I've been wondering all these years why we didn't do what was supposed to be the whole point of the trip. Was it money? Did we kids rack up too many demerits on the way down? Were there terrorist threats to blow up the train?
I suppose I do have memories from that trip that few people have:
- Touring Pancho Villa's house, shown by his actual widow!, including his Death Car.
- Seeing "Aeropuerto" in English with Spanish subtitles. What I found most interesting about that experience was that the reactions of the people reading the subtitles happened at different times than the for the people listening to the English soundtrack.
- Eating on a ghastly 50-pound bag of cacahuates. We lugged that huge burlap sack of burnt peanuts all the way home and I kept eating them for a while (they were peanuts, after all!).
- Touring some hacienda. I don't remember whose it was.
- Not getting Montezuma's Revenge (ah, the advantages of not eating indigenous foods).
Somehow I don't see myself going down there and taking the train. I'll never know what I missed.
7 comments:
I don't know why dad decided not to take the train to Copper Canyon and the coastal town of Topolobampo (which he called "Topolambompo"). I think the point of the trip was the usual one: the drive. Chihuahua is okay, but to make a special trip to see it is to me like saying, "Hey! Why don't we spend our Christmas break in Springer, New Mexico?"
I remember the Last Mrs. Villa and the death car (my picture of her and Bobbie was lost in the fire), the hacienda out in the god-awful middle of nowhere, "Aeropuerto," and those awful peanuts. Dad was showing off his expertise in bargaining with the natives, who saw him coming and said, "Obtener los cacahuates quemados, Maria. Aquí viene un vivo" ("Go get those burned peanuts, Molly. Here comes a live one."). In all fairness, the price was very good.
I remember touring the silver-mining town of Santa Eulalia, which featured public restrooms consisting of an eight-holer--the seats were sheet metal--with a sluice running beneath. Periodically water would surge through to carry off the wastesand splash on one's nether regions.
Plate o' shrimp: yesterday Karen found some placemats from a KFC in Chihuahua and a comic book from the trip. She and you were the only ones who didn't get sick, thanks in large part to the Colonel.
mmmmmmm KFC!
I don't remember why it was decided not to do the Copper Canyon train trip. I unearthed one of my mass-produced letters with the hope that it would give a clue, but all it said was "We had considered taking the scenic train trip across the mountains to the West coast but decided just to stay in Chihuahua and look around instead." I suppose I was using the word "we" loosely.
I have the feeling it was a unilateral decision. I guess you know those rocks in the guest bedroom are ore from the silver mine we visited. Who would like to have them for souvenirs? There are only three, but there are four of you who went on the trip. I guess that was when Poss had once again fallen from grace and didn't get to go on the trip.
P.S. I imagine the decision not to take the train ride was because of the logistics of getting home. The car would have been in Chihuahua and we would have been in "Topolambonpo." We would have had to fly back or take the train back, and it was a long ride.
It is, indeed, scenic. We did an Elderhostel taking the train ride part way from the West coast, with stops at several places. The canyon, I believe, is bigger than the Grand Canyon. But I don't think it is as spectacular. The engineering feat to build the railroad is pretty spectacular, though.
My biggest memory is of the "Pepsi" signs everywhere. I remember the cacahuates and also a big bag of candy that was a spiky sugar ball with an anise seed in the middle. Those lasted a long time, too. And Bolillos.
I remember Jack having me haul out those silver rocks whenever we had visitors to show them. Of course, I was always mortified.
Sounds like Copper Canyon is a destination to put on the list.
Speaking of being mortified showing off stuff for Jack, he would holler at me when he had a visitor "Son, come in here" and when I skulked in he'd say "Show Jim how big your feet are!"
That always made me proud!
I guess I was the first one to get sick and the last one to get well. I remember all the stops we made on the way home because of me! I also remember eating Chicken en Mole. I thought it was great, and KFC, Aeropuerto and I don't remember the peanuts...what's up with that? i do remember that restroom. I couldn't go in front of other people. Cola...Pepsi o Coca?
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