Guadalajara

Guadalajara Trip - Fall 2004

Inauspicious beginning.  Flew from LaGuardia at 7:00 AM through Dallas.  Flight was delayed 2 hours.  Arrived at 4:00 PM Guadalajara.

Got to hotel room, reservations screwed up.  Had to go to a different hotel (Hotel Malibu).  We were in an industrial district - but a clean industrial district.  Clean roads - no schmutz on road side.

Pretty Hotel - inside it was a paradise.  Reminded me of the movie BRAZIL.

Only place to walk was to the mall around the corner.  Good mall - had the ever present guaranteed "safe to eat in" Mexican version of an upscale Howard Johnson's - Sanborne's.

Next day walked to Camino Real Hotel around the corner.  Our room was guaranteed.  We went back to the Malibu -put our luggage in a cab dropped it off at Camino Real and went to Tonala for the afternoon.  Took a cab ride.  Many cabdrivers in Mexico just like in NY.  Mexican drivers rarely know English.

Cabs reasonably set priced at US $13.00 to Tonala.  A factory/craft town.  Apparently, this is where many of the tchotchkes are made and sold throughout Mexico.  Saw lot so of showrooms selling Pier One type merchandise.  Glassware-fabrics-pottery- metal - straw - etc.

 Much to see.  Little to buy.  Found the only restaurant mentioned on our guidebook.  Food was OK.  Authentic Mexican, not for the gringo tourist.

We noticed so many beautiful children.  Were entranced by one little girl with the bluest of eyes.  Then saw that there were many people with the same eyes.

Cab ride back on meter US$10.00

Met our friends.  I took a nap.  When I awakened, we went to downtown Old Guadalajara.  DEPRESSING!

Walked around for 30 minutes.  MORE DEPRESSING!

Took a cab to Hacienda Coyote.  Beautiful huge local restaurant.  Much bigger inside than outside.  100+ tables.  Food was excellent.  The fellow who made salsa for us at tableside was entertaining.  Steaks were great.  Fresh, not frozen, Shrimp.

Back to hotel and sleep.

 

Friday

Went to Tlaquepaque.  Touristic but wonderful.  Loads of real art as well as tchotchkes, Bustamante has a studio there.  Interesting but odd artwork.  I like to look at his stuff but would want very little in my house.

Had a good authentic meal of "chile nogada".  The food that Annette and Cynthia (our friend from the wedding) had was also just as we would always like to have.  The restaurant (as all restaurants down here seem to have) had music with lunch.  First a pop trio, and then an all women mariachi band.  Tres' cool...er...muy bonita!

Back to the hotel for a nap, then the dinner party thrown by Nora.  My dinner partner, in addition to Annette was Christine.  A French physicist who was the connection between the French government science bureau and the US DOE/NSF.

Dinner was fine.  150 people with the ever present mariachis, who were playing behind our table.  Christine, being braver than I, asked them to move to another less populated corner of the room.

Next day

Got the car from the airport and drove to Patzcuaro 350 km away.  Made a few detours.  BTW - The Highway/toll road system is great.  Well tended roads through beautiful countryside. Got off the highway at Zacapu, noted for one time resident André Bressard.  We rode through and kept on going.  The roads were OK but for a stretch that was under repair.  Lots of traffic on free roads.  None to speak of on toll road.

Started to rain.  We still had to drive around the lake

(big lake).  Rain got worse. Pulled into Patzcuaro.  Looked for a room.  Iturbe hotel was full.  The best western wanted a stupid amount of money US$100 +.  While standing there a couple of America women walked in and gave a voucher from ORBITZ.COM for $80.00.  We asked for that rate.  Desk clerk said they had booked through a 'travel agent' (?) and wouldn't budge on the price and neither would we.  Still pouring we drove back to the main square.  One hotel highly recommended by Lonely Planet was under repair.

Finally found Mission San Miguel hotel on the town’s nicest plaza.  The streets were hidden under 12" of water and water still coming in torrents.  Managed to sneak under an overhang.

We got a deluxe room for $51.The place was an old convent.  Dark but very rich, in a spartan sort of way, but had soft, two ply toilet paper.

The first night was muy depressant.  Rained so hard that the streets were empty.  Found an American eating under a portico.  He recommended that we not eat at this restaurant.  1st night at Compania.  We were ready to leave. The next morning we walked around and fell in love with the town, the people, etc.

Lots of chazerai in the marketplace.  Spent a few bucks on junk.

One more night and we left.  Drove to Santa Clara where copper bowls, dishes, vases, jewelry, etc is made.  Went off the main road to find a workshop. Arrived during the lunch/siesta break.  The patron took us on a tour of workshop.  The techniques and workshop were right out of 1500 AD.  1 kilo ingots of copper beat flat with hammers, shaped on anvils and various mandrels into exquisite shapes.  Also worked in 'plata puro' (pure silver) making awesome vases.

The town was full of stores with copper.  A few stores had mini alembics (stills) that I drooled over.  Actual working models of an alchemical instrument.  Eventually saw a serious moonshine still.  6' high x 12' long.  AWESOME!!!!

We are less than 2 km from the town of Tequila.  Saw many small patches of agaves groves.

Drove to Morelia.  Probably a nice place to live but though a UNESCO heritage site, not worth the effort to visit.  The air was redolent with the stench associated with a paper mill.  Later on, found out that KIMBERLY CLARK was a huge presence.  Export corporate stench.  What a concept!

The downtown was a bit dreary.  Architecture colonial Spanish. 

One evening walking downtown and our planned 2 night stay turned into 16 hours.

One down and out, dirt encrusted, scuzzy American ex-pat, approached me with a big smile and a friendly "Excuse me sir!"  With my training in 'NYC panhandler avoidance', my eyes, posture, and pace never wavered.  I kept on walking as though I was deaf and never acknowledged Senor Dirtbag.  As we passed him with no recognition, he started hurling insults with lots f*#@'s at me.

My first instinct was to cover my butt, turn around, and make sure he wasn't coming at me with a baseball bat.  If Annette was not with me, I would probably be in the Morelia calaboose for street fighting with a bum.

The hotel is one of the nicest we have ever seen.  Villa San Jose.  Travel magazine rooms, wonderful accouterments, grass, bushes, sculptures, architecture, pool, tennis court, view of the city and of course, the paper mill aroma.

The maitre'd said he was honored to have us as very few tourists ever came to Morelia.  This ms. should give you an understanding as to why.

Upon checking out, great hotel staff, the manager gave us driving directions out of the city.  He asked, "Do you want the freeway?"  Answering in the affirmative, we received great directions.  Unfortunately, the freeway ion Mexico has a different meaning than in California.  It's chock full of local traffic.  We were thinking of making a 180 and finding the toll road, but decide to tough it out.  The road when not going through towns passes through landscapes we night expect to see in Colorado, Arizona, Kansas, and Vermont.  Beautiful Mountains, valleys, farmland, maize as far as the eye could see.  Some of the corn "as high, as an elephant's eye."  The scenery so unlike our expectations that we were awestruck.  went to the Day of the Dead town Capula.   Lots of pottery but most of basic quality.  Good “day of the dead” figures.

Left Morelia looking for