Part 1: Mexico's Copper Canyon visit March 2011

The bus cruises north from Mazatlan, through hills covered with thick mixed scrub forest. There are patches of yellow and mauve where a few tree species are flowering before their spring leaves come in. We pass orchards of trees brown-leaved from the extreme cold weather which slunk into northern Mexico two weeks ago.

We are on our way to Mexico's Copper Canyon, El Barranca del cobre, four friends who came together thanks to the internet: Buz and I from Canada and Andrew and Lori from San Francisco. Throughout the coming days I find myself grateful for a travelling companion who has no compunction about asking questions. Lori's first inquiry with the bus driver, clears an uncomfortable mystery which had us wondering if some constipated body was contorted in the washroom. A key is required!

Non-stop movies are a feature of high-end buses here and action movie sound effects assail our ears as a serene mountain range appears to our east. The blue of agave plantations contrasts with rich green irrigated fields. After Culiacan we go through a pass, all ochre and grey rock faces and hillsides dotted with cactus and grey shrubs.

There is a roadside shrine, and in the outskirts of Guamuchil, police cruisers and a mororcycle on its side. A little further on the road is being widenened and three crosses from a less recent accident, with their drum-like bases of cement, lay on their sides waiting for re-potting.

At Los Mochis we find we have to get to another bus depot, and catch a cab which belches gas fumes into our lungs but gets us to the El Fuerte bus just in time. We climb aboard and find ourselves in totally different travelling circumstances. A cheery fellow tosses chocolate bars on everyone's lap. Freebees? Gifts? Oh, no. The vendor returns to collect payment, and the passengers who don't want them, hand the bars back. A smart marketing ploy. Buz pays for his.

The bus seems to be run by a family - Dad drives, Mom collects the fares and son carries people's bags and rides shotgun on a seat by the door. Cheerful banda music plays and people get on and off frequently. This is a country-style commuter bus, with many regular passengers greeted warmly as they ride home from work.

We are unsure where to get off as we enter El Fuerte, but noticing that everyone but us is disembarking on a shady street, we figure this is as much of a bus depot as we are going to see. A cab takes us up the steepest road imaginable to Rio Vista, the lodge recommended to us by Yolanda of 3 Amigos, the most helpful tour operators we could have wished for. Birds are on all our trip wish lists and Rio Vista has the top guide.

A castle-like fort and the graceful curve of the river take our breath away. Our rooms look out on this? We sit overlooking a magical landscape while bats pour out of the castle walls and into the twilight. We eat out doors: langoustine and black bass. Then on to planning our itinerary. We have ten days and know for sure that Creel, in Chihuahua, will be our first base. To end our trip we want to spend at lease one full day in El Fuerte. We trust the train journey and the experiences of those we meet will help us decide the stops in between.