December 10th 2023 – Batopilas, Mexico

Last day in town I went looking for a gym. My search took me to a less fashionable but no less interesting part of town. The gym I found was a bit rough around the edges. I fitted right in.
On the walk back to the hotel I passed a boxing gym. The kids were doing warm-up in the street, running up and down the stairs along the building.

Not until I started planning our route onwards from Chihuahua did I realize that there are no tarmac roads crossing Sierra Madre Occidental between Fed. 16 in the north and Fed. 40 in the south. Besides a maze of dirt roads through the mountains the closest thing to an east/west connection is Fed. 24, but that road has a 75 km gap in the middle. This is what Wikipedia has to say about the gap:

“The unfinished segment on the west is at about 820 meters elevation at Soyatita. Just outside Los Frailes, the road coming from the east is at 2,750 meters elevation. In crossing the last unfinished gap, the highway construction will have to complete an all-weather road that conveys vehicles over this 1,930 meter elevation change. Until then, the traveler crossing this gap will have to negotiate this very significant change in elevation on dirt roads.

As noted above, because of the maze of unsigned roads in the central section, the traveler can get lost. Both Soyatita and Los Frailes have between 300 and 400 inhabitants. There are not any known overnight accommodations. Being caught by night in this area would increase travel risks. Getting lost in this area may not be a safe proposition. The unfinished gap in Fed. 24 lies in the heart of the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental, and the road passes within 1 km of the point where the borders of Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa meet. The general area surrounding this three-way junction of state borders is known as the “Golden Triangle of Mexico”, a dangerous area which is well known for drug growing, drug trafficking, and violent drug related incidents.”

I decided to play it safe and find another route that would allow us a taste of Copper Canyon.
Copper Canyon is a group of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental that is 65,000 square kilometers (25,000 sq mi) in size. The canyons were formed by six rivers that drain the western side of the Sierra Tarahumara (a part of the Sierra Madre Occidental). All six rivers merge into the Rio Fuerte and empty into the Gulf of California. The walls of the canyon are a copper/green color, which is the origin of the name.
The canyon system is larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

As we were about to head out in the morning I discovered that the OpenTopoMap of Mexico I had downloaded to my Zümo XT only covered a bit west of Chihuahua before the map turned blank. Luckily Katrine’s Zümo XT bought in the US had the official map of Mexico installed. She would be taking the lead that day.

Beyond the city limit we arrived in cattle country where the vaqueros ruled. It reminded us of the rural areas in the western part of the US.
We gained altitude and traveled between 2.000 and 2.500 meters elevation all afternoon.

The second hotel we stopped at in Creel had the desired combination of price and facilities.
With the bikes securely stowed away we went for a walk to have a look at our first Magical Town in Mexico.
It was a bit of a disappointment. Aside from the touristy main street the place was rather run down and crawling with mangy-looking street dogs. The friendly locals still managed to make it a positive experience.

Creel is situated at 2.350 meters altitude. It had been below freezing during the night. First light revealed an unreal blue sky allowing the sun to do its thing. When we were ready to leave the temperature was pleasant.
The scenery and riding was spectacular as we made our way to Copper Canyon.

A couple of hours into the day’s ride we diverted from the main road through the mountains towards the town of Batopilas. Until recently the town located by the river at the bottom of one of the canyons was only accessible by a rough 60 kilometers dirt road. The road has now been surfaced but fights an uphill battle against nature. Where the road is still intact it’s often covered by dirt and fallen rocks. In many places rockslides have reclaimed the road entirely and temporary detours have been created.
Katrines bike decided to take a nap during one of those detours. She just stepped off and landed on her feet. The bike acquired a few cosmetic battle scars but was otherwise fine.
As we descended towards Batopilas the temperatures climbed to around 30℃/90℉.
We had called Hotel Juanitas the previous evening and made a booking. The conversation had been entirely in Spanish.
Apparently Hotel Juanitas is the place to stay for motorcycle travelers. I understand why.
The hotel is a beautiful colonial building situated by the town square with a view over the river. The icing on the cake is that Juanita allow you to bring your bike through the house and park in the enclosed courtyard by the fountain.

Batopilas is another Magical Town and everything Creed is not.
The town oozes authenticity. We see very few foreigners. I guess the main reason for that is that the town isn’t accessible by means of public transportation. The colorful locals create an amazing atmosphere. There is always something going on and often you hear Mexican music in the background.

In the evening of our arrival in Batopilas I received a message from Gustavo.
A fellow advrider had run into a cartel roadblock earlier the same day in an area we’ll be passing through in about a week’s time. Roadblocks like that are not unusual in rural Mexico. The roadblocks can be manned by three different groups. Either the police/army, Auto Defensas (local militia style groups organised to protect towns from cartels) or the cartels themselves, as in the case above.
Usually, tourists (local or foreign) get through all three without any issues.
The heads-up from Gustavo didn’t give me cause for concern, but reminded me that we now are traveling in a part of the world, where you need to keep your wits about you.

Our original plan to stay only one night in Batopilas changed when we woke up feeling like shit with nausea and stomach ache. It was almost noon before we managed to drag ourselves from the bed and tell Juanita that we would be staying a while longer. She offered us chamomile tea for the upset stomach. It worked well enough for us to stagger to the nearest store to get some fruit, bread and yogurt. I slept most of the day and felt gradually better. Katrine was not hit as hard, but still went to bed with the chickens and slept another 12 hours.

This morning we felt better still but drained of energy so we are staying another day with Juanita.
Most of the time we hang out in the courtyard next to the bikes to the sound of dripping water from the fountain – mixed with music from across the river. 3 big dogs, a couple of lazy cats and busy hummingbirds keep us company.
The longer we stay the better we like Batopilas. It truly is a magical place.