I decided to backpack up to the Raramuri village of Muneriche, past the mestizo village of Cerro Colorado. It seemed like an interesting hike, but one I could do alone without much worry about getting lost. It was a great choice, just a delightful two days.

Although the hike starts at tropical elevations and it was hot, it wasn't brutally hot. Maybe like Denver some days in the summer. The hike proceeds up the river and then up an arroyo toward Cerro Colorado through hillsides and beautiful cactus. There is a road to Cerro, and one truck did offer me a ride, but most people have to walk it.

In Cerro Colorado, a village with no electricity or running water, I stopped to visit with the Candelario, the teacher at the 1-room primary school, and his students. We chatted for hours, then he went on up the canyon with me for a few minutes to his favorite swimming hole and we took a swim and a bath. (He has no other bathing facilities, so every day is a river swim day for him.)

In the late afternoon I continued up to Muneriche, which has no electricity, water, or vehicle access. You get there on foot. And there's a full boarding school there for Raramuri (Tarahumara) kids who walk as far as 4 hours to get home for the weekend. 50 students and 3 teachers. It's amazing how the school system works!

A dozen or more kids from the village came to watch me put up my tent and cook my dinner. 13-year-old Antonio, who speaks quite good Spanish, shared a bit of dinner with me. They all thought I was pretty funny.

The next day I started back down to make my appointment with the school in Cerro: I was to be the featured gringo guest and answer questions about America. It was loads of fun, but scary that many of their questions were about the American war machine. They seemed to know little else.