Guadalajara

Guadalajara is an incredible city. I love it! There is so much to do. We happened to stay at a hostel right in the heart of downtown. It was great. We met a lot of really cool people. We even ran into a guy that we met in Creel when we were boarding the bus in Puerto Vallarta. That was pretty cool. We ended up sharing the same hostel with him in Guadalajara. We also met some pretty cool girls here from Ireland, an older man from Portland, and some guy that knew everything there was to know about peyote!

Huge park in the city called Agua Azul. There was a big bird sanctuary there.

Flower hanging from a tree in Agua Azul park.

The second night at our hostel we were informed that there was going to be a wedding at the hostel. What?! Wedding at a hostel?! Yes...it ended up being a total blast. The family was great. All people staying at the hostel were invited. There was free alcohol and food. It was great, but there was no way anyone wasn't going to partake in the festivities if they were staying at the hostel! Let's just say, I went to bed at 3am and had enough beers by then, but I still had to wear ear plugs to fall asleep!

The next day we headed out to a bull fight. It was Hootie's first and my second. In fact the last one I saw was in Guadalajara last year. At the bullfight we sat next to a Mexican guy, Jaime. He was great with sharing tequila shots and his knowledge of the bull fight. Bull fights are amazing. The culture and the ceremony behind it all is incredible. PS: Cat, I was thinking about you and I wish you were here to watch the fight. It was pretty similar to the last one that we saw together, only we didn't end up at a bar with a sand floor afterwards.

Opening ceremony at the Bull fight.

Hootie and I in the stands at the Plaza de Toros.

Matdor in true form.

Bull just skimming the matdor's body.

The man, Jaime, that helped us understand the ceremony of the bull fight.

We had time to check out some pretty cool art museums in Guadalajara too. The Exconvento del Carmen was my favorite. It was filled with some really amazing contemporary art. The Orozco paintings/murals around town were also spectacular. And at one of the museums we saw a cross that held a sliver of the True Cross. Pretty cool!

Hootie sitting outside the Cabañas museum.

View of the Cabañas Museum from the interior courtyard.

That night we headed to Lucha Libre. It was hilarious! I´ve never been to a WWF match, but I'm sure that it's pretty similar! At the match one of the staff tried to take my camera from me saying that they were not allowed. There was no way I was handing it over to him. Finally, I just played the card that I couldn't understand him. Somehow he let me be.

Wrestlers just starting a tag team match.

Wrestlers getting hauled off on a stretcher, WWF style.

Two wrestlers dressed up in some crazy costumes.

Cirque du Soleil was our next event. Let me tell you, the gymnastic abilities from Lucha Libre to Cirque du Soleil is like night and day! Cirque was as amazing as always. The show was called Dralion. It was Hootie's first show and probably the cheapest Cirque show I will ever attend in my life! It will definitely remain a highlight of my trip.

Today, I ventured out on my own. Hootie stayed in and took a nap. He has been unfortunate and has caught a cold. Poor Hootie, it sucks to be on vacation and not feeling well. I ended up taking the bus to a nearby town called Tonala. It's this cool little village with a gigantic market. While I was on the bus on the way there, I met a cool couple from Venezuela. They spoke perfect Spanish and English. I ended up tagging along with them around the market and together we discovered what bus to take back to Guadalajara at the end of the day.

Cute little church in Tonala.

Tomorrow, as long as Hootie is feeling better we will head to Leon. Hopefully we will meet up with Salvador and his family. He used to work as a custodian at Ziba and now he owns his own pizza place in Leon. I'm hoping to find some killer cowboy boots to lug around with me for the next month. Leon is known for their cowboy boots.