Santa Barbara is a couple of hours away from Chihuahua and when we got there it was starting to get dark. The cousins still have family in Santa Barbara's sister city (both old mining towns) and they suggested we spend the night in Parral, while they caught up with their side of the family. Nick is retired military and he used to patrol the copper Canyon and is familiar with the roads. He thought given the steep and winding nature (and the fact that there are cows frequently on the road) that we shouldn't attempt it at night. Sounded good to me!
We stopped at the old Santa Barbara cemetery to decorate the graves of Carmen and Lola's father and brother, the headed into the city proper. We drove around Santa Barbara with Carmen and Lola chattering about their childhood, the boys they used to date, the friends they had, the places they went, etc. Along the main road the Day of the Dead altars were up and it seemed like the whole town was there. We pulled over and explored as well.
We wandered around, ate some Dead bread and candy, took photos, and (I) drew some attention. Word quickly spread that I was 1)white, and 2) an English speaker. Most of the altars had been assigned as a school project and as I walked up to one a couple of girls (12-13 years old) came up and asked if I spoke Spanish. When I replied that I didn't, one hesitantly asked, "How are you?" We were immediately surrounded by a whole big group of school kids who have been learning English in school and were delighted to have someone to practice with.
We drove back to Parral to find a hotel and ended up in the American Inn a very nice, well priced, safe, hotel that caters mostly to foreign business travelers. The owner is Swiss (go figure), and he gave us good restaurant recommendations, and sight-seeing suggestions. We took his restaurant recommendation, ate, and pretty much, fell into bed.
