Mazatlan, Tonala, Tlaquepaque

Monday, August 16, 2010
Basically we drove all day going from Navajoa to Tucson. 


 





We drove for hours with a few breaks.  We did a bit of recreational eating - it is fairly boring when you drive that far.

Navajoa had roads dug up so we kind of got off track right away.  Once on the highway we were away.  Mostly the landscape was flat and we drove between the green hills.  We saw lots of cactus.  The homes by the highway gave the impression of a lack of wealth.  Even the animals were skinny.

It appeared to be snowing butterflies - yellow ones.  We saw a turtle crossing the road, too.

Our stops were in Hermisillo at a mall.  We wanted to stretch our legs.  We also stopped at Obregon and finished stocking up on groceries.

Just before leaving Mexico we filled up on gas.  We gave our fruit and veggies away.  The guy washing our windshield asked us if we had any food because he was hungry.  At the boarder squeezy guys were giving us the international sign for hungry - we gave our bananas to him

Sunday, August 15, 2010

We got up early and had a fantastic authentic Mexican breakfast at the hotel.

I sat on the deck listening to the waves crashing.  We walked a long way from the hotel, up to the curve in the beach so you could see the Zona Dorada.  We saw lots of statues.

Then we had the "wise" idea to walk into centro.  I am still looking for that certain something to buy.  It was so hot that Ken left me in an air conditioned store and went to scout out the area.  No luck!  We just wanted to go and get cool in our hotel room.

Butterflies were everywhere once we left Mazatlan.

Good farmland in this area.  We finally tried fruit with chili on it - yum!  It was papaya from Mazatlan's Mercado.  We ate as drove because we wanted to get to Navajoa.

For supper we stopped near Los Mochis at the truck stop we so desperately looked for on the way down.  It had a great looking hotel right beside it.  Do not go into Los Mochis, stay at this truck stop or surrounding motel.  Then Ken had to drive in the dark in Mexico - a first for us!  The rats running on the road were exciting, so was the bus turning its headlights on as it passed our car.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

We woke up early.  I just couldn't pull myself out of bed.  It was raining and I was really tired.  After finally peeling myself from the bed we ate breakfast under the roof of the courtyard while the rain poured from the grey sky.

It was hard to leave the Quinta Don Jose as the staff is so genuinely friendly and the decor is so wonderfully Mexican.  Tlaqueapaque is a great city - clean beautiful and friendly.

The green, lush rolling hills between Guadalahara and Mazatlan are slightly reminiscent  of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  Except they go on and on, plus they have not only deciduous trees but cactus.  We saw cows, houses and goats grazing.

I typed some of the blog while we drove today.  Mostly I just lazed and enjoyed the drive.

When we got about half an hour from Matzatlan traffic became one lane as we crept along.  The other lane was at a stand still.  Plus the wonderful landscape became shantytown.

We decided to stay right on the ocean front, six floors up.  We walked around centro of Mazatlan - different than many places.  it was great to sit out on our deck and hear the pounding surf.

Friday, August 13, 2010

This hotel offers free long distance so I phoned my Dad.  It was great to hear his voice, way down here in Mexico.  I finally got through to his friend Fern's e-mail, too.

We had a nice continental breakfast, courtesy of the hotel.  Then off to a neighboring city - Tonala.  This day we had actual purchasing in mind.  We were about to go back and buy something and it started raining.  We decided to go back to the car and that is when we saw the best art to buy,  Good thing it rained.

Once back in Tlaquepaque we went back out shopping.  In Mexico you can sample booze, especially tequila... so we did a little sampling.  We got caught in the rain, came back to the hotel and changed,  We actually decided to slow down long enough to have supper.  Once back out again we made several trips back with purchases.  We had fun spending money!  We had a whirlwind shopping day.

Mexico - Tlaquepaque, Tonala market, Leon

Friday July 27
We did not want to leave this wonderful B&B. We were very spoiled in the past few days. The cook even made me a special scrambled egg breakfast. We walked to a regional ceramics museum. Both of us were in awe of the artistry and craftsmanship put into these ceramic works. We took pictures of the building which housed the ceramics. It, of course, was build around a courtyard.

Many domes some with cupolas, helped shape the topography of the roof. On the way out of Tlaquepaque we saw a horse pulling a cart; his master was collecting and distributing cooking oil.

On the road to our next city we drove up to a high mesa or plateau. We drove through cattle country, more cows than I have seen even in fields in Alberta. We were approaching the city of Leon. I would call Leon the city of shoes. There was not just a block of shoe stores, there were blocks of malls full of shoe stores and plus blocks of shoe stores. It is a very big city even though I have never heard of it. When trying to find the area of shoes we kept driving around and around one area, I felt like I was in the movie Ground Hog Day. We saw our first Previa van in Mexico, it had California license plates.


The driver honked at us; guess he hasn't seen to many Previas either. Going to a classy restaurant appears to be cheaper and classier than I have seen in Canada. We went to one such restaurant in Leon called No Come Me. The service was superb. We spent the night at the Paris Hotel, Pepe also got a room that night.




Thursday July 26
We woke up feeling relatively fine compared to yesterday. We ate and strolled around the Spanish style courtyard drinking tea and taking photos. We realized it was Thursday, we picked up the pace. Thursday is market day in Tonala, a suburb close to Tlaquepaque. This mercardo in Tonala is renowned for its pottery. Getting there required that we somehow get through the gridlocked traffic coming out of Guadalajara. It was a huge market with some good pottery and blown glass (great prices we found out later). Mostly the other stuff wasn't that great.




One must be careful buying pottery and blown glass - there does appear to be different qualities. We had just gone through a maze of shops and vendors before we realized we had lost track of exactly where we had parked Pepe, our trusty van. We are not very seasoned travellers. Getting out of Tonala was difficult, because of traffic, although Ken did manage to find a sneaky back way. Once arriving back at Tlaquepapue it poured rain but we managed to go for a margarita even after our yesterdays digestive difficulties. (Ken adds this note; "we lost one day to an upset stomach and were then up and shopping and running a tab at the hotel bar on an empty stomach ...not seasoned she says... I don't think so).































Wednesday July 25
We awoke to our wonderful B & B (not giving up its name here, our little secret). The walls in the bathroom were all tiled, as was the whole vanity for the sink. The ceilings where exposed, old brick and beams. The bed was huge with and intricately engraved headboard. The rest of the restored building was built around a courtyard with tile and exposed brick everywhere.
















There were big Barro Brunido ceramic pots and plates covering tables and walls throughout.








There was one set on restrooms done in a Day of the Dead motif, from the ceramic sinks the the metal figures on the mirrors and ceilings. The ground had lime trees, passion flowers,








......There was an old exposed arch they had redesigned into a fountain. The fountain drained into a pool with lilies, lily pads and gold fish. That was only one of the fountains. The others were made of concrete with live flowers around the edges. There was also a tiled pool for swimming.






We met the little dog named Chiquita. Since we had to leave our pup, El Hectoro Grande, at home it was sure nice to get to pet this friendly little dog. The food for breakfast was also first class, as was the staff. That first day there I dragged myself around to even get up and about. Once we managed to get up and about to explore Tlaquepaque I immediately had to go rushing back to the B&B. For any of you seasoned travellers you know why I had to go rushing back. Travelling, drinking different water and eating different food can certainly upset the digestive track. After that experience I fell asleep by the pool after walking around and admiring the grounds. Both of us started consuming Po Chai pills, given to us by our Doctor of Chinese medicine on Gabriola. We spent the rest of the day working on getting the blog updated. We did not eat again that day.