Customer Reviews

Mexico's Copper Canyon Country

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is more of a travelogue than a guidebook. I was expecting maps, trail lengths, phone numbers for hostels: the kind of things you get in a Lonely Planet or Falcon Books guide. Fayhee's book is a series of stories about his trips to Copper Canyon with a repetitious exhortation to "get a guide!" for most of the hikes he lists. If I wanted a guide I wouldn't have bought a guidebook. For anyone comfortable with some degree of self-reliance, go for topo maps and local contacts instead of this book.

If you want to read interesting and funny adventures about foot travel in Copper Canyon, this is a great book. Fayhee is a a good writer, quite funny in a Dave Barry kind of way--especially with his use of exaggeration. In that respect, it's one of the best travel guide books I've read.

HOWEVER, I bought the book to get solid details on the trails of the area (including maps), and in this respect, the book is fatally lacking. After long essays on Fayhee's personal hiking experiences, the last 10% or less of each chapter is devoted specifics of the actual routes, and even that information is often none too specific. It seems to me that I am still stuck with buying topo maps and asking around for more detailed info on routes when I get down there. There's no way I would ever carry this book on a trip and attempt to navigate from it. I am returning it for this reason.

Fayhee's book was incredibly valuable during our recent 6 day adventure to the copper canyon. I read through four books on the subject, and found this book to be the most insightful of all. Some of the specifics are a little out of date since this place is changing so incredibly rapidly, but the stories and anecdotes were very inciteful. Best if used in conjunction with a more recent Guidebook. The suggestions and advice were most helpful in selecting the limited locations we could explore in our allotted time. Enjoyable to read and study in preparation, and the only book we took along with photocopied pages from other books.

Informative and constantly entertaining, this book is an essential guide to visiting a truly magical place. I found the book accurate and useful in trip planning in addition to gaining a basic cultural education. Fayhee's attitude toward exploring an insulated and private culture is inspiring.