Copper Canyon Trip Thursday

So I got bored with the numbering! Our bus down the mountain took us to Creel where we had time to shop and see the square. I always like to take pictures of churches. Instead of having an historic church on the square, they had this very modern one. The first picture is the front of the church and the second is the back. Notice the fancy confessionals and what I'm assuming is a choir loft. On the left front was a side chapel which could be completely closed off, and I figured was for parents with small children (I don't have a picture). Someone in this town must have money. I'll have to Google it to see what fuels their economy. Should have paid closer attention to Carlos's lecture.

As you can tell by now, I love to take pictures of ordinary people, and evidently these people were used to tourists. Some even asked for money; some of my fellow travelers volunteered to pay them. I don't know if they had market day every day on the plaza, but it was full of vendors with not just tourist items, but household items.

In this shop I bought an apron for my friend Karen who loves to cook. It has Indian designs and appliqued Tarahumara Indian dolls on it. Below is our LOSER bus! Not really. The company that Carlos evidently worked for was called A CLOSER LOOK, but the marquee was scrolling and I caught a funny.

This is a picture of my friends Maria and Marilyn. Maria's husband doesn't like to travel, so he's at home taking care of Maria's two horses; Marilyn is a somewhat recent widow with a successful real estate business who travels extensively any chance she gets. The restaurant where the picture was taken is in a town called Guerrero in the heart of Mormon country. Our food was delicious and since they have miles of apple orchards, we had hot apple pie with homemade ice cream for dessert. I did indulge.

Our stop for the evening and our farewell dinner was in Casas Grandes Nuevo. The hotel was like an American one; I had just gotten used to the quaintness of our other ones and was rudely brought back to the real world. The closer one gets to the United States the more they want to mimic American culture; I guess they think that's what Americans want. I preferred absorbing their culture. On the bus that afternoon, we were shown a video explaining how the Indians make and fire their pottery. Before we went into the restaurant for dinner, two local artists demonstrated how they fire their beautiful creations. It's rather primitive, more like lighting a bonfire. After dinner, the gentleman with the pony tail which I think you've seen in at least two pictures volunteered to be the auctioneer for several pieces of pottery. My friend Marilyn got the first, and even though Maria tried, she was outbid in her attempt. Not to worry, we'll be able to buy some at the museum tomorrow. Marilyn had the honor of having her picture taken with the artists and the other winners. Back at the hotel, everyone was trying to connect to the Internet. We were supposed to have service on the bus, but it was so slow as to be non-existent. Tomorrow is going to be another long day of riding and not knowing how long it will take us to get across the border at Nacho.