Visit Guadalajara for a taste of the real Mexico
Visit Guadalajara for a taste of the real Mexico
Inexpensive, accessible and safe, the city has history and culture for tourists bored with sun, sea and sand
Andrew Roth, Special to the Sun
Published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
In April my wife, Kathy, and I wanted to include a visit to a "normal' or "real" Mexican city as part of our trip to Mexico and get a break from the beach. We had heard that Guadalajara was friendly and safe and that it had a vibrant cultural life. Everything we heard was true.
A weekend side trip to Guadalajara was easy to work into our travel plans. We flew via Alaska Airlines all the way from Vancouver. Flights to Mazatlan and other resort destinations are scheduled daily from Guadalajara.
Upon our arrival in Guadalajara, we took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. It's an easy tariff system and a taxi to the centre of town costs the equivalent of $20 Cdn. There's a kiosk in the arrivals hall where you buy a ticket.
Our hotel was the four-star Hotel La Mendoza in the historic centre of the city, a refurbished former convent with the beautiful 16th century church Templo Santa Maria de Gracia attached to its south end. We splurged, and for about $110 Cdn per night, we had a very large and beautiful suite.
Standard rooms at the hotel are cheaper. The inner courtyard of the hotel has an unheated pool. In the afternoon heat, a refreshing dip in this pool is not such a bad thing at all.
A further reprieve from the heat comes at night. Given Guadalajara's altitude (1540 m above sea level), it gets cool at night -- you might even need long pants and a sweater!
Our hotel was ideally positioned for exploration of the historic city centre. It was right across the street from the Plaza Tapatia, a two-km long pedestrian mall that runs west to east in the city. All major sites are directly accessible from the Plaza Tapatia, so it facilitates exploration of this beautiful city.
The wide and long Plaza Tapatia also beautifully presents the grand and elegant Spanish colonial architecture that lines it. We strolled up and down the Plaza until 11 at night and felt totally secure. Even at that hour, there were people everywhere and the people -watching is always great. Over-the-top street entertainers kept everyone in good spirits.
The Plaza and most of the historic centre are kept very clean. Every morning, we saw street sweepers out in force, and by that I mean people with actual handheld brooms. Then there were guys who regularly scrubbed down the pay phones. You certainly don't see that in Vancouver!
Our first stop was at the state tourist office on the Plaza Tapatia, just east of the refurbished and ornate Teatro Delgado. Don't forget to ask for the free weekly list of events.
As for sights seen, on our first day, we took in the Mercado Libertad, the giant central market at the east end of the Plaza Tapatia. Some of the more interesting things we saw on offer were the wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and for our nieces, there were beautiful hand-embroidered traditional Mexican children's dresses.
There were lots of places selling soccer jerseys for the various Mexican teams. After all, soccer is Mexico's unofficial religion. I really got a kick out of the Mexican professional wrestling masks on offer.
We then went around the corner from the market to the Plaza de los Mariachis, the birthplace of mariachi music. An eight-piece orchestra will play for you for about $9 Cdn per song.
On our second day, we visited Tlaquepaque, a quiet and stylish suburb. It has quiet streets for strolling and lots of galleries and artisan shops.
The afternoon we were there, the bandstand in the middle of the town square featured a ballet folklorico presentation. This is a unique form of dance incorporating stylized representations of local folk tales. The dancers' vivid masks and clothes reminded us of both English pantomime characters and West Coast native dancers.
On our third day (a Sunday), we went to the Charreadas or Mexican-style rodeo. The male cowboys (or charros) wore splendid traditional gear and performed even more splendid feats of skill.
Then the cowgirls (or charras) took their turn. They performed a sort of up-tempo musical ride to mariachi music, all in their frilly crinoline skirts and riding side saddle! After the Charreadas, we returned to the historic centre and visited the Regional Museum of Guadalajara.
It houses exhibits on the history of the region, from prehistoric times to the 20th century. It was Sunday and the museum was free, so we hung out with all the local families who were there for an inexpensive outing.
There are a number of reasonably priced places to eat in the historic centre. In all of these places, traditional Mexican breakfast entrees cost about $4 to $5 Cdn. Dinner entrees cost $9 to $10 Cdn.
As for transportation during our stay, we relied on taxis and good, comfortable closed-toe walking shoes. A taxi ride within central Guadalajara costs $4 Cdn, and to a touristic suburb such as Tlaquepaque costs about $6. Use official cab stands for more assured reliability.
If you want a change from beach-resort Mexico, definitely take that baby step and go to Guadalajara for a few days. It's a great taste of friendly, every-day Mexico.
Andrew Roth and wife, Kathy, live in Terrace.
Inexpensive, accessible and safe, the city has history and culture for tourists bored with sun, sea and sand
Andrew Roth, Special to the Sun
Published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
In April my wife, Kathy, and I wanted to include a visit to a "normal' or "real" Mexican city as part of our trip to Mexico and get a break from the beach. We had heard that Guadalajara was friendly and safe and that it had a vibrant cultural life. Everything we heard was true.
A weekend side trip to Guadalajara was easy to work into our travel plans. We flew via Alaska Airlines all the way from Vancouver. Flights to Mazatlan and other resort destinations are scheduled daily from Guadalajara.
Upon our arrival in Guadalajara, we took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. It's an easy tariff system and a taxi to the centre of town costs the equivalent of $20 Cdn. There's a kiosk in the arrivals hall where you buy a ticket.
Our hotel was the four-star Hotel La Mendoza in the historic centre of the city, a refurbished former convent with the beautiful 16th century church Templo Santa Maria de Gracia attached to its south end. We splurged, and for about $110 Cdn per night, we had a very large and beautiful suite.
Standard rooms at the hotel are cheaper. The inner courtyard of the hotel has an unheated pool. In the afternoon heat, a refreshing dip in this pool is not such a bad thing at all.
A further reprieve from the heat comes at night. Given Guadalajara's altitude (1540 m above sea level), it gets cool at night -- you might even need long pants and a sweater!
Our hotel was ideally positioned for exploration of the historic city centre. It was right across the street from the Plaza Tapatia, a two-km long pedestrian mall that runs west to east in the city. All major sites are directly accessible from the Plaza Tapatia, so it facilitates exploration of this beautiful city.
The wide and long Plaza Tapatia also beautifully presents the grand and elegant Spanish colonial architecture that lines it. We strolled up and down the Plaza until 11 at night and felt totally secure. Even at that hour, there were people everywhere and the people -watching is always great. Over-the-top street entertainers kept everyone in good spirits.
The Plaza and most of the historic centre are kept very clean. Every morning, we saw street sweepers out in force, and by that I mean people with actual handheld brooms. Then there were guys who regularly scrubbed down the pay phones. You certainly don't see that in Vancouver!
Our first stop was at the state tourist office on the Plaza Tapatia, just east of the refurbished and ornate Teatro Delgado. Don't forget to ask for the free weekly list of events.
As for sights seen, on our first day, we took in the Mercado Libertad, the giant central market at the east end of the Plaza Tapatia. Some of the more interesting things we saw on offer were the wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and for our nieces, there were beautiful hand-embroidered traditional Mexican children's dresses.
There were lots of places selling soccer jerseys for the various Mexican teams. After all, soccer is Mexico's unofficial religion. I really got a kick out of the Mexican professional wrestling masks on offer.
We then went around the corner from the market to the Plaza de los Mariachis, the birthplace of mariachi music. An eight-piece orchestra will play for you for about $9 Cdn per song.
On our second day, we visited Tlaquepaque, a quiet and stylish suburb. It has quiet streets for strolling and lots of galleries and artisan shops.
The afternoon we were there, the bandstand in the middle of the town square featured a ballet folklorico presentation. This is a unique form of dance incorporating stylized representations of local folk tales. The dancers' vivid masks and clothes reminded us of both English pantomime characters and West Coast native dancers.
On our third day (a Sunday), we went to the Charreadas or Mexican-style rodeo. The male cowboys (or charros) wore splendid traditional gear and performed even more splendid feats of skill.
Then the cowgirls (or charras) took their turn. They performed a sort of up-tempo musical ride to mariachi music, all in their frilly crinoline skirts and riding side saddle! After the Charreadas, we returned to the historic centre and visited the Regional Museum of Guadalajara.
It houses exhibits on the history of the region, from prehistoric times to the 20th century. It was Sunday and the museum was free, so we hung out with all the local families who were there for an inexpensive outing.
There are a number of reasonably priced places to eat in the historic centre. In all of these places, traditional Mexican breakfast entrees cost about $4 to $5 Cdn. Dinner entrees cost $9 to $10 Cdn.
As for transportation during our stay, we relied on taxis and good, comfortable closed-toe walking shoes. A taxi ride within central Guadalajara costs $4 Cdn, and to a touristic suburb such as Tlaquepaque costs about $6. Use official cab stands for more assured reliability.
If you want a change from beach-resort Mexico, definitely take that baby step and go to Guadalajara for a few days. It's a great taste of friendly, every-day Mexico.
Andrew Roth and wife, Kathy, live in Terrace.
posted by La Punta Realty at 1:46:00 PM
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