Guadalajara Zoo

As I was looking through our photos from Guadalajara, I came across the pictures from our trip to the zoo in Guadalajara and realized I never reported on that, so here it is!

Opened in 1988, the Guadalajara Zoo is located on the edge of the Huentitan Gorge, and it covers 100 acres. The natural topography of the land where the zoo sits was completely left undisturbed, as well as all existing native trees and plants. As a result, it is a very beautiful place, with lots of meandering paths throughout, and because it's located on the edge of a gorge, it's also very hilly. The day we were there, several of the goats escaped from their confines, but no one seemed to mind.

Located next to the zoo is an amusement park, so we visited that, also. For future reference, I would not recommend attempting to do both the zoo and the amusement park in one day, as they are both large places that require an entire day each to really explore. Our time in Guadalajara was quickly coming to a close, though, so I knew we wouldn't have a chance to return, but it was a very full day!

Last Days in GDL

During the time Ella and I have been back in GDL, we have been staying with our Spanish teacher, Paulina, and her mom, Christina. They have been so generous and hospitable to us, and it's been very enlightening to actually live with a family here in GDL. The last few days have been spent pretty much eating, shopping, and traveling around the city. Paulina, Ella, and I spent our last evening in downtown, which is fabulous at night, particularly since it's still all decorated for Christmas (Speaking of Christmas, we even had our photo taken with with Santa Claus, who apparently works well into the New Year around here.). We ate at a restaurant that's located in a former convent, called La Fonda de San Miguel Arcangel, which was fantastic. I honestly don't think I've had a bad meal here in GDL -- everything seems to be about the food, and they take it very seriously. Ella made lots of friends at this restaurant, and our waitress took her around with her as she waited on customers -- Ella loved it! In the Mexican culture, children are treated very kindly by everyone, and Ella has received extra-special attention because of her blonde hair: Strangers will stop on the street to touch her head -- this has been so common that I no longer find it odd, and neither does Ella!