Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“Trucks, cars, donkeys,” I was told in a voice that also said, “I've already told you, there
are no buses.”
Highway 16 connected Hermosillo to Chihuahua. So I asked, “Is there a bus to Chihua-
hua?” I figured that I could get off along the way and somehow get to Creel.
“Sí,” the clerk said. “Take the bus to Agua Prieta and from Agua Prieta to Chihuahua.”
I was dumbfounded. That's like going from San Francisco to Los Angeles via Reno,
Nevada. I began to wonder just how isolated was the Copper Canyon and if my plan was
viable. I left the terminal with a numb mind.
Across the street I saw a small office for another bus line. Hmmm, maybe, “No” might
mean “Not from our terminal on our buses,” or maybe they just hadn't had anyone inquire
before. Going into the Sierra Madre is not your standard trip. Just ask Humphrey Bogart.
I crossed the street and inquired. A woman, who was eager to help, told me that on
Monday through Friday mornings Transportes Chaves picked up passengers at 6:30 a.m.
at the TBC Station and left for Yecora, which on the map was about halfway to Creel.
“Are there buses in the Sierra?” I asked.
“Yes,” she assured me.
I was back in business, if only halfway. There had to be a connection to the second half.
I'd find out when I arrived in Yecora.
Monday, 6:30 a.m. at the TBC Terminal, I would catch the Transportes Chaves bus, but I
had a weekend to spend in Hermosillo.
I settled into Hotel San Andres. I needed a walk after the morning bus ride and headed
downtown, just trying to get a sense of the general area and where my hotel was located.
Green spots and trees in the distance indicated parks. I found the university then took a left
on a main street, passed VIPS Restaurant and signs indicating directions to the cathedral,
museum and the Casa Cultura.
Kino Hotel, a block off the main street, intrigued me with its architecture, if not colonial,
19
th
century classic. I asked to see a room and took a tour of the hotel. It had been re-
