The California Native Travel Blog

Tarahumara — The Runners

June 19, 2009 in Copper Canyon by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

In the summer of 1993, two of our California Native guides, Doug Stewart and Tarahumara woman Lynn Reineke, escorted a small group of Indians from the depths of Mexico’s Copper Canyon to Leadville, Colorado, where they astounded the world of marathon racing by coming in first, second and fourth place in a 100 mile ultra-marathon race, wearing their native garb and sandals made out of discarded tires.

Tarahumara Indian Lady in Mexico's Copper Canyon Who were these strangely-dressed people, who came from obscurity to outpace hundreds of experienced runners?

They call themselves the Rarámuri, the Runners, and they inhabit the rugged and remote area of mountains and canyons in Mexico known as the Barrancas del Cobre or Copper Canyon. They are known to the outside world as the Tarahumara.

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So, You Wanna Buy a Hammock?

June 12, 2009 in Costa Rica, Peru, Yucatan and Chiapas by Jason Hall | No comments

California Native's Ellen Klein relaxes in a hammock at a jungle resort. Some say the it was the ancient Greeks, some argue that it was indigenous Americans like the Mayans of the Yucatan or the Urarina of the Peruvian Amazon, and while there is some debate over the origins of the hammock and which civilization can claim the rights of ownership, no one can deny the functionality of design. Some of the earliest hammocks developed have been found in the Bahamas. These were made from bark stripped off the hamack tree–the likely origin for the name. Over the years, the bark used in construction was replaced by sisal fibers and today hammocks can be crafted from many materials such as canvas or nylon.

Sisal fiber was instrumental in the fabrication of hammocks giving weavers in the Yucatan an important role. From the mid 19th century all the way to World War I, sisal fiber was considered the major cash crop for this area. In fact, the town of Sisal is located just 53 miles north of the Yucatan’s capital city of Mérida and still contains an abundance of the plants from which the fiber is produced.

The popularity of hammocks spread due to their function in the Royal Navy. Here, hammocks benefited sleeping sailors because they rocked in synchronicity with the pitch and roll of the ship. These sleeping arrangements were preferred because hammocks take up less room than traditional bunk beds and protected sailors from falling out while asleep on rough seas.

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Marvelous Trip to Costa Rica

June 3, 2009 in Costa Rica by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

Jason:

I want to thank you and California Native for arranging our recent trip to Costa Rica. The itinerary was perfect for us. We particularly liked Tortuguero, seeing the diverse range of birds and animals during our exploration by boat along the canals and the long boat trip out of the national park, when we briefly entered Nicaragua. Monteverde was wonderful too; we even saw the elusive quetzal and a green toucan in the rain forest. The white water rafting trip on the Pacaure River was terrific and we loved the overnight stay at the rustic lodge on the river. I’m so glad we did a two day trip on the Pacaure River, it was a little bit of paradise. In San Jose we attended a performance by the National Orchestra of Costa Rica at the grand old National Theatre, which was a fitting finale to our visit.

Congratulations to California Native for having such impressive local contacts. Our guides were expert and friendly.

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Another Happy Copper Canyon Traveler

May 28, 2009 in Copper Canyon by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

My friend and I went to Copper Canyon on February 24, 2009. Only now do I find the time to tell you what a wonderful this trip was. For us this was the ideal way to travel. You made all the arrangements and we did the rest. The organization was absolutely flawless. The hotels were great, especially the Torres del Fuerte and, of course, the Hotel Mirador in Divisadero. You encouraged us to take 2 days there, and what a great idea that was. Even though we were late arriving in Los Mochis, our taxi was waiting to drive us to to El Fuerte. My thought was, “this is the one thing I did not want to do, drive in the dark in Mexico.” It turned out that the taxi driver was cautious and competent and put us both at ease. I think our favorite town was El Fuerte. It was great that we had 2 nights in several locations. It made for relaxed traveling and a chance to really walk around. The voucher system worked very well. We could chose wherever we wanted to eat and had the chance to sample several restaurants.

A real treat is the fact that there were no TVs in all the hotels, except for one. That was the Best Western in Creel. We turned on the news and turned it off fairly quickly. We were on vacation!

The train ride was all we were hoping for. Since we were only 2 people, we stayed most of the time in the bar car of the train, talked to many people and looked out of the big, clean windows. We had a ball. We took the train to Divisadero, stayed there for 2 nights and went to Creel. The ride from Creel to El Fuerte was just right. I was glad we did not stay on the train any longer.

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Costa Rica: The Easy Way

May 22, 2009 in Costa Rica by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

For 26 years, The California Native has been leading travelers to destinations all over the world, but may be best known as the foremost authority on tours of Mexico’s Copper Canyon. But did you know that we have also been arranging and leading trips to Costa Rica? In the following letter, travelers Christine Grenning and James Dickson take a moment to comment on visiting this natural paradise.

I want to thank you for arranging our recent trip to Costa Rica. The itinerary was perfect for us. We particularly liked Tortuguero, seeing the diverse range of birds and animals during our exploration by boat along the canals and the long boat trip out of the national park, when we briefly entered Nicaragua. Monteverde was wonderful too; we even saw the elusive quetzal and a green toucan in the rain forest. The white water rafting trip on the Pacaure River was terrific and we loved the overnight stay at the rustic lodge on the river. I’m so glad we did a two day trip on the Pacaure River, it was a little bit of paradise. In San Jose we attended a performance by the National Orchestra of Costa Rica at the grand old National Theatre, which was a fitting finale to our visit.

Congratulations to The California Native for having such impressive local contacts. Our guides were expert and friendly.

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The California Native’s Summer/Fall Newsletter is Now Available

May 15, 2009 in About Us, Bhutan, China, Copper Canyon, Costa Rica, Peru, Southeast Asia, Travel Stories, Yucatan and Chiapas by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

The Summer/Fall 2009 edition of The California Native Newsletter is now in the mail. The newsletter, published by The California Native since 1984, has more than 10,000 readers (not counting those who download from the web). If you are not already a subscriber to this free newsletter you can signup now.

This issues feature stories include:

REVISITING PERU’S NAZCA LINES

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The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

May 11, 2009 in Peru by Ellen Klein | No comments

California Native founder, Lee Klein, overlooking the Urubamba Valley from the Inca Trail
The Inca Trail! Wow! I love to hike, but until this year my experience had been limited to one or two day hikes. Now, we were going to spend four days in the Andes of Peru hiking the trail to Machu Picchu. Most travelers choose to take the three-hour scenic train ride from Cuzco, but we decided to hike the route taken by the ancient Incas—a trail considered to be one of the most scenic in the world. All the literature said that any “reasonably fit” person could do this, but since they also mentioned passes with elevations of up to 14,000 feet, I was a bit apprehensive.

The popular trail now known as The Inca Trail was most likely the “royal” road between Cuzco and Machu Picchu, used mostly by royalty and pilgrims to the sacred city. The trail was a road of its time—built for men on foot, and lightly packed llamas. It is paved with interlocking stones and traverses the mountains and passes with thousands of steps.

The California Native provided us with porters—native farmers who carry all the gear and food—leaving us to carry only a daypack. For the two of us there were six porters, a guide and a cook.

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Michael J Fox Praises Bhutan

May 4, 2009 in Bhutan by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

As Bhutan celebrates it’s one year anniversary as a democracy, ABC will be airing a special, “Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist” on May 7.

On the show, Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, traveled around the world interviewing optimists. One of his favorite stops was Bhutan, dubbed the happiest place on earth by many visitors – because locals live in a state of permanent joy. In Bhutan, a country which measures its success with a figure for “Gross National Happiness” instead of Gross National Product, Fox revealed that his symptoms actually eased during his visit. When questioned about his impression of the people of Bhutan, the film and television star was quoted as saying, “They really are (the happiest people). It’s amazing. They’re just beautiful people. I don’t know whether it was the altitude or the thinning of the blood or whatever, but I had much less symptoms,” he added.

For many years The California Native has been offering private tours of this magical Himalayan kingdom.

My Copper Canyon Adventure — Day 11

April 27, 2009 in Copper Canyon by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

Saying Goodbye to Copper Canyon

The following story was submitted to us by Kay Gilliland who describes her experience traveling with friends through Mexico’s Copper Canyon during the Christmas holidays. Today, Kay and her friends travel from Chihuahua City to El Paso for their flights home.

The California Native is always thrilled to have groups of friends join our trips to this charming region of Mexico. We appreciate it when our guests share their stories with us and we like to add them to our blog for everyone to see. We hope you have enjoyed reading about Kay’s 11-day Copper Canyon Adventure.

January 2, Friday

We were up early the next day for cereal and huevos rancheros, then off to the border. We stopped twice, once at Ahumada and again farther on. Jenny bought dolce de leche and shared it with us. It had a good, sweet taste. We drove about 230 miles to Ciudad Juarez and waited in line for an hour and a half before we were able to cross the Ysleta Bridge into El Paso. During the wait, people were in the middle of the street with carts selling food, baskets, trinkets, copper goods, watches, hats, everything they could think of and carry. We had a bit of time at the airport together.

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My Copper Canyon Adventure — Day 10

April 24, 2009 in Copper Canyon by The California Native International Adventures | No comments

Arriving at Chihuahua City

The California Native is always thrilled to have groups of friends join our trips to this charming region of Mexico. We appreciate it when our guests share their stories with us and we like to add them to our blog for everyone to enjoy. Excerpts from her journal will be posted regularly, so check back often to learn more about Kay’s 11-day Copper Canyon Adventure.

January 1, 2009, Thursday, New Year’s Day

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