Kathie and I have traveled all over the world together, twice in a small cabin on a boat. And Jennifer had stayed with me, so she said, "Yes". I had trouble re-booking us a room but then I have a problem with just about anything I try to do on the computer, so she booked the room. They said it was a large two bed suite with a balcony, so I can smoke (or so I thought). Nothing turned out as planned. It was the middle of Restaurant Week in Vallarta and a friend of mine from San Francisco was in town so I had been out four nights in a row. Way too much for me, so I was already tired when we took off.
We took a cab to the very well hidden bus terminal past the airport. The bus was comfortable and did have bathrooms (more on that later). As we boarded they were selling snacks and water. I passed, as I had packed two sandwiches and thought there would be other opportunities to buy water (wrong!) The ride was fairly uneventful for the first 3 or 4 hours and we enjoyed looking at all the scenery as we passed through jungle then up the mountains into pine trees. We were some where near the turn off to Tepic when the bus stopped. Our bus driver had been a very cautious one, nearly coming to a stop at each road bump. Then I noticed that we were behind a long line of buses and cars. We sat there for a while, then I saw one of the buses turning around. Then our bus started to turn around. This was not easy as it was a narrow two lane road packed with vehicles. But he managed and we were headed back where we came from. No explanation! The driver is behind a glass door that would not open. Then the bus was struck by a huge cloud of large grasshoppers. I turned to Jennifer and asked if she could remember what followed the "hoard of locust" in the Bible. When we finally came to the junction of another road there were the "Fedaralies" in combat gear with machine guns stopping cars and redirecting them. If anyone knew what was happening, no one told us. We still do not know.
The "five hour" bus ride turned to over seven hours. Our first stop was a station on the outskirts of Guadalajara,but we were not allowed off the bus. We were told the second stop would be "downtown". Maybe, but a long way from the historic district where we were staying. There was a line of cabs waiting, but as we were enjoying our first cigarette in seven hours, a taxi driver approached. We told him where we wanted to go as soon as we finished our cigarette. At that point other bus drivers started yelling at him (this should have been a clue). He gave us a price of 150 pesos (we had no idea) and he grabbed our luggage putting it on the curb, then he ran off. His cab was not even in the line and with the other cab drivers screaming at him he pulled up beside the line and attempted to open his trunk, but it would not open. He then threw our luggage on the roof. I tried to tell him it should be tied down, but he said "No problemo" The cab made several jerks and starts and slowly pulled away. I thought this was good as he couldn't go fast enough to throw our luggage off the roof (Wrong again!) Once he got up to speed he was weaving in and out of traffic using his horn to get cars out of the way. When he was trapped behind a red light he was fiddling with wires under the dash board that were making a clicking sound.
The hotel was located next to Guadalajara Plaza and on one of the main boulevards. What they did not tell us is that the road was closed. They are adding a metro line under the street, so the road is gone . We were dropped off a few blocks from the hotel and had to wind our way around barricades to get to the hotel. The street is lined with gold jewelry shops, but there was one small glass door with the hotel logo. I was sure this was not the entrance, but Jennifer read the sign that said it was the only entrance. There was a completely bare narrow hall with a chair where a guard sat. Seeing our luggage, he opened the door and directed us to the elevator that would take us to the lobby. It was large but just as bare as the entrance. We checked in and were given our key cards, so we went up to the fourth floor. The "suite" was so small that it barely held the two beds. The only other piece of furniture was the night stand between the beds and there was no balcony, just a picture window looking at the construction site below. We could not get the lights to turn on. I know some hotels you have to insert the key card to turn on the lights, but we could find no such slot. We decided to drop the luggage, find a place for a drink and then return to the lobby and demand another room. If you looked straight out the window you see a lovely old building with a gazebo where an orchestra played each night. If you look down you not only see all the construction and huge vats of liquid. I have no idea.
We were very fortunate that in the plaza next to us had a sort of beer garden There were lots of tables and chairs sectioned off from the plaza by planters and shaded by many umbrellas. It was aptly named "Sombrillas". It was also the only place we ever found were you could have a drink and smoke. There are no side walk cafes and no smoking is permitted in patios or gardens. In front of the beer garden was an underground entrance to a huge shopping mall. Once we had calmed down, we returned to the lobby. The only kid behind the desk looked like he was dressed for high school (apparently uniforms are just one of the many "costly extras" the hotel does not supply). Jennifer told him how unhappy we were with the room as we expected a larger room with a balcony that the hotel web site showed. He spoke not a word of English and we were surprised to find that almost no one speaks English. He said they only had a few rooms with balconies and the hotel was fully booked. BULL SHIT! We never saw another person on our floor. Jennifer set up her computer. She is a freelance writer and had planned to work on the bus, but even though the bus says it had WiFi, it did not. I set off to explore the city and try to find a nice restaurant for dinner. A friend of mine told me of a street near that had three good Mexican restaurants. Armed with a map, I found the street but the restaurants looked like just one step above a fast food place. One was full with a waiting line and all of the customers were Mexicans so I thought it must be good.
After we showered and changed, we went back to the beer garden for a few drinks then set off for the restaurant. It was good Mexican, but a little too spicy for me. We stopped for after dinner drinks at our beer garden. The square is surrounded by beautiful old buildings which were illuminated at night. When we got back to the hotel there was no guard in the little hall way. A sign said to put our key card in a slot to open the doors but the little box had been stolen! We pushed a door bell and someone opened the door. I stopped at the lobby to ask where I could get some ice. He said there was an ice machine in the dinning area where breakfast was to be served. But you had to have your own container as there was no ice bucket in the room. I had brought Scotch for me and tequila for Jennifer but we need ice. Always prepared, I went back upstairs and grabbed a large seal-able plastic baggie, I had brought, along with my small portable coffee maker. I have been in some pretty cheap hotels in my life, but nothing as bare boned as this place. We were given only two plastic cups, two thread bare towels, one hand towel (no wash cloths) and a small bar of soap. While drinking in our room we recounted all the events of the day. I could not stop laughing until my stomach hurt and I started to hiccup (Scotch had nothing to do with that).
The following morning I was up early, made my coffee (I cannot move without coffee). Then showered and went down to see what breakfast was like. It was awful. I told Jennifer what there was as she does eat Mexican breakfast, but that they stopped serving at 10:00. She went down a little after 9:00 and it was closed. While she wrote I explored more of the city, looking for a decent restaurant. Guadalajara is a beautiful city with dozens of plazas and parks with many fountains and gorgeous old stone buildings. They also still have the horse drawn carriages I remember from fifty years ago. Every plaza has at least one church. The styles varied from Roman, to Gothic to Greek, all with stained glass windows, gold altars and statures. All (I might add) paid for by poor people, Every other street in the historic district is a pedestrian mall lined with trees. I also located one of the museum that had an exhibit I was interested in. When I returned to the room, we decided to first go to the museum, then to Tlaquepaci in the late afternoon. The museum was a long way down Ave. Juarez, but we stopped and looked at some architecture and she window shopped. The museum was closed. No sign indicating why it was closed or what days and hours it was open. Just a locked door. It was Monday and I guessed like many museums, it was closed on Monday. Next to the museum was a church, so we went in. It had beautiful stained glass windows that reminded me of Saint Chappelle in Paris. It also had a replica of Michelangelo's Pieta. We decided to set off for Tlaquepaci. Guadalajara was hotter than Vallarta, but very dry and it is at a very high altitude. We were accustomed to neither and that plus the dirt and dust from the construction combined with the pollution of any major city was driving our sinuses crazy. Our eyes and noses never stopped running.
For a change we had a pleasant cab driver and the road was mostly down a multi-lane highway where we could see signs to Tlaqupaci as well as Tonala. We arrived to a gorgeous plaza with many shops and restaurants. The architecture is more colonial and reminded me of Mascota, but larger and the building were in better condition. It is a suburb of Guadalajara now, but actually Guadalajara (the second largest city in Mexico) just swallowed the town as it grew. It has retained its own individual look. We did not find a single bar or restaurant that allowed smoking, so we left. At a loss for dinner again, we decided to try our little beer garden which was not bad.
The following day, we had breakfast again at Sombrillas, then while Jennifer worked on her computer I went again to the museum. It was a well done exhibit showing the influence of Paris on art in Mexico City during the 19th Century and early 20th Century. Each room was a different theme showing how modern art was developed. They did have some Diego Rivera's but no Frida Khala. I was amused at how many Mexican artist tried to be Picasso. There were many french artists from the period from loans of museums and private collectors in France. I was disappointed to see that Dali was not exhibited on the section of surrealism. But all in all a worthwhile visit. I never found another museum, plus we had planned on going to Tonala to buy some pottery.
The first cab driver quoted 150 pesos and since we were told it should not be more than 100, we moved to the next taxi. The driver was an old funny looking guy (well not as old or funny looking as I am, but Old!) He quoted 120 so we got in He drove in spurts and stops, looking both ways, We later surmised he was not looking at traffic, but trying to find the right road. At one point he tried to drive down a one way street, the wrong way. I screamed at him. It took him 45 minutes to reach Tonala (the ride back took 20 minutes). It was all surface streets, no highways and we never saw a sign for Tonala. We were dropped on a major street that did have lots of shops, but none with hand painted pottery. Mostly it was crap like the painted plaster stuff you find at the Tijuana border. Hot and tired and noses running as Tonala was even dustier, I called my friend Richard. He said to go to the plaza by the two churches. We spotted the dome and steeple and headed that way. There were lots of shops and stall in the square, but all junk. I needed a beer, but no where could we find a bar. One restaurant that did not serve beer told me to go to the Pharmacia Guadalajara, buy a beer and I could bring it back at drink at his outside tables. Very kind of him, so I did but the beer cabinet was locked. I had to find someone to unlock it so I could buy one can of beer. In the meanwhile Jennifer found someone who knew where we could find good Mexican pottery (did I mention that Jennifer speaks pretty good Spanish). We walked a good 10 or 12 blocks and sure enough there it was. She bought some Talevera ware and I bought a large salad bowl I had wanted. Yes, it is cheaper there, but when you figure the total cost, I call it my 4,500 peso salad bowl. Happy with our purchases, we headed back to our hotel. This cab driver used the freeways and got us there in no time (well he got us within a few blocks of the hotel).
I went to the beer garden while Jennifer went upstairs to do more typing. It is a beautiful spot with nice breezes and the waiters got to know us (Jennifer is a lavish tipper). I sat there looking at the buildings, all the people (the plaza is always full of people) and the fountains, Suddenly I looked up and what did I see, but a restaurant on the second floor of the same building as our hotel. Through the french windows I could see tables set up with linens. I checked menu and it looked fine to me, so after showering and dressing for dinner we went there for dinner. I should say that Jennifer dressed for dinner, including high heels (she always looks gorgeous). I wore the same shorts and a fresh tee shirt. I had brought long sleeve shirts and pants, as well as a jacket. We were told Guadalajara got very cool in the evenings (it did not). Dinner was nice, we sat at a table overlooking the plaza.
Next morning after breakfast at the beer garden (what would we have done without that place?) we packed up and left. Again the bus depot was a long way off and it was hot. This bus driver was totally different from the last one. He drove at top speed passing cars, and trucks on the little two lane roads. We waited too long to use the bath rooms as we were headed into the mountains. The bus lurched from side to side as he rounded curves at unbelievable speeds. While trying to make it down the aisle I was thrown from one side to the other. There were toilets for men and woman, but smaller than on an airplane. Mine said, (in Spanish) that it was better to sit down. No Kidding!! I had a hard time unzipping my pants while hanging on to a bar for dear life while my body bounced off one wall and another..
I am home now and very glad to be back. Yes, it is warm, but I am used to the humidity and we still have lovely cool ocean breezes. They will stop mid summer, but then we get wonderful rains. I do like it here. It is still Restaurant Week and there are a few more I would like to try once my sinuses clear. At first I was going to rename this posting HOLIDAY IN HELL, but thought better of it. If you live through all the traumas, craziness, and problems you will always find it worth while. I would advise a trip to Guadalajara, but with someone who knows the city (a Mexican preferably)
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