On the way back from lake Chapala we stopped in the small rural town of Tecolotlan. This is a real authentic Mexican town. I think we´re the only Anglos in the whole town. Whereas the town is poor to modest at best, we find it to be clean, litter and graffiti-free, and the people apparently have great pride in it. The people are really friendly, as they are everywhere in Mexico.
We´re staying at a little hotel in town (150 pesos a night) and right now are at an internet cafe.
photos to follow.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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Comments [1]
greetings
01/11/2009
We arrived at Lake Chapala yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed lunch at the house of friends Michel and Vivianne. They are French expatriates who have lived here 12 years. We last saw them in Mazatlan two years ago.
Afterward we checked in to the Hotel Real de Chapala. It's a very fancy hotel on the shores of the lake. Today we'll visit the towns of Chapala and Ijijic.
Photos to follow.
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Sounds like a superb trip.... I have not been to Guadalahara in 40+ years, it was always fun to go there in my late teens and early 20's. Your current side trip sounds great, Karen & I are taking notes for future road trips to Mexico. We both really enjoy it there.
Hopefully you and the boys are getting a little surfing in while in Mazatlan. I remember the curl there being one of the best I ever surfed.... I wish you, Pascale, Francois, and Antoine a very happy new year, and continued safe voyage. We look forward to your next update.
Love to you all;
Larry & Karen
Here's a view of the interior of the hotel we stayed at in Guadalajara, the Hotel Morales.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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Since I last reported we rented a car at P.V. and headed eastward; ultimate destination Guadalajara. Our first day was a pleasant drive into the mountains; we stopped for lunch at a beautiful, out-of-the-way, quaint and little known town of San Sebastian. There was hardly a gringo there, and not much tourist trade either, but the village, homes, and helter-skelter cobblestone streets look like they haven't changed since the 1800s. The road to this town was a side trip off the beaten path, parts of it unpaved and very rough, including fording a stream.
After that we drove through Mascota and then to Talpa de Allende. This town reminded me a bit of Santa Rosalia, with its "old west" and Spanish colonial architecture. We had dinner in the best restaurant in town, which turned out to be an open air talapa on a hill overlooking the town.
The next morning, we drove across about 200 miles of arid mountain landscape; at times the scenery reminded us of California's Sierras, at times of the hot, dry Mendocino National Forest between Maxwell, CA and Lett's Lake (one of our favorite summer destinations), and at times, of the California Great Central Valley. All this, however, with colonial Spanish architecture.
We arrived at Guadalajara (pronounced "wa-da-la-HA-ra") around 2 PM, and toured this city of 8 million people, had lunch at a hotel, and then searched for the perfect hotel for our stay. We took a horse drawn carriage to tour the town and to deposit us in front of the Hotel Morales. This is a 4 star hotel with gorgeous 18th century stone architecture.
Dinner at the hotel this evening was wonderful; just appetizers (smoked salmon platter, and mushrooms cooked with chili peppers and garlic), and two servings of tortilla soup. There was an excellent 3-piece band that plays beautiful Mexican music (accordeon, guitar and bajo sexto).
We'll post photos soon, when we can.
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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We've rented a car and will be taking an inland trip to Guadalajara; we'll be visiting some historic sites along the way. We'll be meeting up with some friends we met at the El Cid in Mazatlan in 2007.
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Happy New year wishes from Puerto Vallarta!
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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12/25/2008, Puerto Vallarta
Merry Christmas to all and a happy New Year!
| Mexico Sailing Trip 2008-2011 |
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Happy New Year 2009, from Manuela (PASSAGES), to you and your family, please e-mail me
12/23/2008, Puerto Vallarta
We arrived at Puerto Vallarta on December 18; we were lucky and got a slip in the Paradise Village marina, which is a very fancy, and huge resort. The good thing about it is that it is extremely luxurious, but the down side is that you could spend a year here and never know you were in Mexico. It is very Americanized and also isolated from town (a 20 minute bus ride).
That being said, we're enjoying our stay here a great deal.
There are crocodiles in the marina, so "No Swimming -- crocodile zone" and "Don't feed the crocodiles" signs are everywhere.
Some of the crocs here reach 17 feet in length.
Last night we enjoyed Jazz Night at the P.V. Yacht Club - they had a former keyboard player for Carlos Santana there, who was fabulous. along with an electric bass and a fantastic drummer from Cuba.
This evening we had dinner in town with friends Dan and Esther Carrico and David Schwarz. They both have bought hi-rise condos in P.V., which were gorgeous.
Dinner at The Barracuda restaurant was excellent.
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yes we were lucky to get a slip in Paradise Village, but I have to say, we much prefer the El Cid. Paradise Village is huge, and something gets lost in the process. We're looking forward to sailing further south in January.
