sunday MAY 16

sitting in an internet cafe in the mountains of CREEL, in chihuahua

the train ride was long and beautiful. we took the cheaper one, non tourist, it was clean and air conditioned and there were other tourists

getting there was a trip in and of itself:  ferry from la paz to topolobambo.  left at 11 at nite !!!  slept and woke up at 6. got a cab to los mochis.  got a bus to el fuerte. took the train to creel.  and everything worked smoooth as pie

the train was slow and steady ....and after divisdero for me was the best part

trees and trees and more trees .. for miles and the train climbs and climbs and climbs more

the newspaper was one i started to read at dinner, only to find a portion of it is in German ... come to find there is a community where they live off  the land. speak only German.  live life in a very simple way ... amazing and totally unexpected find

Creel is very pretty. It is high in the mountains and we are feeling difficulty breathing.  we are off to dinner. our hotel includes dinner tonite and breakfast inthe morning and all for 30 dollars.  it is called Margarita's Hotel and it is in front of the main square. the souvenirs here are dirt cheap.  20 pesos for beautifully designed snakes made out of whittled wood. dolls of all shapes and colors.  not sure of their cost.  mata ortiz pottery from 20 pesos to thousands of pesos.  and all different colors and shapes as well.  there are woven covers everywhere, but i forgot to ask how much they cost since we are not interested in them.  the indians sell the baskets starting at 20 pesos and upwards.  they smell of pine. the larger ones are a cactus leaf. the smaller are pine. all are colored with a stone mixed with water. we have heard that the colors never fade

we are ready for more !!  what a fun trip so far :)