Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Although it falls at the same time of year (end of October, start of November), this Mexican festival is very different to Halloween – it is a two day holiday that reunites the living and dead. Families create “ofrendas” (offerings) to honour their family members that have passed. These altars are decorated with bright yellow marigold flowers, photos of the departed, and the favourite foods and drinks of the one being honoured.  We chose to be in Durango to join the celebrations – it is on the mainland, at a high altitude (cool) and near the port of Mazatlan from where we we will take the ferry to Baja California.

We were warned by several people that the mountain road we intended to take to Durango could be unsafe for numerous reasons. Instead we took the coast road to Mazatlan, stayed a few days there, and then climbed the El Espinazo Del Diablo (Devil’s Backbone) – the old Ruta 40 – to Durango. This 320km road is a beautiful, twisty climb from sea level to 2,800m with the most amazing views across the pine forests. We camped halfway at Mexiquillo where there are interesting rock gardens, a lake and a disused railway track which we hiked (12km return) with railway tunnels. A couple of stray dogs latched onto us and accompanied us for the entire hike.

Camping on the beach at Mazatlan and Exploring the City

Climbing the El Espinazo Del Diablo (Devil’s Backbone) and Camping at Mexiqullo

On reaching Durango, we were given permission to stay in a large supermarket’s carpark and we Uber’d into town in the afternoon in search of the tourist office. Just as well we did; the Muuki (Day of the Dead) parade was going to take place at 7pm that same evening, so we dived back to Big Bertha, got our ‘costumes’ on (no time to face paint) and rushed back into town. We took a place in the spectator benches and waited until 9pm! But it was worth it. The floats, marchers and fireworks were great (but our photos are not so good – see the video at the end).

The next day we visited Durango town (in daylight) to look at the Day of the Dead decorations, visit the Walk of Mexican fame and visit Durango’s version of Holywood’s Walk of Fame, featuring statues and pavement stars of the actors that have filmed in Durango state. These include John Wayne and Audrey Hepburn (the latter gloriously miscast in “The Unforgiven” – the only native American with a finishing school accent!).

November 2nd is the day Mexicans traditionally visit their family’s graveyard to tend the graves (November 1st is reserved for children that have passed), leave flowers and remember their loved ones by eating their favourite foods and listening to their favourite music. We were assured visitors would be welcomed and we spent a couple of hours at the graveyard.

Just north of Durango is Rancho la Joya or ‘John Wayne Ranch’ where a number of movies were filmed at a recreation of an old western town. It has since become a little dilapidated, but still good for a photo or two. Further into the ranch is a canyon and we spent two lovely days alone with magnificent views and sunsets.