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Chapala
It's a lake resort along the " Chapala Lake ".
The Tapatios (Guadalajara's inhabitants) come here for the week-end.
Chapala lake is the largest one in Mexico. It's one hour drive from Guadalajara and is very polluted due to the factories nearby pouring chemical products into it.
The color is indefinable and the lake is covered by water hyacinths.
Hundreds of white pelicans hibernate here.
We stay 3 relaxing days here, enjoying a huge park along the lake.
Tequila
A 60 km drive takes us to this place.
That's here that the famous beverage made out of blue agaves was born in the XVIIIth century.
The region has been recognized as world heritage place for its blue agave fields.
Numerous distelleries are open to the public.
We choose to visit one of the most famous " Cuervo ".
That's a way to learn all the process an to do some testing....but we are serious !
We then visit " El Museo Nacional del Tequila " to learn even more about this mexican drink.
Crossing the town with our camper is another aventure. The streets are paved with pebbles and huge trucks try to join the distilleries.
Great fun!
Guadalajara
Out of the traditional colonial town circuit, this city with an unpronounceable name is the 2sd largest one in Mexico.
Its name which means " The river running between the rocks " is the same as the spanish town.
That's here that the " Marachi " music was born, that Tequila has been drunk for the 1st time and that the " Sombrero " was firt worn.
Because of some of its monuments, Guadalajara is now a world heritage town.
In 1532 Ninos de Guzman founded the first Guadalajara killing a large partof the indigenious. He wanted to build a great kingdown linking the pacific coast to the gulf of Mexico.
As the indigenous were understandably hostile,the spaniards had to withdraw a couple of times before founding in 1553 the actual Guadalajara.
The city quickly grew and became the launch pad for spanish expeditions and missions to western and northerm " Nueva Espana "
We stay 3 days in Guadalajara, not for the charme of the city, but for its monuments and the " Fiesta de la Luz " which celebrates the birth of the city.
We spend our last evening sharing different pyrothecnics shows and concerts with the local population.
* Catedral : Ordered by spanish king " Philippe II " and consacred in 1618, the twin-towered cathedral is the city's most beloved landmarks. The interior includes gothic vaults, massive gold-leaf pillards and 11 richy decorated altars.
* Palacio de Gobierno : Finished in 1774, it's a neoclassical building. Inside, a 400 m mural of Miguel Hidalgo is looming over an interior stairway. Jose Clemente Orozcon, the artist, used the mexican hero to examine the dualism : communism and facism
* Instituto Cultural Cabanas : Founded by bishop " Don Juan Cruz de Cabanas ", it was build between 1805 and 1810 as an orphanage and home for invalids and remained so for 150 years. Jose Clemente Orozco channeled the archetypal struggle for freedown into 57 murals. The explication of a guide are essential to understand the work of the artist......Fabulous !
We also visited quite a few churches.
We did'nt appreciate " The Plaza de los Mariachis " ....a tourist trap...
We spend our last day in Tequlepaque, 10 minutes awaey from Guadalajara.
This very touristic town hostes a lot of colourful colonial houses.
It's a place where to wander around and visit the art galeries.
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