Guadalajara

Once more I was travelling on a red eye flight, ahh the things we do to save some money , but hey otherwise I wouldn't be able to travel to these great places. After a short hop to Texas and a second flight I arrived in Guadalajara in the very earlier morning light.

http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5519951_vFZcU

Last years trip to Guatemala made me acutely aware of how little Spanish I knew so this time I was traveling to the Universidad De Autonoma de Guadalajara for a two week course in Spanish.

At the airport I met My fellow students and we sleepily boarded our bus and headed to the university. We didn't spend any time there though which was just as well since we were all tired from the flight. Instead we were met by our host families and taken to our homes for the next two weeks. I was fortunate enough to be sharing a room with Roberto, a cheerful guy who made a great roommate- especially as he had taken these courses before and not only spoke fairly decent Spanish already but knew the routine.(He was taking intermediate/advanced classes not the beginning ones I was)
We were to stay with Senora Elia a very kind lady who took care of us like we were her own sons!

After resting for a while we were ready to head out again so following a rumor that there was a football match back at the University stadium we started walking. It was only a short walk and we were back at the campus watching a match.



http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5519951_vFZcU

The match continued even through the start of what we would come to expect as the daily evening rain in Guadalajara but was ended as it turned into a downpour. It wasn't long before it had died down enough for us to make our way back to the house.

The next day was Sunday so instead of classes we headed out for our first view of Down town Guadalajara- Centro Historico.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5568430_hVD2D








The old architecture, churches, Cathedral and museums intermixed with shopping malls and other modern buildings were impressive and another member of our group who was enjoying photographing everything pointed out we'd certainly need to return here to which I quickly agreed. Especially since we were leaving to go eat lunch in Tlaquepaque. This was a nice little tourist area on the edge of Guadalajara where we got to enjoy a great lunch and listen to an all woman Mariachi band.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5623340_jHSZ4
Tlaquepaque

The next day was spent mostly in orientation, classes and resting up from our weekend but by tuesday we were ready to see a few more sights from the bus as we headed out on a tour of a local hospital.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5632640_o3BCd

One of the many statues and sculptures set in the road intersections.

After class on Wednesday we headed out to Tonalá, a wonderful area of markets and craftsmen. Once more the food was delicious.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5640677_Erk2s
Tonalá


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5640677_Erk2s
MOLCAJETE DE CAMARONES Y QUESO!

On Thursday we headed out to Tequila, birthplace of the famous drink. Here we witnessed
the blue tinted hills where fields of blue agave take over ten years to grow before being harvested to make tequila.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5741619_B6icw

We then went on to tour Jose Cuervos's original home and factory where they're still making tequila today.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5741619_B6icw





Dawn and I did manage to return down to Centro Historico later on to take a few more pictures.

http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5757473_jK7re




We even ventured deep into the vast indoor/outdoor style market where the colorful displays made for all sorts of photography opportunities.





One of our favorite outings was a trip to Ballet Folclórico de la Universidad de Guadalajara. I had forgotten to pay the guy who was picking up tickets for us so I went and purchased my own (No small feat given my limited Spanish) they only had front row tickets left! So I had to sit up front and take lots of pictures of course.
The show and costumes were amazing. I highly recommend going.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5567107_dhBMq



On Sunday we attended a traditional Mexican pastime- Charreada, a type of rodeo.
Here's quite possibly the cutest cowboy ever.



http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5787326_EQ7jU



One of my favorite spots was Lake Chapala. We first went and ate lunch at Ajijic, an unusual community in that it is populated mostly with people from the US or Canada so everyone spoke English.
We watched this lady weave for awhile.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5817525_yR7DF#360573136_aj65L


Then it was on to Chapala for a walk along the lake shore.


http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/5817525_yR7DF#360595559_AUjvD




Chapala was a beautiful lake but apparently is rather polluted so swimming wasn't recommended.

Our final outing before Leaving Mexico was a trip to see the Basilica in Zapopan. Built in 1689 it is an amazing church and the numbers of devout believers that come to see the statue of the virgin there is equally so. We arrived during a ceremony where new monks were being introduced to the order so there was a huge crowd. We opted to walk around the square and visit some of the other buildings in the area, then returned when the crowd had mostly left.