Eight Days Along Chepe with Descent into Urique Canyon (Los Mochis to Chihuahua, Sunday to Sunday)

Gustavo was a treasure of information. His science background was very obvious as he was familiar with most of the plant families and scientific names of the endemic species. Being a biologist from a different area I was able to make a real connection.

We found the staff attentive, very knowledgeable, not only of the area, but of the flora and fauna and the customs of the local indigenous Mayo and Tarahumara people. The entire staff was hospitable, caring and fun to be around. They seem to really enjoy their jobs. But then who wouldn't enjoy that kind of work. They did a great job in driving us around, hiking with us, taking us on a boat trip, birding with us and feeding us all that good food, wine, beer and margaritas. We got to visit places seldom seen by people outside of the area, such a deserted caves and other sites where people lived hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. The greatness of the tour was that we actually got to visit homes of the local indigenous people, seeing them do their crafts and play, sing and dance to their music. We got to talk to their leaders and shamans. We got to visit their schools and see them in action. We also learned how to make Capirotada at the home of Socorro Chan. What a delightful woman. If we had to do it all over again we would take the same tour through the same tour operator, Canyon Travel. There is no comparison to the other tours offered for the area.

Anyone not touring with Canyon Travel will be missing some truly memorable experiences and good times.

Highlights for us included: birding and climbing up to see the petroglyphs with Chal's brother in El Fuerte and the very cool hummingbirds. The drive into Urique Canyon with Mario and Tito was incredible and we got a chance to hike part of the way down with Victorio (one of the famous Tarahumara runners). Mario let us ride on the roof of the truck from Guadalupe to Urique which was a real highpoint!!! Gustavo was the perfect host for one of the neatest places on earth and Julio crafted the perfect hike for Jazz and I. The things we saw and the pictures we got were incredible. It's clear that Canyon Travel has gone to a lot of effort to put together a great trip.