Here’s a hippo!

Hey here are some pics of a hippo we saw in Guadalajara zoo.

Living la vida Mexicana

Mexicans are big on family, public displays of affection (PDAs), food and noise of any kind as long as it’s loud – mariachis, car stereos, annoying whistle things vendors sell in plazas to kids who proceed to use them incessantly, church bells (that seem to go off randomly at any time of day or night in a ‘hey it’s 2am why don’t we ring the church bells’ kind of way) and people who honk their horns for, oh any reason really, and again it doesn’t matter if it’s 3am and people are sleeping. These things and more are all part of the Mexican way of life it seems. They like it fast, they like it loud, and they’re not too concerned whether other people like it or not.

Mariachis serenading us at dinner – whether we liked it or not! (For the record, we did.)

Walk down to a plaza in any Mexican town, at any time of the day or night and chances are you’ll see parents sitting on benches eating street food while the kids are running around the plaza playing with each other, or throwing those weird things that light up in the air or blowing on annoying horns.

You’ll see lovers entwined in passionate embraces and the awkwardness of a first or second date. You’ll see food stalls and you’ll hear music – could be some mariachis, could be a shop front blaring out Mexican music at completely inappropriate levels to apparently ‘attract’ customers. Maybe it’s a pharmacy blasting out techno while someone dressed up as the fat chemist character the chain is known for rave dances out front, or maybe it’s a father playing the according while his son dressed up in the best cowboy suit ever, yells out trying to harmonise with his dad while holding onto a Coke bottle. Whatever it is – crazy, annoying, hilarious – it’s Mexican life.

Mariachis serenading us at dinner – whether we liked it or not! (For the record, we did.)

A family hanging out together eating street food in Tlaquepaque’s main square.

Dancing pharmacist of Farmacia Similares who is usually accompanied by loud techno music. I’m positive this is a sales strategy more Australian pharmacies need to employ!

Father and son team busking to anyone who’d listen. The little boy was AMAZING, such a little character – he’d give that Honey Boo Boo chick a run for her money

A week in Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque is an artisan’s town in Guadalajara. Actually, it’s more like a suburb of Guadalajara that feels like a mini town – sort of like Yarraville or Williamstown in Melbourne. Interestingly, it’s mainly Mexican tourists who visit here. Not many gringos here at all, which was fine by us. Some friends from Melbourne were living in Tlaquepaque and studying Spanish, so that combined with the town’s overwhelming charms fuelled our decision to stay there for the week.

Andrew hanging out with some of the locals on Calle independencia in Tlaquepaque

We were lucky enough to find an apartment online for $165 USD/week in the Plaza de Artesanias. It was a massive studio with a separate kitchen and bathroom, tastefully decorated with beautiful Mexican pieces.

The main plaza in Tlaquepaque was always teeming with people at night

The food in Tlaquepaque was amazing, particularly the street food. There was everything from grilled corn on a stick, to baked potatoes with corn, broccoli, cheese and sour cream, to hot dogs (nice ones). And of course there were the usual taco stand offerings of tacos with meat and chicken, gorditas (fried maize bread stuffed with whatever you like), empanadas (fried tortillas filled with whatever you like), and our favourite thing ever – the churro-like (didn’t get its ‘proper’ name but am guessing it’s a churro) dessert we went hunting for most nights. Think freshly deep fried churro cut in half, filled with caramel and then rolled in cinnamon and sugar – oh yes!

Churro with caramel, cinnamon and sugar

We had a brilliant place a couple of doors down selling Tortas Ahogado (literally meat or prawn rolls drowned in a tasty sauce).

Tortas Ahogado

The fact that I haven’t put on 5kgs is a miracle!

Wedding in Puerto Vallarta

We hadn’t originally planned to go to Mexico on this trip – but got invited to a friend’s wedding a few months before we left, so decided it would be a great excuse to visit!

We spent 2 months in Mexico before travelling to Puerto Vallarta (PV) for the wedding. I think we both thought the town would be similar to Playa del Carmen – very touristy and perhaps a bit soulless. But we were very wrong!

PV was one of our favourite towns in Mexico – it is touristy but has been a popular destination for much longer than Playa, so it has a lot more character, and has more of a local feel. It’s also much prettier – nice beaches with dramatic mountains running along the coast.

A lot of Americans apparently come here to get married, and so there are quite a few all-inclusive resorts like in Cancun and Playa. But they are stretched out along the coast, so you don’t really notice them if you stay in town.

Our friends got married in an amazing wedding venue/hotel right on the beach – Playa Fiesta. We had drinks and dinner there with the wedding party the night before, and then came back the following day for the wedding. It’s all-inclusive for guests staying there, which means it’s pretty hard to not get really drunk.

We had amazing service from all the staff there – the location and facilities are excellent. Overall it was an incredible wedding – thanks so much Brian and Sarah for inviting us!

Accommodation at Playa Fiesta

On the beachfront at Playa Fiesta

Pool at Playa Fiesta

The Happy couple

Wedding Fireworks!

Welcome to Mascota

We visited the delightful little town of Mascota en route to Puerta Vallarta. It’s a small town about 2.5 hours from Guadalajara, where streets are cobbled and men still ride around on donkeys because they need to.

It’s definitely not a tourist hub which is part of its charm. Although, that is slowly but surely changing thanks to its prime position on the improved road to Puerta Vallarta.

There’s not much to see in the way of ‘tourist’ sites but there are a couple of small extinct volcanoes close by, a nice lagoon not too far away and some other places that the man at the tourist centre at the town’s entrance will tell you about, after he’s tried to sell you his rompope (an eggnogg-like local alcoholic drink that comes in different flavours – we bought one that’s kind of like Bailey’s).

We hired some bikes and rode to the volcano, so we could climb it. But that proved difficult as Mascota is 1268m above sea level, which meant the ride uphill was challenging on our gear-less bikes but also because there was no discernible path up the volcano. We attempted to climb through a local landowner’s corn fields but it seems that intrepid explorers we are not. However, we did get to meet some lovely locals who agreed to mind our bikes while we attempted the climb and that was pretty great.

Bike riding around Mascota

But if biking isn’t your thing then it’s a beautiful town to just roam around and explore on foot.

Mascota Life

Wander the streets and see if you can see a man on a donkey, or a cowboy-hatted man riding the streets on horseback . Grab a bite at any of the local restaurants and check out the temple ruins in the middle of town or the park by the river on the outskirts. Or just pop down to the main plaza and do what the locals do, sit and chat or even better just sit and contemplate. I think these guys have got the right idea …

A man on a donkey

Some local bike riders

Andrew enjoying Mascota plaza life

Mascota locals hanging out in the plaza

Another Mascota local taking it all in at the plaza

A couple of Mascota locals taking a nap at the plaza

Day of the Dead in Guadalajara

The month long Playa del Carmen experience is over, and now we’re in Guadalajara, the second biggest city in the country. It’s way over the other side from Playa del Carmen, so we skipped what would probably have been 24 hours in the bus for a much cheaper plane flight.

We arrived during the most important national festival of the year, Dia de los Muertos The Day of the Dead. Well, it’s actually two days, during which Mexicans remember their ancestors by coming together and creating altars with offerings to commemorate loved ones who have passed. It was a traditional festival in the pre-Hispanic Days, but the date got moved thanks to the Spanish who merged the festival with the Catholic All Saints and All Souls Days.

Street altar in Tlaquepaque and me obscuring part of it

Guadalajara is a great city – and despite having over 4 million people, seems very relaxed and easy to get around – definitely not as chaotic and large as Mexico City. We spent a couple of days here and then moved over to a small town just next to Guadalajara called Tlaquepaque, where friends from Melbourne have been living for the past few months. We loved it because there are hardly any western tourists (mainly Mexican which is interesting) and it’s very small with a lovely vibe, friendly people, great artisans shops and amazing street food – so we decided to rent an apartment and stay for the week.

Here are some Guadalajara photos.

Our first Torta Ahogado experience in Guadalajara. This dish is famous in Jalisco. Tender pork in a chile/tomato sauce which literally drowns the baguette. They had a prawn version that was pretty amazing too.

One of dozens of Day of the Dead Statues that lined the main plaza

Inside Guadalajara Cathedral

Day of the Dead Altar in Guadalajara Centro HIstorico

Guadalajara Cathedral

Plaza Guadalajara at dusk. This was the view from the restaurant where we were enjoying 2 for 1 beers ($1 each) and cocktails ($1.70 each). Amazing!

Guadalajara Cathedral at dusk

Our first Toucan spotting – in Parque Agua Azul

Gorditos in a street market near Parque Agua Azul

Father and son buskers in street market near Parque Agua Azul

Street altar in Tlaquepaque and me obscuring part of it