Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Wow! I got up and dressed and yoga-ed in time to catch the sunrise on the roof! Golden hour happens at both ends of the day!
Then downstairs for breakfast, being one of the first. Of course no one beats Juan! He says he's having green juice (cucumber, spinach, and celery) and that sounds good, so I have some, too. And decaf because it's going to be a long day. The huevos à la Mexicanoa are delicious as long as I ferret out the bits of jalapeños!
Juan is in full tour-guide mode today, starting the actual tour. We will walk around the historical center for several hours, and during that time Ginger will have to peel off and catch a taxi to the airport to meet Laura. She's had a had time getting here because her first flight was delayed and she would up spending the night and catching her second flight this morning!
Our tour begins with this commemoration of the founding of the city by the Spanish - yes you must always be nice to your conquerors! The city of Guadalajara is one mile above mean sea level and was founded in 1542, after a couple of other sites were judged unsuitable. The name means River through Stones. It currently contains five million people!
Juan tells us that the cathedral is lined up with the cardinal directions and that there is a park on each of the four sides. We'll be able to go inside later, when it is open. Several of the towers have been damaged by various earthquakes, although they were built to withstand them. Because it took so long to construct, it is a mixture of classic, baroque, and neo-classic architecture. The center door is only used on special occasions.
We are able to go inside now and see the alter to "Innocence". She was a young girl who wanted to study Catholicism and was denied the right by her father. She found a way to study with the nuns and her father killed her. But her body has never decomposed. It is on display in the cathedral.
When we come out we cross the park and see a troupe of folklorico dancers in costume. Juan asks why they are there and they say they need to update their publicity photos! And, yes, we can take pictures of them, too!
Next we can visit the theatre which was inaugurated in 1866 with a performance by a famous opera singer. (Norm has been tagging along and tells us again that he and his wife and children have all performed here.)
Now we are heading for the crown jewel of Guadalajara, the Museo Cabañas. It was built because Bishop Juan Cruz Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo saw that there were many orphans and homeless people in the city and asked King Philip II to fund an orphanage and old-age home. It is decorated with 57 amazing series of murals, considered the masterpieces of José Clemente Orozco. Juan takes us inside and explains much of the dark symbolism in the paintings and shows how they predicted the rise of the machine age.
During the 1800s the building was used as a military installation; but then reverted to its primary use. Juan actually meet a man who lived there as ah orphan!
We are heading back to the hotel and I ask Lisa if she'll come with me to the market to hunt for a t-shirt. I saw it yesterday and Juan is wearing it today! She uses her excellent Spanish to find the right stall in that mammoth building and I actually get a slightly different one so we won't look like the Bobbsey Twins! When we get back to the hotel Laura and Ginger have returned from the airport and I finally get to meet my new roomie!
As soon as everyone has had time for a pitstop we reconvene downstairs and we head for our bus for the first time. It's a fifteen-seater Mercedes and that fits us very well, just a couple of empty seats in the back!
We're heading to lunch at Los 3 Potrillos Restaurant. I just order quesadillas with cheese and mushrooms but it's still more than I can eat! I wind up scrapping the cheese and 'shrooms out and just eating those, leaving the lonely tortillas on the plate!
Now we're off to Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico, and the source of Guadalajara's drinking water. The lake is really, really low. There is a fun walk with a skateboard park and amusement rides and snacks. But the coolest thing is that we are just in time to see the Voladores! We had seen them years ago in Vera Cruz and I never thought I'd see them again!
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| At least one photo for tonight! The Voladores |
Our last stop is the arts and crafts town of Tlaquepaque! Juan gets us oriented and then set us loose to shop for an hour and a half! There is a lot of amazing street art and a blown glass shop and stores that are really art museums! I start out with Ginger and Laura, but we get separated. Happily we reconnect and are back at our meeting spot a few minutes early. Funny story - We are sitting across from one another on a couple of benches. Ginger's bench has a young couple who are obviously in the throes of some major unhappiness and we are doing our best to not intrude. Laura takes a particulary unflattering photo of Ginger and shows it to her. The couple can't help but look, too, and it actually makes them laugh! Our work here is done!
Juan has found us a restaurant for dinner, El Abajeño and it's perfect. Ginger and I split the national dish that is served on Independence Day because it is red, white, and green.. It is called Chile en Nogada and is peblano pepper with ground beef inside and a delicious white sauce covering it. And it has pomegranate seeds sprinkled on it for the red. Actually, ours had strawberry bits but it doesn't matter. It was delicious! And half a serving was perfect. The chef even divided it for us.
Everyone is full and exhausted as we make our way back to the bus. Ginger takes breakfast orders so that we won't be held up in the morning, as we need to be on the road by 8:30.
And my watch says that I walked 20,500 steps today. (And I can't keep my eyes open! Photos later - sorry!)
