Marta and Chester's Maleficent Adventures

On January 1, 2026, we found ourselves driving toward Batopilas, Chihuahua. I remember well how, about a year ago, we were so impressed by the Slow Roamers—also from Canada—driving into this area. At the time, it felt insanely dangerous given the ongoing conflict. And yet, here we were…

Batopilas lies at the bottom of a canyon, so the road leading to it is long and winding, losing significant elevation. For several centuries, it was a silver-mining town. It even had electricity before Mexico City did. Of course, there were Jesuit missions and the Tarahumara—the ones born to run. All the reasons that make it worth a visit. And yet, on that January 1st, we never made it there.

Our first day of January started with a daily dose of Mexican dogs, this time in Maguarichi.

I will miss them so much when we return to Canada. These dogs have so much freedom here, and they are friendly everywhere. They love attention—and food, of course. If I were a dog, I would be a Mexican dog.

The road out of Maguarichi was now paved and continued to wind beautifully through the mountains.

We passed by hot springs (aguas termales, 80 pesos), but unfortunately they were still closed, so I had to wash in a cold stream instead—I am getting tougher by the day.

In the town of San Juanito, we stopped to resupply on groceries and gas, and treated ourselves to a special New Year’s seated lunch (we usually eat standing) at a landlocked restaurant serving only seafood. Despite being far from the sea, their fish soup was excellent, and so was the décor.

Driving in Mexico is different from Canada. In fact, in smaller places like this, it seems that one doesn’t even need a driver’s license—although it is required in larger cities.

Hitchhiking is not unusual. Over the past two weeks, we had given rides to several locals. That day, we picked up a young, lovely hitchhiker, Cristian, who spoke Spanish in a way I could actually understand. He was from Guachochi and assured us it was safe to visit, despite all the warnings we had been hearing. We decided to change our plans and head to Guachochi before Batopilas.

Cristian offered that we could park our vehicle at his place, and he would host us and show us around the following day.

The first surprise was Cristian’s family. I had completely lost something in translation and hadn’t realized he lived with them. We met three generations: his parents, his brother, his uncles, and his nieces.

That night, we celebrated January 1st with fireworks, Tecate beer, dancing, and lots of laughter. It was the best New Year’s celebration we’d had in years.

The next day, Cristian showed us around the canyons of Jaguar, Sinforosa, and Kokoyome, all part of the Copper Canyon system.

Wow—what a visual feast. The grandeur of this area is indescribable.

Standing on the rim of Sinforosa, we learned that this is the site of the Tarahumara’s annual marathon run, where they start in Guachochi, descend to the bottom of Sinforosa Canyon, and run back up. Our guide told us that “Sinforosa” referred to some kind of mammal, but the internet insists the canyon is named after Saint Sinforosa, who was executed along with her seven sons in the 2nd century.

Kokoyome Canyon looked spectacular from the rim and really made me want to drive through it to Batopilas. We would have done so, if not for seeing armed men driving around and monitoring the area. Sometimes, you have to think about the consequences first.

Instead, we enjoyed a cave with a statue of the Archangel and a hike to scenic waterfalls. We saw many Mexican tourists, so despite being a conflict area, it was clearly a tourist destination.

We left Guachochi the next morning, heading in the direction of the mines.