Next Stop in Copper Canyon-----Creel at 8000 feet

This will give you an idea of what it looked like in Creel the day we arrived. 8000 feet elevation  and below freezing on these January days. It pretty much stayed that way the whole trip.

Upon our arrival in Creel, we were lucky enough to hire this fellow as a guide. He calls himself  MacLean and he speaks fluent English. His prices were reasonable and he pretty much lived with us for the next 6 days. Shuttling us around in his van while narrating and answering our questions. 

 First stop on our tour of Creel is the Tarahumara Indian villages. In the back ground  just behind the houses is a cave in the mountain occupied by a Tarahumara Family.

Here is a close up of the family (cave home) home courtesy of Janell. 

    I was most intrigued with the Tarahumara people. They live a simple existance. 
   They plant just enough crop of corn and beans for their subsistance, what is left over they give away. They raise goats for the milk and cheese and meat. Some have cattle but our guide told us that cattle were not their first choice as they were expensive. 

  

Their Tarahumara  philosophy is to take from life only what they actually need to survive. 

The government ran electricity to all the Tarahumara Villages. But the Tarahumara refused to hook it up. They don't have the money to pay for it so they won't use it.

I bought some baskets from this lady and gave her a few pesos to take her picture.

Hoping for a handout from a generous tourist at the train depot.

 

Above is a Tarahumara Male in his traditional Dress. And  a close up of the famous Tarahumara shoes for the famous "Running Feet" made out of car tires. I saw one fellow walking down the street with a hunk of tire rubber  in his hand. 

Time for some new shoes.

If you need a new pair of Tarahumara running shoes, you can buy all the supplies at the local store.