Our expedition, made up of eight companions, began on a Saturday. With the help of four Tarahumara, we loaded the two rafts and the necessary equipment, and we went down the narrow paths to reach the next town, a place where our porter friends would accompany us, since there we could get beasts and more people who would help us continue our adventure.
Our expedition, made up of eight companions, began on a Saturday. With the help of four Tarahumara, we loaded the two rafts and the necessary equipment, and we went down the narrow paths to reach the next town, a place where our porter friends would accompany us, since there we could get beasts and more people who would help us continue our adventure.
The road was beautiful; At first the vegetation was wooded but as we went down the landscape became more arid. After walking a few hours and admiring the endless canyons through which we walked, we arrived at the town that turned out to be a single house. There a kind man named Grutencio offered us some juicy and refreshing oranges, and he got two chargers and two burritos to help us continue the descent. We continued up and down paths that carved their way through the mountains, we lost track of time and night fell. The full moon appeared between the hills, illuminating us with such force that our shadows lengthened, painting a great stain on the road we were leaving behind. When we were about to give up and determined to spend the night on the rugged road, we were surprised by the majestic sound of the river that announced its proximity. However, we still walked for more than an hour until we finally reached the banks of the Urique. Upon arrival, we take off our boots to dip our feet into the cool sand, prepare a nice dinner, and sleep soundly.
The day came to us with the warm sun rays of the morning, which revealed to us the clarity of the waters of the river in which we would be sailing for the next five days. We wake up with a delicious breakfast, unpack and inflate the two bullets, and get ready to go. The excitement of the group was contagious. I was a little nervous because it was my first descent, but the desire to discover what awaited us overcame my fear.
The river did not carry much water so in some sections we had to go down and drag the rafts, but despite the enormous effort, we all enjoyed every moment of this fascinating place. The emerald green water and the huge reddish walls that line the river, contrasted with the blue of the sky. I felt truly small next to that majestic and imposing nature.
When we approach one of the first rapids, the expedition guides. Waldemar Franco and Alfonso de la Parrra, gave us directions to maneuver the rafts. The loud noise of the water falling down the slope made me shudder, but we could only keep rowing. Without realizing it, the raft collided with a stone and we began to turn as the current dragged us down. We entered the rapid on our backs, screams were heard and the entire team fell into the water. When we got out of the dip we turned to see each other and couldn't control our nervous laughter. We got on the raft and didn't stop discussing what had just happened until our adrenaline dropped a bit.
After sailing for five hours in which we lived great moments of emotion, we stopped on a river bank to kill our hunger. We took out our “great” banquet: a handful of dried fruit and half a power bar (in case we were left with the craving), and we rested for an hour to continue navigating the unpredictable waters of the Urique River. At six o'clock in the afternoon, we began to look for a comfortable place to camp, make a good dinner and sleep under a starry sky.
It was not until the third day of the tour that the mountains began to open up and we saw the first human being who did not belong to the expedition: a Tarahumara named Don Jaspiano who informed us that there were still two days left to reach the town of Urique, where we were planning to finish our trip. Don Jaspiano kindly invited us to his house to eat freshly made beans and tortillas and, of course, after all that time trying only our dehydrated food (instant soups and oatmeal), we entered the tasty beans with singular joy, although how sorry we we gave at night!
On the fifth day of the trip we arrived at the town of Guadalupe Coronado, where we stopped at a little beach. A few meters from where we installed the camp, the family of Don Roberto Portillo Gamboa lived. For our luck it was Holy Thursday, the day that the Holy Week festivities begin and the whole town gathers to pray and demonstrate their faith by dancing and singing. Doña Julia de Portillo Gamboa and her children invited us to the party and, despite our exhaustion, we went because we could not miss this fascinating ceremony. When we arrived, the party had already started. By observing all those human shadows that ran from one side to another carrying the saints on their shoulders, hearing sudden and scattered shouts, constant drumming and murmurs of prayers, I was transported to another time. It was incredible and magical to be able to witness a ceremony of this magnitude, of this antiquity. Being among the Tarahumara women dressed in long skirts of a thousand colors, the men in white with their ribbon tied around their waists, was truly transported to another time and space that the people of Guadalupe Coronado shared with us.
At dawn we packed up our equipment and while the men were looking for ground transportation to go to Urique, Elisa and I visited the Portillo Gamboa family. We had breakfast with them coffee with fresh milk, warm homemade bread, and of course, they could not miss the delicious beans with tortillas. Doña Julia gave us a little capirotada, a delicious dessert composed of various ingredients such as brown sugar, apple jam, peanuts, plantain, walnuts, raisins and bread, which is prepared for the Easter festivities; We took photos of the whole family and said goodbye.
We left the river, put the equipment into a truck and reached Urique in less than a rooster crows. We walk down the only street in town and look for a place to eat and stay. Curiously, there was no room available, perhaps because of the festivities that were held in neighboring towns and the great "dance" that was prepared in the Plaza de Urique. After lunch they informed us that “El Gringo” rented his garden to the campers, so we went to see him and for three pesos we set up the tents among the long pastures and other varieties of plants. Tiredness made us take a long nap, and when we woke it was dark. We walked down the "street" and Urique had been populated. Stalls of corn, potatoes with valentina sauce, homemade ice cream, children everywhere and trucks that crossed the small street from one side to the other, raising and lowering people of all ages who gave the "role". We quickly settled down, we met very friendly people, we danced the norteñas and drank tesgüino, a fermented corn liquor typical of the region.
At seven o'clock in the morning the next day, a van passed us that would take us to Bahuichivo, where we would take the Chihuahua-Pacific train.
We leave the heart of the mountains to reach Creel after noon. We rested in a hotel, where after six days we were able to bathe with hot water, we went out to dinner and our day ended on a soft mattress. In the morning we prepared to leave Creel in the same truck from the Río y Montaña Expediciones company that would take us to Mexico. On the way back I had a lot of time to collect my thoughts and realize that all those experiences changed something in me; I met people and places that taught me the value and greatness of everyday things, of everything that surrounds us, and we rarely have time to admire.
Source: Unknown Mexico No. 219 / May 1995
