supply stores, and lots of hardware stores.

Tomorrow the train leaves at six am! Tomorrow should probably be the most spectacular part of the train ride, through part of the Copper Canyon. We’re staying at a hotel at the top of the canyon that looks amazing.

Los Mochis is NOT a tourist town. Not at all. I took a long walk today and found pharmacies, an elementary school, a church where a wedding was happening, and a lot of mechanics and parts stores. A couple hotels. It’s low season as well as having very limited tourism, so the hotels are mostly empty and repairs are being made. I haven’t seen any restaurants outside of the hotels. I think all the tourists (and I haven’t seen any other obvious ones) are here for the same reason we are: to get on the Chepe train, Mexico’s last remaining passenger train [as of 2020; there is another one on the Yucatán Peninsula that is being built now!) that goes through the Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre).

I actually really like being in non-touristy spots in Mexico (although don’t get me wrong; I love a nice beach!!). People are super gracious when I speak Spanish, and my ability is rusty at the beginning of a trip and much more fluent at the end, every single time, so I’m still struggling. They ask where I’m from and then, almost always, I get a story back about a time they went to the United States, or how they have a cousin who has visited California, or this time, how the server had been to visit British Columbia and he loves Canada but it’s far too cold for a Mexican. I love that people want to make a human connection, even if it’s just “oh, my cousin thought about visiting San Francisco once.”  

Of course I take all the necessary precautions that you take when in a city but when I was walking around earlier (in the daytime) alone, I felt totally safe. Also, we’re at the other end of the state from where the Sinaloa cartel is based, it appears. But where my friends live and the orphanage is is another state with a lot of narcotrafficking (before you judge Mexico, keep in mind that American demand is what’s driving the drug trade) and when I tell Mexicans that I’ve spent a lot of time in Reynosa, they usually gasp and say, “What? Really?” And then look at me with respect.

Tomorrow we get on the train AT SIX AM. We have to get on the shuttle at five am so I’ll be trying to sleep soon. It’s our longest train day tomorrow, about 8 hours, and it takes us to the hotel I’m most excited about, right on the top of the canyon.