Happy New Year!

copper canyon
Anchorage Sea of Cortez, Mexico.

Topolobampo view.

Well im in La Paz. caught a flight last night 9:07pm - 37 minutes @ $200US instead of the 8hr ferry for $80. cheap trade off in my book! (the ferry leaves midnight and gets in about 8am) both have customs clearance in La Paz. not sure why? it crosses the Sea from the same country but to another state? whatever... i breezed through with a wave. a lady who took the ferry stood in line 2 hours to have them drag out all her dirty laundry. MY HOTEL is on a small hill just a half block off the Malecon. $34US per night with sparse but comfortable rooms. (hot water shower!!!) i slept like a stone. Today I enjoyed a great casual breakfast overlooking the Malecon and will be slowly drifting into Cabo this afternoon on the "deluxe" non-stop bus at 12:30. THE WEATHER is toasty warm today. crystal clear skies with tiny cotton candy clouds way up in the sky. a very light breeze making the shade cool and pleasant. if you step from shade to sun you can almost feel the skin begin frying. perfect weather for photographing the city. (just wish i had more time here.)
lots of lovely shots this morning around the town of La Paz and walking the Malecon. must run now to grab a coffee and begin my day.

travel safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

xo skip

... ... ... PS. now im in the bus station, La Paz. it appears my ''premium ticket'' includes the internet. (so the pretty little lady tells me. came over across the terminal where i was pretending to be invisible to inform me. ) well they might be calling me now? no - false alarm. it's all greek to me. my bus leaves soon but not now. im sitting in a quiet little antiroom off the loud crowded terminal. 2 internet stations and a coffee service, gratis. 16 comfortable leather chairs, private bathrooms and a lobby plasma TV of the sea of cortez attractions in spanish - duhhh. im the only one in here. cant imagine why unless its a secret or they are all secretly boarding the bus without me... i'll possibly write more and send photos from Cabo, internet depending. then tomorrow, thur, i have an 8am flight. THE "'TROUBLE"' WITH THE BLOG seems to only happen when i 'try' to publish anything. it sends it to a temp file instead of posting. i have a way around it for a temporary fix but it's difficult. (who cares - i know.) the Blog People will have to fix it on their end. till then i will attempt to creep along with my crutch fix.

WELL WE ARE BOARDING THE BUS. i must catch that nap! enjoy the holiday season. warmest - from Mexico. -S

Topolobampo Photos

Topolobampo, MX 12.27

TOPO, Tuesday December 27th. My plans have changed yet again. I have enjoyed my visit in Topolobampo a city built around two hills at the edge of the sea. But I have to start making my way back to Cabo and the flight home. Earlier I stopped by the airport and asked about flights. I was told they had flights at 1pm to Cabo $130US. So, I planned to return the 28th direct from Topolobampo – Cabo, and cut out the horrible 12 midnight ferry for 7-8 hours to La Paz. Today when I inquired I was told they don’t have a flight for the next 3 days. (my mistake – better questions – better answers!) today they have a flight to La Paz. $200US. 9:15pm to La Paz. I plan to be on it.

Tomorrow I will take the bus from La Paz to Cabo and then catch my 8am flight home the 29th.

Rested and healthy in Mexico.
SOLO GRINGO - skip
NOTE: these photos are all reduced in size and quality for up-loading. some of these were shot in RAW format @ 8.5 megs per shot. (for reprint quality dont use these internet versions)

Topolobampo, Mexico 12.26

i am staying over in Topolobampo. i plan to fly from here to Cabo. $130US for a direct flight instead of $76 FERRY (7hrs) departing midnight then a 3hr bus ride. saves a lot of wear and tear. the little village sits on the Sea and is built onto mountains. everywhere you look are steps up and down as nothing is flat except the sea. today i walked the village and will try to post some photos tomorrow. im healthy and happy. relaxing at the edge of the sea of cortez. for lunch i had 4 Marlin Tacos. HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS. happy holiday. xoXO Skip

http://www.skipsphotos.biz

Copper Canyon - Divisadero, MX

So you take the train from Los Mochis, to see the Copper Canyon. The train whistles to a stop at Divisadero. (the ONLY stop) the conductor anounces in Spanish that we will 'stop' for fifteen minutes to view the canyon. you step down off the train to the smell of wood smoke and diesel engines. your eyes burn you are overpowered by the noise and energy as everyone hurries to shop and take a quick photo before boarding to go back on their journey. several people wear name tags as part of their tour. families from around the world move as one pack through the crowd. it's surreal. the station - train station, has long since been abandoned. it sits empty at the edge of the vendor stalls, door open but no one home. the vendor stalls line both sides of the staircase walkway to the edge of the canyon. a shopping frenzy insues. groups line up at the rail in the practiced: 'one, two, three - cheese' ritual. (this sung in numerous languages) then the train whistles and hundreds of people run back up to clammer back onto the train. it chugs off and all is quiet. the locals count there money, cook more food and wait for the next, last train. each day there are two trains: premium and economica from both directions. 4 trains total pass through, stop for 15 minutes and are gone. the locals sit quietly and wait the tourists dollars. its the only revenue for most of these. the local indians are prominent because of the brightly colored clothes. (the females - i cant tell the men apart) the mexicans dress 'normal.' So, most people see about 5-6 minutes of the canyon. i decided to stay and walk it a little. THE HOTEL AT THE VIEW wanted $200US per night. so i went to 'Casa Roy' for $30US. i walked around dragging my bag asking everyone: 'habla english?' ("is there another hotel here?") i found Roy and he informed me he had 5 rooms he rents. it turned out to be a sort of mini-hotel. nice roomy, clean and priced to my budget. he offered one meal - dinner $6US. which we take as a family in his home. his wife cooks a simple and delicious meal. (i asked roy what will we have? "meat, i dont know. beef, chicken. meat.") there are two other guests staying at Casa Roy. Jill and Myrna. (Jill is from France and is talkative. Myrna is a dive instructor from Tulum. i never understood what Jill did for a living.) they were a cute couple and very pleasant. MY DAY CONSISTED OF WAKING AND WALKING. the 23rd. i woke early and set out by 7:30am taking photos and walking the 4km toward town. i found 3 more hotels along the way. none open yet. (they ease into the day in Mexico) finally i ventured out a dirt road to a maginficent hotel overlooking the Canyon. a lovely bright pink/orange colored monster hanging onto the cliff. this at 8:30am. i bought a coffee and a bottled water. sat on their balcony and took several photos. from this vantage point i could see the rim of the canyon trailing away and imagined (quite naiive) that i could follow it around to the train station and more photo ops. (i figure it's just around the next bend) so i take off about 9am to walk the canyon rim taking photos. im not sure when i 'got lost' or if you can really say i was lost. the barbed wire fence played into it somehow. the steep ravine and my short cut all led me into a longer adventure than i wanted. (lunch came and went with me still not out of the litteral woods.) it was about 3:30pm when i finally staggered into the train station. a great jolly walkabout. this during "unseasonably warm weather." so im dragging along a coat sweating like a pig. ("usually we have cold and maybe snow") it was 42 degrees when i set out and 80 when i melted in. Lots of great photos. day 2 and the sunrise photos... that never happend. at 4:30am Montezuma and i started our battle. i stayed curled up under covers trying to sleep or pretend i was going to be well enough to pack and catch the 1:30pm train. fortunately by only 11:30am i managed to feel human enough to shower and pack. the train ride i slept and ate a dinner of chicken in the dining car. (im first class remember) arrived at the Los Mochis station about 10pm. to my very great Joy there sat the van to the hotel. (Santa Anita $80US with internet) Christmas Day AND FELIZ NAVIDAD. now i must sign off and check out. im going to catch a bus or cab to Topolabampa where the ferry departs. the coastal seaport. it's $20US minutes by cab away. (~ten miles) im told the ferry wont be running today because it's Christmas. (i hope this is true) the seven hour ferry takes super human power to withstand. 4 movies dubbed into spanish with subtitles. that's how long the ride is. NO CLUE WHAT AWATES ME IN TOPOLABAMPA or when i will post again. (there was no internet on the mountain) but i wish you all a VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY! from hot mexico. xo XO SKIP

12.25 Copper Canyon, Divisadero MX