We Have Been Everywhere Man
13 March 2020
Alison Byers
The last week in Guadalajara has been a busy one. As well as doing some more shopping in the markets, reading in the squares and people watching, we have also taken a couple of tours.
Our first tour was to Guachimontones. This archeological site was discovered in 1969 and is home to some of the only round pyramids in the world. These pyramids were used for religious activities and built 2000 years ago by the Teuchitlan people who lived in the Tequila Valley by the river. There are seven pyramids at this site and six of them are still intact. The largest has 52 steps corresponding to the weeks in a year and is in the centre of the site. Around this pyramid are square platforms where structures were built for the important members of the tribe to watch the festivities out of the weather. It is believed that a tall pole was placed at the top of the pyramid and possibly used for pole dancing or musicians. Each of these pyramids have shaft tombs below them where the people were buried with the most important buried at the deepest depth and the less important at levels all the way to the top. The site also includes two ball courts which were used to play Mesoamerican ball games. Players used their hips to control the ball and smash it from one end of the court to the other. These games were used to settle disputes for political or religious reasons and could sometimes end in death for the winning captain. We apparently had to the best guide at the site who spoke excellent English and is a descendent of the Teuchitlan people.
We met a mother and son on the tour who wanted to go to the wrestling event that night and asked us if we wanted to go with them which of course we said yes to. While the arena was only about 6 blocks away from our hotel, the staff told us to take a cab as the area around the arena was not safe at night as it was one of the sketchiest areas of the city. We arrived, got our tickets with the help of a local and took our seats in the bleachers. It really wasn’t wrestling but did have a lot of slamming and tumbling and cheering. The group of young men in front of us were continually heckling others in the crowd and we think it had something to do with new girlfriends but not sure. It was a fun night out.
Our second tour was to Lake Chapala and Aijijic. Our first stop was at the ranch and store of the most famous mariachi singer in Mexico, Vicente Fernandez who they call “The King of Ranchero Music”. Unfortunately, you can no longer visit the ranch as apparently his health is deteriorating and he wants his privacy. However, we did visit his store which has more cowboy clothing in one place than I have ever seen. Our second stop was at an organic tequila distillery. We tried several types but honestly nothing tasted that great. Pat was having fun with two younger guys on our tour and managed to polish off about 10 ounces of tequila which is a lot for him as he doesn’t even like tequila. We then drove on to Lake Chapala which is about 1 ½ hours outside of Guadalajara and hosts a large gringo population due to the more moderate climate. They say Lake Chapala is the largest and cleanest lake in Mexico which is deceiving as the lake looks very green and cloudy which must be due to a sediment bottom. The lake is 80 km long but only 35 feet deep and is a source of water for the area. We stopped for lunch in Aijijic and went for a short boat ride onto the lake. We then spent some time in the town of Aijijic but due to the time of day a lot of the shops were closed. The streets and sidewalks are very narrow and it was sometimes difficult to walk down the streets but overall a cute little town.
We are glad to have been able to spend enough time in Guadalajara to really experience the city. We have noticed many more people begging here, some by selling something or entertaining and some just asking for money. Many are elderly or handicapped and some are definitely homeless. I guess all big cities have this problem. The other thing we have noticed is people line up to catch the bus. How civilized!!
So, we are now moving on to our last Mexican leg of our adventure – Puerto Vallarta. We are watching the Coronavirus travel restrictions as this may affect how the rest of our trip proceeds however we are hoping for the best.
