Spent two days exploring this very cool mining town. The French started a copper mine operation in the 1880s and in exchange for building a town they were exempted from taxes, having their miners get drafted, and a few other nice-to-haves. Over the years they built 399 miles of tunnels using German engineering for the railroads. The miners worked wearing only a cloth diaper because of the extraordinary heat in the mines. Only Indians from central Mexico were used as no one else could tolerate the heat. Because it was developed by the French, the entire town is built of wood, the only such construction anywhere in Baja. The wood was imported from the Pacific Northwest. The church in the pictures was built by Gustave Eiffel, as in the Eiffel tower, and is named for Santa Barbara, the patron saint of those who work with explosives! Originally built in France, the company brought it over and reassembled it here in the 1890s. We stopped at the French bakery that’s been in operation since 1901, toured the company headquarter, which still has original furniture, and did a little mine tour. Portions of the mines are still in operation but everything in the main part of town is abandoned. Has a similar feel to many old west mining towns, except for the scale of the metal foundry. And yes, you really can just walk through all of this crumbling historical infrastructure. OSHA be damned!
As I write this, we are sailing overnight across the Sea of Cortez to San Carlos, on mainland Mexico.
