The Best Way to See GDL

One of our favorite ways to tour Guadalajara is the Via Recreativa. We have shared about this before, and were thrilled to learn that it still takes place. For those who may not have read the post from several years ago, each Sunday, an entire network of streets in and around Guadalajara is closed to vehicular traffic to allow people to experience the city by any non-motorized means. A city of this size can be intimidating for a pedestrian, particularly since traffic laws seem to be mostly a suggestion around here. The Via Recreativa is the most relaxing way to experience Guadalajara, and we took full advantage by walking eight miles of it on Sunday. Here are some of the sights from that day:

Con cuidado (be careful)! No telling if this was live. . . we decided not to find out for sure. . .

We concluded our travels with an ice cold Coca Cola at the Oxxo convenience store nearest Paulina's house (there seems to be an Oxxo on nearly every corner around here). It's no wonder that Mexico consumes more Coke than any other country: we paid about 40 cents for each one, which was less than the cheapest bottle of water. Go figure.

Feliz Cumpleanos, Carla!

Paulina's niece, Carla, turned 9 the other day, and we were invited to join her family at Taco Land at the nearby mall to celebrate.

Alas, the dusty delivery motorcycle in the parking lot belied the demise of Taco Land: it is no longer.

We opted instead to eat at Los Arcos, a seafood chain, and I think we lucked out on this one! 

Ceviche

Camarones Diablo

Sea Horses

Addison's meal - tortilla stuffed with shrimp, fish, and octopus, then fried, covered in a cream sauce, and topped with bacon bits.

Ahh, the birthday sombrero. 

Evidently, they see so few Gringos at this place that the manager paid us a visit and gave us a set of logo glassware as a welcome gift.

One of the simple cultural things I love about Mexico is that it is completely improper to place your purse on the floor. Here, Carla's brother, Josue, poses with the purse stand they bring to your table as you are seated.

Gabi, Carlos, Denise, Addison
Carla, Cristina, Josue, Paulina

Saturday Morning in GDL

After a great first night's sleep, we were greeted with this view of the garden. Ahh, February in Guadalajara. . .  Our apologies to our friends in Colorado - we're really not rubbing it in. Ok, maybe just a little.

Paulina teaches Spanish as a second language at the university here, so we started the day with a private lesson over coffee.

Next, we took a short walk to a juice stand for some bionicos (fresh fruit, cream, and various toppings such as coconut, granola, wheat germ, etc.) and fresh-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. Everything is so fresh, I'm sure the calories don't count.

Here is the gated entry to Cristina and Paulina's condominium complex - very secure, but only when people actually close the gate, which doesn't always happen!

Addison and Denise Regressan a Guadalajara

Colorado's recent sub-zero temperatures had me longing for some relief, so what a great excuse to take a mother-son trip to visit our friends in Guadalajara. 

Paulina, and her mom, Cristina, picked us up at the airport, and we went directly to. . . 

. . . what else? A street side taco stand!
Addison ordered one of each kind. . .

. . . then two more for dessert. YUM.

Here we are arriving at their house. All of the trees and flowers in bloom instantly lift one's spirits.

Right away, we were introduced to their newest family member - a Chihuahua, of course! A recent rescue, Chaplin has exactly two teeth, an eight inch tongue that hangs out of his mouth (with no teeth to hold it in there, what else is there to do with it?) and only a portion of a lower jaw. Somehow, all of these features actually make him adorable. 

After a long day of travel, and with bellies full of tacos, it's off to bed!

Sandos Playacar

After all the blogging we've done about Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, we realized that many people don't know that we also enjoy visiting another part of Mexico: the Mayan Riviera. We've traveled to this area a number of times, and were just there to celebrate Addison's 13th birthday. We stayed at a resort called Sandos Playacar, which is about 45 minutes south of Cancun, and have stayed at this place one time previously. This resort is very family-friendly, with lots of activities for everyone.

Another plus about Sandos is that it has a fabulous beach,which many resorts in this area no longer have; many beaches have eroded away. If you are planning a trip to Cancun or any of the areas to the south, it's a good idea to find out about the condition of their beach. After all, when you live in land-locked Colorado, it's very disappointing to go on a vacation to the beach only to find there is no beach at your resort.
The photos in this post were taken on the south side of the Sandos property, where the beaches are amazing. At the time of this writing, Sandos Playacar is the southernmost resort in the Playacar development, so this is a great location for a quiet stroll on the beach.

Via Recreativa

With a population totaling almost 5,000,000 in Guadalajara and the surrounding municipalities, the city's streets often resemble parking lots: Cars, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians, and the occasional bicyclist are all over the place. Every Sunday, however, everything changes.

On Sundays, the city of Guadalajara and the neighboring municipality of Zapopan close an entire network of streets to vehicular traffic from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The program is called, "Via Recreativa," and I think it's a great way to see the city. Enforcement is strict: Employees or volunteers are posted at all intersections to direct traffic, and even residents along the route are issued special placards for their vehicles so they can leave their homes in their cars.

There are also several locations along the route where loaner bicycles are available for free, but there was not a place near Paulina's house, so we opted to walk.

There is even a place to have your bicycle repaired or get a drink of water.

We enjoyed the freedom to stroll the streets without dodging cars and buses. As we walked, I marveled at the way this city is transformed each and every Sunday. Normally, it's nearly impossible to cross a street around here: Amazing as this may sound to most people living in the U.S., it seems the worst place to cross the street in this city is at an intersection. I have spotted two or three crosswalks with signals in the entire city, and those were in El Centro GDL. Not a city I would usually consider to be pedestrian- or cyclist-friendly, Via Recreativa allowed us to see Guadalajara in a completely different way.