I love Zorro. I was in love with Guy Williams when I was 12 and I accepted his replacement in Antonio Banderas. I remember when Annette Funicello was in one of the old Zorro episodes and I was insanely jealous. This week when we docked in Topolobampo I went to visit the birthplace of the real
El Fuerte Fort
Zorro, El Fuerte. A two hour bus ride took us to the to the colonial town where the de la Vega family owned a gorgeous hacienda in town. Mr. Alejandro de la Vega was in the mining business there and was definitely a premier resident. Diego, the future Zorro, lived there until he as 9 until the family business tanked and they moved to Alta California (now our US state).
The town has a very nice fort and museum right on the El Fuerte River. We took a 45- minute float trip on the river that was a welcome break from the
Riverfloat
confinement of the ship. It is a bird sanctuary and we saw hundreds of nesting birds of varying kinds- lots of herons, both white and great blues.
Michael took the coveted 18- hour shore excursion to Copper Canyon. It’s a two- hour bus ride to the train, which is a five- hour ride to the Canyon. The canyon is the second largest canyon after the Grand Canyon and quite something to behold. Because it is so remote, the native residents are somewhat able to hold on to their culture. However, the sight of denim is intruding on a more regular basis. I was very jealous when I had to stay for office hours as I don’t see me getting there at this point.
From the port of Loreto I took the trip to the mountains and the San Javier Mission, established by the Jesuits. It is a two-hour ride in a van over mostly unpaved roads through the desert. I love the dramatic desert landscape so it was a fascinating ride for me. San Javier is a very small town, isolated in the mountains, with only a few ranches and oases in the area. The Jesuits built the mission, built the dams and made agriculture a major industry. It remains so today after 300 hundred years.
I was able to buy fresh home made goat cheese from one of the ranches on the way back. 59 pesos got me about 3 pounds of cheese. That’s about $5.00! I love Mexico!
