Cereal on El Chepe
This is (not a comprehensive) list of images that I fell in love after reading loads of children's literature in my childhood: women with wind-tousled hair; tapered fingernails; men who walk with one hand in their pocket; eating Turkish delight; whispering dramatic phrases just out of earshot; train rides.
While much of this past month has been devoted to goodbying, and not much of it has been devoted to reading, blogging, or doing dishes, I had the chance to live out a lifelong dream when I ventured out to board a passenger train a few weeks ago. Unlike having my hair wind-tousled, riding El Chepe (the last passenger train in Mexico) through the Copper Canyon was absolutely the stuff of YA classics.
A group of four of us boarded a plane headed North. And while we were excited, we had no idea what we had in store.
It almost seems silly to try to find words to describe the Copper Canyon, although the least flattering of them would be "deceptive," because there isn't, in fact, any copper in the canyon. However, the canyon can't really be blamed for its misnomer, and even if it could, it would make up for it with, well, everything else.
The canyon is larger than the Grand Canyon in the US, and is absolutely marvelous to gaze upon, preferably with your mouth wide open and your hands in your pockets. Our group took five minutes of silence when we first arrived, just to begin to absorb the moment. Then, we got some great photos.
If the canyon itself wasn't enough, the whole area was super cool to explore. Half of our group took the world's longest zip-line across the canyon, while the other half (including me, resident acrophobe) took the less-intimidating hanging cable car. We also enjoyed visiting some Rarámuri areas (also known as "Tarahumara"). This indigenous group is best known for its tradition of training to run over 100 miles barefoot. There is a lot more to learn about their culture, though.
We also visited these crazy rock formations that were named for looking like different things—mushrooms, frogs, monks, etc. Even though we stayed in a sleepy tourist town, we could have spent a week exploring the incredible areas that surrounded us.
Then, we boarded El Chepe and settled in for an eleven hour train ride. If you, like me, think that an eleven hour train ride may get a little boring, this is definitely the trip for you. My childhood expectations were met, and my skeptical adult expectations were shattered when, at the end of the trip, I realized that I had enjoyed every kilometer of railway.
Our group had a photoshoot, played UNO, got to know each other, and had our photo turned into a keychain by a clever photographer. We also got to stand in the space in between cars, even though they had "Do not stand here signs," and poked our head out of the window spaces. My favorite activity on the train, though, was eating cereal.
We had gone to a corner store earlier that morning to pack up on food for the journey. Aarti decided it would be a great idea to get cereal. She was right.
We were still in the phase of obeying the clearly marked "NO Food" signs when we started pouring Frosted Flakes and boxed milk. We hid the solo cups of cereal between our legs when the conductor walked by, and whispered "cheers" in silence to avoid drawing attention to what was, frankly, an incredibly obvious activity by the foreigners aboard.
There was just something about eating kids' cereal out of red cups while watching spectacular scenery (that I had paid to see) roll by from our train windows. It was a perfect moment, one of childhood whimsy and adult exploration, that were united right then.
After some hours of sunset watching and group bonding, we got off of our train at the final destination. We took an Uber to the hotel, and got a good night of sleep before our flight the next day. Then we flew back home, to our more central little corner of Mexico (and Aarti made her way back to England).
I sometimes feel the pressure to string together pretty words to describe the incredible and intellectually enriching year that I've lived through this grant program. But other times, I enjoy sugar cereal on a train ride with friends, and think that life is beautiful. As I brace myself to say goodbye to this year on Sunday, I am grateful that I have been able to do both.
