Travel vlog Mexico, Guadalajara

Episode 4: Mexico

Day 1:
Early morning before leaving for our busy schedule we soldiered on towards the restaurant in order to indulge in the breakfast available, surprisingly enough for a smaller hotel the breakfast was very good and offered also a wide variety of different food. In the morning we headed on foot to visit a number of astonishing buildings that have significant historical importance to the Mexican culture.

Palacio De Gobierno was the first building that we explored, this building was built originally in 1774 after many years of construction. During the course of the years, the purpose of this building changed numerous times, at one point it also served as a prison for the region of Jalisco which is the state where Guadalajara is found. Currently, it is being used as a Government building in which important meetings are held by the government officials of the surrounding towns and cities. This historic building also marks a place where groundbreaking laws with regards to slavery had been passed, this same building is also decorated with two beautiful contemporary fresco paintings. The Mexican Genius behind these creations was no one else but Jose’ Clemente Orozco, his creations highlight the important and controversial events that took place in Mexico with respect to freedom and slavery of the population.

Teatro Degollado was the second place we visited, but unfortunately, upon arrival we realized that the theatre was closed for some renovations. This beautiful building was originally opened in 1866, it was the center of entertainment of Guadalajara. Still today this theatre is being used to house world-class musicians.

City of Tonala: Following this disappointing end we decided to go to the neighboring city of Tonala’, this city is well known mainly to a large number of artists and it is considered as an artisan city. While exploring the streets of this city we were welcomed with a continuous stream of shops that offered different handcrafted art. These varied from pottery to even marble sculptures, in fact, we took the opportunity and purchased ourselves a chessboard hand carved from marble.

City of Tlaquepaque: This charming city is only about 10km of Guadalajara but yet it offers the tranquility that we expect from Mexican cities, like Tonala it is also well known for its pottery and mariachi. This being said it is worth noting that Tlaquepaque is much nicer and far more charming. While exploring the cobbled roads and alleys, we realized that we were surrounded by numerous street art and statues.

Day 2:
Vicente Fernandez: We left the hotel in the morning and headed towards the estate of the Mexican retired singer/actor Vicente Fernandez. He is in possession of a beautiful estate which includes also a ranch with a lot of horses and different animals. Typically the gates of his estate are open for the public that comes to visit and pay tribute to this Mexican legend. Trust our luck upon arrival we were told that Mr. Fernandez is not accepting any more visitors.

Tequila Distillery: We could not leave Guadalajara before visiting some of the most famous tequila distilleries in the region. It should be said that there are numerous tequila distilleries and there are many guided tours to choose from in order to be taken there. The one we choose was conveniently close to us, therefore we avoided spending excessive traveling time. After a brief tour of the actual premises, we were gathered and the distillery guide started explaining to us the differences in the tequilas that they produce, even better he allowed us to try all the variants which they offer. Rather interestingly the Mexicans have this tradition were they sing rhymes before they drink the shots of tequila, some of which were hilarious but unfortunately, the tequila erased the memories of these rhymes.

Chapala Lake: Chapala is a small town adjacent to the Lake Chapala which is the largest lake freshwater lake in Mexico, it is surrounded by greenery and beautiful hills providing spectacular breathtaking scenery. Upon our arrival, we were greeted in true Mexican style with a live band that offered some surprisingly good songs, as expected the main attraction of this town is without a doubt is the lake itself. We took the opportunity to eat in one of the best restaurants that this place had to offer and indulge in some fresh seafood.

Day 3:
ZooGDL: On the last day at Guadalajara we wanted to release our inner child and visit the ZooGDL, this zoo happens to be the largest Zoo in the whole Mexico in both the area and number of different species. The biggest suggestion that I can give at this point is to visit the zoo as early as possible since it is extremely big, in fact, we ended up missing some of the animals. Conveniently enough the zoo was equipped with an overhead cable lift and a train which are aimed to facilitate the viewing experience especially if you don’t want to walk very long distances.