Me and my friend stayed here during our trip to Guadalajara over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2007. The hotel is located right next door to the Plaza del Sol shopping center and down the street from the Expo Center (the city's main convention center). The hotel is fairly popular with both Mexican and foreign visitors so the staff is proficient in English. We paid on average US$75 per night. In terms of facilities, the hotel has a gym, swimming pool (albeit not very large), and two restaurants with one that features a dinner buffet. The hotel is older when compared to other nearby hotels like the Intercontinental across the street. (I would say the hotel's decor looks like something out of the 1970s or 1980s). However, the hotel is kept very clean and my room was cleaned daily. I only add that bit about the decor because some travelers want a W-hotels experience and the Vista Del Sol is not it. The hotel's concierge is helpful in organizing day trips or offering travel advice. If you're pressed for time and would like a day trip that ends with a free margarita I would suggest signing up for the Tequila Train trip through the hotel. The Tequila Train takes visitors from Guadalajara to the Tequila producing areas outside the city. I didn't join the train, instead the hotel found me and my friend a cab driver willing to be our driver and tour guide to Jose Cuervo Factory located in the aptly named town of Tequila. The ride is about 1 hour each way and the cost for the day was about $100. The hotel was located neither near the city's historic center nor a metro station. So we took taxis when getting around town. The hotel is located next to the Plaza del Sol shopping center which is kind of nice to visit and unwind after a day sightseeing. The hotel is also within walking distance to the Convention Center. Overall, I would recommend the Vistal del Sol hotel to travelers looking a good value and location while staying in Guadalajara.

It's all in the Name
According to history, Guadalajara comes from the Arab word "Wad-al-hidjara", which means "River that runs between rocks". The city is named after the native city of Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán.  This city was capital of the kingdom of New Galicia.  On February 14th 1542, the first city council ofthe actual Guadalajara was established. The Emperor Charles V of Germany and I of Spain, granted it the title of City and gave it its Coat of Arms that up until today is represented by it.  Such an interesting history ignated my imagination of old architectures.  My girlfirend, Marlen, began to read to me from guide book about all there is to know about Guadalajara.  Impressive, I thought.  Upon our arrival, and to our way to our home stay in Tlaquepaque.  Learning to say Tlaquepaque became a challange to my toungue.

Me and my friend Hiro from Japan starded our journey from the place we lived and studied at this time, Guanajuato. From the bus station we took the most comfortable bus heading to Guadalajara. I felt like a king in that bus with all the space between the seats ;) . The bus took about 4 hours. The bus station of guadalajara was situated a bit out of the center so from there we got a taxi to our booked hotel. The day we spent walking around in the city, and we went into a huge market. It had no end, i thought, but finally we found the exit pheew.

After a while it was time for the first cold beer at a cuban place. In the evening my friend had some planns for us, he knew a friend from Australia who had fixed a party that night. Before going to the party we went to a japanese resturant (I do not remember the name but it was a famous one) Muuy fresa. Hiro had been longing for good japanese food a long time and now he got it finally. It was only my second time trying japanese food, because of that I had to suffer stomage problems for days after ;), but u have to try it sometime.

Dear friends, enemies, free masons of the world and followers of Coach Ditka,

I am writing you all from a rainy day in Puerto Escondido, Mexico.  Evidently there is some hurricane messing everything up in the Yucatan peninsula, and it stretches all the way to the southwestern part of Mexico.

Aahhh....but what a trip it has been thus far.....it has been full of futbol (viva las chivas!), Orozco murals, dancing, cervesas, pozoles (food), the legendary Luna family of Guadalajara, running across highways, lucha libre (Mexican wrestling), more dancing, long bus rides, the soon to be legendary Cruz Martinez family of Mexico DF, more cervesas, ceviche (food), zocalo, the leftovers of Hernan Cortes, pyramids, palaces, some dumb French guy named Mathew, some cool Chilango (someone from Mexico DF) named Obadid, a turibus, museums, tortas de pavo (food), rain, Rivera murals,  the boats of Xochimilco, chiampas, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament, more dancing, the metro (subway/el), more cervesas, more long bus rides, an excellent anthropology museum, and now the playa.....

Here are just a few notes/thoughts on the adventure thus far...

Friendliness

I do not know exactly what it is, but this is the friendliest place I have ever been to in my life.  Maybe it is because I understand the culture well from Chicago (2nd most Mexicans in the USA behind LA).  Or that I speak with more of a Mexican accent than anything else (I am sure they could tell you otherwise).  The people are very outgoing, fun loving, and good natured.  Anybody I talk to is willing to help, laugh, or just have fun.  It has been a kind of surreal experience with the Mexicans that I have encountered.

Overcrowding of Mexico DF

Mexico DF is the biggest city in the world with around 22 million people.  Despite this, it is located in a relatively small area... I would say a little bigger than metropolitan Chicago.  I became quite familiar with the different neighborhoods and the metro system through a "guide" by the name of Rosa.  The culture is to live with your family until you are married.  Therefore it is much more dense, as generations of families live in the same house.  It makes the city much more compact.  The metro trains come once every two minutes, and keep the population moving.  I thought they did a very good job with the mass amount of people until one morning....

I woke up early to go to a museum.  I had my coffee in my hand at 8 AM ready to enter the train. As I saw the crowd on the train I realized that it was rush hour, and it was too crowded to drink my coffee while on the train, so I threw it away and waited.  Every train was packed like sardines (and they arrive once every 2 minutes), but I found a tiny bit of space to fit my fat ass on one.  It was fine for a few stops, and I noticed that some of the fellow people by the doors had to temporarily leave the train so that people behind them could exit, and then would re enter.  All was fine until we got to the station Balderas, where the pink line meets the green line.  As my train approached, there were 1,000 people waiting at the station, and people were yelling in the middle of the train that they had to get out in order to transfer lines.  The door opened, and i waited for my fellow compatriots to temporarily leave and reenter as we had done at the other stops.  Nobody moved, and the people in the back begged to be allowed to exit so they could get to work.  I stepped out (I was the only one)  to allow some people to exit, but as I stepped out, three of the 1,000 people waiting tried to squeeze and push into my place.  I said "aaayyyy mierda" (ooohhh shit), as I was stuck in the middle of the people trying to exit and the people trying to enter.  They just pushed the guero (white boy) to the side, maybe one person exited, three or four somehow entered, but in the long run, everybody was fucked!  I said forget this, I am taking a cab.  It took me 20 minutes to find a cab that was not occupied.  It was quite funny.

  So the lesson of the story is Mexico city deals very well with the overpopulation, just not during rush hour.

I remember studying in college about the lack of water in the city, and how the actual city is sinking due to the emptiness of the waterbed bellow.  It was interesting to see numerous buildings at strange angles due to their sinking.  There was so much to do in DF, but what truly made it great were the people.

What else...

I went out with the Luna family in Guadalajara.   We all ran across across the expressway to get to one of the brothers houses.  There was a 4 year old kid running with us.  Interesting!

I really like the painters of Mexico like Jose Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera.  They do not just paint pictures, but tell very realistic histories of Mexico through their murals.

I turned into the ultimate Machismo Mexican Male with public displays of affection on the streets of DF with Rosa.  It is funny because I am not like that at all, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

I have wrestled a few times.  The 1st time was in Guadalajara.  I found this gym that was in the Lucha Libre center.  Lucha Libre is the Mexican version of the WWE or WWF, whatever you want to call it.  For one and a half hours all we did was flips, like the Jessie White tumbling team.  I was going crazy, cause it was ridiculous, and I just wanted to wrestle.  For the last 30 minutes we wrestled Lucha Olimpica (freestyle wrestling).  Evidently that is a school to train people for Lucha Libre, and they do some real wrestling on occasion.  It was pretty funny, and I purchased a few masks for sentimental value.

I fought in a Brazilian JIu Jitsu tournament in Mexico DF.  It was fun, I won one and lost one (to the champion).  Once again, the people were very friendly.  They even lent me a "Gi," the required uniform.  Sport is a great way to interact and get to know the real people of a city.

After staying in Monterrey in Nuevo Leon, Mexico for nearly 6 months, I decided to spend a weekend in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, with Nancy, Elvira and Fernando, and also to meet with their friends, our hosts, in this historic city.

Backgrounder: Guadalajara is the capital city of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of the state and in the western-Pacific area of Mexico. With a population of over 1.6-million it is Mexico's second most populous municipality. The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area includes other adjacent municipalities and has a population of over 4-million, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Mexico as well. Situated at an altitude of 1,600 meters, thus endowing it with a mild, spring-like climate, Guadalajara is one of the main centers of culture, economy, history, industry and religion in the country and exerts significant influence on the rest of Mexico. The city is named after the Spanish city of Guadalajara, whose name originates from the Arabic phrase "wadii al-Hajara," meaning "valley of stones."

Living in Mexico is different yet much the same as living in the States. Of course culturally it is much different, and that is to be expected. The culture is interesting and at times frustrating. Of course we don't want other countries to be like ours in that sense.

The place with so many a's in it's name!  This where I spent the majority of my time, stopping with friends who have a long history with my family.  In 1970 the Football World Cup was hosted by Mexico and as part of a program for British fans to stop with Mexican Families my dad and my grandparents met a wonderful family who we have kept in contact with ever since.  We try to go to Mexico when we can and they come to England when they to, have the chance.  The family is BIG, two sisters (now in their 80's) Maria has 9 children who all have children of their own and some have grandchildren, Olivia by contrast had only one child who is now a grandmother.  The majority of the family live in Guadalajara and I always feel right at home when I visit.  The city itself is such a busy place, driving is almost suicidal if you've not learnt to drive round there, near misses and almost crashes seem to litter the place!  A few places I'd recommend if you ever come across them - Cafe Naranja, a little place where they serve the best quesadillas!  It's a kitchen in a big van with a large canopy for the seating area and I loved it.  There was also a club called W, a section of the club had sand on the floor just like a beach and the roof slid back like a sunroof on a car and you could see the stars in the sky.  Amazing.

After all the mayhem of Mexico City, the next step, Guadalajara City. It was an interseting travel on a very posh bus with free snacks etc, we couldnt believe it, and after a lot of walking we collapsed into the hostel. Next day was basic a welcoming tequila shot and a day looking at all the sights of the city. The city is the music and arts capital of Mexico so the sight were fab. The old orphanage now an arts centre with paintings all over the walls and ceilings were very abstract. After an exhausting walk around in the blistering heat and the 3 storey market (everything very illegal) we headed back. Intending to visit the town of tequila, Naomi had a change of opinion. after a day in the heat and some nasty food she was like the dead!! We opted for a lazy day and a pizza in with some drinks.

Onto Tulum south of Cancun for some activities!!!

N and P

xxxxx

Nach dem Aufstehen haben wir mal wieder zu Fuss die Stadt erkundet. Guadalajara ist eine riesige Grossstadt (zweitgroesste in Mexico), und das merkt man ihr auch an. Warum sie als die mexikanischste der mexikanischen Grossstaedte gilt, blieb mir allerdings verborgen. ich hab da keinen grossen Unterschied festgestellt. Ansonsten war die Innenstadt aber sehr beeindruckend. Wir haben uns vor allem die Kathedrale und die umgebenden Plaetze und Gebaeude angeschaut, die alle sehr schoen waren. Unter anderem waren wir auch im Palacio de Gobierno, einem geschichtstraechtigen Ort, vor dem zB das Ende der Saklaverei von Padre Miguel Hidalgo verkuendet wurde. Wirklich interessant fand ich aber die revolutionaeren riesigen Wandgemaelde von J. Orozco, die es dort zu bestaunen gab. Spaeter haben wir uns noch den Mercado Libertad angesehen, von dem behauptet wird, er sei der groesste ueberdacht Markt der Welt, eine Aussage die ich sofort glaube. Das Ding ist RIESIG, und wir haben uns auf diesem Trip wirklich schon viele Maerkte angesehen... Riesig waren uebrigens auch die Eiskugeln, die wir uns heute gegoennt haben (in dem Glauben, sie haetten eine schaffbare Groesse). Das war das erst mal seit SEHR langer Zeit, dass ich keine 2 Kugeln geschafft hab...

Gestrigen Abend noch nett mit einer DVD ausklingen lassen.

Der heutige Tag war nicht so ereignisreich. Wir sind frueh aufgestanden und haben uns in einen Bus gesetzt... der einen Motorschaden hatte... nach mehrmaligen Reparaturversuchen in der Pampa ist er dann endgueltig liegen geblieben, weshalb wir erst um 23.00h angekommen sind. Da wir nicht mit so einer langen Fahrt gerechnet haben und es in der Pampa nix zu kaufen gab, haben wir uns hier ganz schnell was zu essen besorgt. Und das wars dann auch mit dem Tag...

For everyone that knows me, you already know that I have this obsession with studying abroad, meaning I have stayed with many host families in three continents: Spain, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Well, my host family in Mexico is from Guadalajara, and its been three years (to the day) that Ive seen them. I decided that it has been way too long, so I made the treck across country just to see them.

I wrote them an email and told them I would be arriving a day later than I actually did just to leave some sort of surprise. It was great to see their reaction, priceless, I mean, three years, thats a long time. Last time they saw me I wasnt even in college yet. Now, Im about to graduate and have long hair and a beard due to this backpacking journey.

Well, being the good host mom Beatriz is, she cooked me a huge traditional Mexican dinner... then made me shave. Haha, I think moms are the same in all parts of the world.

So, for the next two days, I really didnt go out or explore the city. I just wanted to chill at home and catch up on lost times. Plus, my host mom kept feeding me and feeding me until I couldnt move, thats probally the real reason I didnt leave the house that much, but hey, no complaints.

I had a really fun last night. Mexico was playing Colombia in a friendly soccer match, so, they decided to have a soccer/going away party for me. She cooked my favorite meal, tortas ahogadas, along with some of my other favorites, turned on the game and invited some friends and family over. It was a whole lot of fun! I had almost forgotten how much I loved that city.

For all you travelers out there, Guadalajara is an amazing city and I definitely suggest that you go and check it out. However, just like any place, the people are always the ones that make a place special. You can be in the most ugly place in the world, but if you`re in good company, youll have a great time. So, I guess I lucked out this time. I was with good company in a great city, what else more can you ask for?

So, after eating for 2 days straight untill I gained all the pounds I have lost this trip back, I had to say goodbye to my host family again and head to Mexico DF, my final destination. So far, it looks great, meaning I must get off the computer to go check it out. Besides, I leave Saturday morning to go back home, incredible, I have got to take advantage of my last days. Adios!

The City of Guadalajara "La Perla de Occidente","La Sevilla Americana", "La Florencia de America". Guadalajara conserves a hospitable spirit and a happiness that do not decrease. History, business, art, leisure,Fun and festivals, they are offered for their habitants and authorities. Center of Guadalajara, invites us to walk for the original city. Its urban plan decreed by the Spanish crown and inherited of the Greece Classical and the cathedral, they are of the century XVI and constitutes the first cultural patrimony of Guadalajara: Temples, palaces, museums and plazas dazzle the traveler. The Happiness of San Francisco carries us for temples, museums, parks, Plazas and gardens with jewels of art virreinal. The route of Hospicio Cabañas, world heritage, reveals the most important hereditary monument of Occident in México and the most symbolic civil building of the state: EL Teatro Degollado. Las Huellas del Obispo Alcalde,They guide the visiting by the most representative baroque art of the city, sample copy of human development. The route El Occidente Tapatío reflected for convents, temples, plazas, and the most spectacular urban expansion. Zapopan is the marine sanctuary,La Barranca and a development contemporary rich and dynamic. San Pedro, tlaquepaque y Tonalá offer us a monumental architecture, with articles of ceramic very pretty. Volcano of Tequila, world heritage, is the joy of the fields agaveros, the factories of tequila, its beverage, museums and the monumental architecture of the civilization Teuchitlán. In the around of Guadalajara, is the lavish land, Puerto Vallarta,Jungle, Forest, Beach, offers us hours of comfort, Fun, party and landscape

Guadalajara is a beautiful city with lots of culture, nice people and a lots of Mariachis! I was sitting in a restaurant waiting for my order of Tacos al Pastor and a cold Michelada when a 6 year old kid asked me if I wanted to buy a pack of gum. I kindly responded, "No Thank You", and he went away. Two minutes later he came back and asked me again if I wanted to buy a pack of gum because he really needed to sell of of the candy he had. So I gave him 10 pesos ($1) and asked him to please go away because I was having a juicy conversation with one of my friends and I didn't want to lose my thought. He gave me a hand shake and told me he wasn't going to bother me anymore. One minute later my food finally came and so did a Senor who was part of a group of Mariachis. He asked me if I wanted to listen to traditional music from Jalisco. I said "claro que si senor, cuanto por cuatro canciones?" (of course sir, how much for four songs?). He charged me $100 Pesos and I was in heaven. What more can I ask for in Guadalajara! Very good experience and a nice place to visit at anytime.

So... it would appear that the reason that the trip from Phoenix to Cancun was taking me 9 hours flight time (12 hours door to door) was because there was a "secret stop" that no one at AeroMexico wanted to admit to - a three hour layover in Guadalajara, Mexico.

That makes the tally for the trip if anyone is paying attention 2000 miles, 3 planes, and 12 hours.  Just to get to Cancun! 

We landed on the tarmac and walked into a strange holding tank, where we were divided up by people going to Mexico City and those stopping at Guadalajara.  Then on to the main terminal, which reminded me vaguely of Bangkok simply based on the feeling of grittyness... that "we´re not in Kansas anymore" feeling.  I loved it right away. 

While in the holding tank I had come across a group of traveling musicians, and we ended up getting on well enough to stay together through customs and the layover.  They were quite funny and we had a good time.  Whe we added a stray boy from Spain to our group who was also traveling alone, our little group seemed to be complete.  It was an amusing three hours that I wouldn´t have changed, even though it extended the travel time.  More later on this of course.... this internet is expense and bad....

I started my first day as ARC- Airport Ready Crew... which is an 8 hour shift in which you sit in the airport and wait for your friends at Crew Scheduling to call your cell phone and tell you they neeeeed you. 
 
 Wait... I actually started my day way out in Katy and sat in lovely Houston traffic for nearly two hours to get to the airport.  I arrived a tad late, but no one will ever know this because you don't really check in with anyone.  You're just there.  The crew room was pretty full, but I didn't know a damned person in it.  I found a table in the corner, realized I had left my book at home and started playing with my phone so I wouldn't look as pathetic and lonely as I felt.
 
 Finally, Gillian, a large, loud British lady I went through training with approached me with her trademark, "Hello, Darling!".  We didn't really get along that well in training, she had worked for COEX two years ago and kind of fell into a snobby know-it-all role.  Anyway, I was actually glad to see a familar face and we talked for a few minutes about her Canadian tour and she filled me in on what ARC was like before she stopped and said, "We could be talking about this over a smoke, darling."  As we were walking through the terminal a very gorgeous pilot was passing us, but stopped to say "Hello, Darling" to Gillian and asked who her pretty young friend was.  I introduced myself and they briefly chatted then we parted ways.
 
 As soon as he was out of ear shot I leaned in to Gillian, giggling, and said "Pilots are so cute!"  She laughed at her naive young "country" friend and we turned the corner to run right into three other girls from our training class! 
 
 I was starting to get jealous that everyone knew where they were going already and I was staring at the phone willing it to ring with my mind like a love sick 12 year old girl waiting for her crush to call.  As soon as Gillian and I reached the humidity and I lit a cigarette, it rang! 
 
 My friend at Crew Scheduling said he had a pairing for me.  "You're going to Guadalajara at 1200." 
 
 I KNEW IT!  I told everyone that my first flight would be Mexico... that is just my luck.  I went back to the crew room and whipped out my trusty manual and started to read up on International Documents when the gorgeous pilot I met earlier comes over and asks if he can sit with me.  He asks what I'm reading- "International Docs, I'm going to Guadalajara."  He takes the book out of my hand, shuts it, and tosses it aside.  "You don't need that, I'll take care of ya."  "You will?"  Dreamy pilot Robert is kinda making me feel like a love sick 12 year old girl, too. 
 
 While we were sitting and talking, some rude bill collector tried to be sneaky and get me on the phone.  When I asked who was calling he said 'Kyle'.  I don't know any Kyles so I told him 'Cecilia' was in the shower.  The same number came up again about 20 minutes later, Robert answered the phone and told 'Kyle' I wasn't home.  Which is true... I wasn't.  'Kyle' snaps at him and says, "You mean to tell me she got out of the shower that quick and is already gone?  That sounds like bullshit."  WTF?  Robert had some snappy comeback I can't remember and added, "And who are you and why are you calling my girlfriend, anyway?" at which point 'Kyle' hung up on him.
 
 Anyway, Robert was really sweet and stayed with me while I tried to figure out if I was supposed to check in with anyone (no) and if I needed to grab any paperwork or if it would be one the plane (yes) then he walked with me to the gate and told me to hurry and get drinks to people so I could come up into the flight deck and hang out with him and the first officer.
 
 As I feared, there were only about 5 other people on board that spoke English, so it took me longer than I hoped to pass out sandwiches and drinks... I pulled out the huge bag of International Docs and my manual and tried to make sense of it... I couldn't.  I called the FD and asked if they knew... they told me to come on in and they'd look at it.  The FD is really small, I sat on the floor and tried to keep my dress over my swimsuit areas and we think we figured it out. 
 
 When we landed, we didn't have enough time to run in and buy cheap booze or smokes so we just stood out on the stairs and looked at the mountains and bullshitted (bullshat?) until it was time to do it all over again.
 
 This one went much more smoothly than the first and I finished serving and giving people docs in amazing time, so I called the FD and asked of they needed anything.  I brought them some sandwiches and Robert asked if I wanted to hang out in there for a while... The first officer said he had to go to the bathroom anyway, so I could have his seat.  Robert was nice enough to somehow help me into the seat and turn his eyes so I wouldn't show him my undies at the same time. 
 
 Oh my gato!  The view is amazing, I mean out of the window, not just Robert... We were flying over Corpus Christi bay... those little holes in the cabin are shit compared to the huge windshield up front.  While I was sitting up there, Robert was pushing buttons and different messages were popping up on different screens.  "Uh oh.  That's not good."  What?  That is definitely something I never want to hear my captain say.  He taps one of the screens that has says "Ceci  Duncan- LCH 2:00"  What the hell does that mean?  "It means that two hours after we land you're going to Lake Charles."  Damn it.  I knew my first overnite would be boring.  That is just my luck.
 
 After about 15 minutes, the FO got tired of the passengers staring at him and asked if we could switch back.  I guess....  back to my office... ready for landing.  Which is kinda weird in the jump seat... you sit backwards, facing the passengers, so when you take off, you slide forward and get pushed back on landing.  I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.  

When we got back to Houston, we had to go through customs... Robert had already filled out my paperwork for me (which would explain why he wanted to know my birthdate) and walked through the line with me, where the guy in the booth told me I was "very pretty and smelled good".  Thank you creepy man in booth.  Robert helped me find my way out of Terminal D and back on my way to B so I could take off to Lake Charles which brings us to...