Tuesday in Guadalajara

So, late though I was awakening, I thought I had recovered, and was ready to take on some cultural sightseeing. I chose this hostel in part because it was right down in the middle of the old town center. And it really is.

I've already mentioned having to climb three flights of stairs so I won't say much except that going down them is not quite as difficult, but still not too easy with replacement knees.

I left the hostel about 11am and headed for the big plaza around which are many, varied government buildings. Lot's of activity in the plaza. It entertains families and company outings. At one end was a booth recruiting for the Mexican armed forces. They were giving away toaster ovens, microwaves and other appliances to the families of young people who join up. Sounds good to me. Some of you will remember when you got such things for opening a new bank account--now the bank just sticks it to you. (By the way, I'm a big fan of Credit Unions. Free checking, low interest loans--8.9% on my credit card balance. Compare to banks at 18 to 28%.)

So my camera got a lot of use. Photos inside the well-done main mayoral building, an open two-story structure. You can see the cathedral spires from inside, especially on the second floor. There is a wonderful five panel wall mural. I haven't take the time to find out the official meanings, but I interpreted it to be the story of the conquest of this area by the Spaniards. Many scenes depicting the Spanish cruelty to the indigenous populations. The center panel is the only one in color. It shows the Spanish, in all their splendor, looking down on the population. But there is a small corner scene which looks like an Indian urinating on the wall where the Spanish are standing. I'm sure that was not the official interpretation, but it fits my political and scatological mind.

Next was the cathedral. I even put my f1.8 50mm lens to use in all the darkness of the interior. (And cranked the ISO rating to 1600, for those to whom this is meaningful.) I took a few photos but in all honesty, this cathedral looks drab and colorless to one who has seen the cathedral in Mazatlan with all it's glorious gilding and stained glass windows.

By now I was again tired and dehydrated. The climate here seems to suck the water out of my body. Suddenly I found myself in front of a nice Sanborns restaurant. Not hungry, just thirsty, I got an iced tea and sat enjoying the cool rehydration of 1/2 a liter bottle and then a similar amount of plain water. Sanborn's is an interesting story. It is a Mexican chain of stores begun by two brothers who immigrated from California. The first store was in Mexico City. During the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century (Not the war of independence from Spain) Emiliano Zapata used one of the branch stores as a gathering place. Now there is a Sanborns in almost any medium to large city, often many.

Revived, I found an ATM and got some spending money before heading back to the hostel and those three flights of stairs. A late dinner came a couple hours later and some very good pozole. (A kind of stew with hominey, this pozole had a chicken base.)

Now it is time for this very tired camper to head for bed. OMG, it's only 9pm. Tomorrow, I'm playing tourist and taking a tour of the Lake Chapala area, so I have to be ready by 8am.

TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)