Days 46 And 47: Urique

Urique is probably best known, at least among my group of fitness and adventure oriented friends), for the Caballo Blanco ultramarathon that was made famous by the book Born to Run and the barefoot running movement that was born in part from the Raramuri culture of long distance barefoot (or sandal-clad) running.  Historically, the Raramuri would chase their prey until they got tired or until they ran off a cliff onto spears below, at least I think that's what the Lonely Planet says.  Although the area has a relatively developed network of dirt roads, the Copper Canyons are laced with winding paths historically used by the Raramuri to traverse the canyons.

Upon entering the town, we were greeted by this mural which lists the winners of each years' ultramarathon.

Entering Urique is a bit like going back in time with one huge anachronism... the abundance of pickup trucks, most American made, lining the streets.  It's an easy place to like, people say hello to you in the street, cows and burros amble alongside the chickens and kids, and the views are stunning.  We helped a guy capture a renegade burro and had a lovely conversation with the woman who sells elotes (corn).  It's that kind of town.

The streets of Urique are charming.

Hand down, Entre Amigos is my favorite hostel I've ever stayed in, with a huge shared garden, camping, dorms, cabins, shared kitchen, ping pong dining room table, common areas, and stunning views.  It's one of those places I could lose myself in for a while (even with the blistering heat of summer).  The owner is an elderly American guy who splits his time between Oregon and Urique, but lately has been sick and staying in Oregon more often.  Tomás and his wife Maruca are the ones who take care of the hostel year-round and we found them to be incredibly helpful and kind.  Tomás has his own side business as a guide for area hikes, but also showed us maps and gave us advice on possible routes.  Maruca showed me around the garden and the "main house," explained what produce was available this time of year, and let me borrow some oil to cook with.

The garden produces even during this hottest part of the year!

Ciruelas (plums) were just coming into season when we arrived... by the time we left, they were abundant and we gorged ourselves silly.

The "main house" boasts a large library with a small book exchange, just ask Maruca which books are available for exchange.  There are several cozy places to read or work in the library.

I was surprised to find that even at this time of year, there was an abundance of produce, including grapefruits, limes, swiss chard, beets, butternut squash, onions, plums, and garlic.

We bought a few eggs from Maruca and I made an awesome veggie and egg breakfast quesadilla.

Gonzalo and I had expected to be at Entre Amigos alone.  May and June are considered the lowest of the low season because temperatures are consistently over 100 F (42 C) and can reach 120 F (50 C).  Only crazy fools like us would visit at this time, right?  Nope!  We were relaxing in the kitchen area when Tomás came by with Emmanuel, a fellow bike tourist.  I paused for a second.  He looked really familiar.  And then I remembered that I had seen him at the ticket office for the ferry in La Paz and had commented to Gonzalo that there was another cyclist.  Turns out he started one day after us from La Paz.  We chatted for a bit about some potential plans to hike to Batopilas and invited him to join us.

Emmanuel harvesting some ripe ciruelas (plums).

Group pow-wow to discuss potential routes, availability of water, and other logistics.

A photo of this 1979 Mexican military map of the area in conjunction with Gonzalo's GPS served us well.  Water sources are conveniently marked though it is notably missing a lot of dirt roads.

We discussed two potential routes, the traditional route that goes through a ranch called Los Alisos and is part of the Caballo Blanco ultramarathon, and a longer more southerly route.  It turns out that Caballo Blanco was Tomás' guide for that southerly route once upon a time.  Since I had read that this area had experienced some robberies, we asked Tomás about issues of safety and he assured us that things were tranquil these days.  Based on this, we decided to go ahead with the hike on the traditional route, and depending on how things went, either hitch a ride back to Urique or hike the more southerly route back.

A quick ride out for a swim upriver.

Local guy taking in the view with his Coke.

A refreshing swim a few kilometers out of town.

Be careful, scorpions are not uncommon here... this was a big guy we found at the hostel.

We spent the rest of the evening chatting, making a lovely group dinner from the garden, and preparing for the long hike ahead.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• It's worth asking Tomás for a discount if you come in the off season.  He is also a wealth of knowledge about the area, but be prepared to ask him specific questions about logistics as we didn't, and ended up having to wing it a bit once we got to Batopilas.

• While it doesn't appear to be open much, at least on Sundays and Mondays, the burrito place just before you cross the dry stream bed (or which may be a stream if you come after the rains) has excellent burritos with meat and nopales (cactus). 

• The supermarket is the only reliable place in town to get any sort of cash since there is no bank.  You can just go with any credit card and withdraw cash but they take a 5% commission.