Guanajuato

After an educating and relaxing weekend in Aguascalientes, I am on the road again for the second half of my Mexican adventure. Thanks to tons of tips and ideas from my friend, I will not be bored and am sure I will get along fine.

Today I discovered the old mining town of Guanajuato, which is a maze of little streets, stairs, underground streets and coloured houses. I started the day with a beautiful breakfast : most Mexican food does not only taste interestingly, it also is arranged to look good and the colours alone water your mouth. After a breakfast like this I don't need any food until the evening.

Then I walked along the northern part of the center, past the university, to the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, a local monument from the fight for independence. A local hero connected with this place is José Martinez, called Pìpila, from whose monument high above the city you have a great view.

Unfortunately, either my computer or the Internet connection don't allow me do upload  any more pictures, so I must continue without them. You can walk up from the city center to the monument of El Pìpila, but there is also a cable car, which I took. When I came down again, there was a film crew near the Teatro de Juárez making the same 20 people walk across the same square for 100 times, so I went to the Museo Iconográfico de Quijote, which has a collection of pictures and other pieces of art inspired by the novel by Cervantes. Every year in October this city hosts the Cervantes Festival with music and theatre performances.

Speaking of music... near the central Jardín de la Union you can find groups of young men who play instruments and sing, they are called Estudiantinas and you can hire them to play a serenada for the girl you love. Or on Mother's Day for your mom... They look great in their traditional suits and, well.... who is going to pay for a serenada for me ? Nobody? Well, then I will get my own ticket for a nightly tour around the little Callejones with them !!

Mexico: Traffic

My first two weeks are over and  I have gotten used to some of the small things that are different than at home. Traffic for example.

In Germany, which is a country of rules and law and order, there are strict rules for the traffic and although German drivers feel like racing drivers on the Autobahn , as a pedestrian in a town you can pretty much rely on the rights you have. You have the right of way at a zebra crossing and when a car goes around a corner,it must let pedestrians pass. And you wait at red traffic lights. Even in the middle of the night. Even when there is no car to be seen within a radius of 50 km. You wait until the lights are green.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Mexico is a country of no rules. There are rules, but they are different. Rule one: as a pedestrian you have no rights whatsoever. Don't expect a car to stop just because you are crossing the street. The car is stronger and therefore always right. Look where you are going and improve your running skills so that you can escape should you have misjudged a car's speed.

Rule number two: Cross the street when it is possible, ignore the lights, trust your own judgment. Actually, this is an unwritten rule that you find in a lot of countries also in Europe. You can always spot the Germans in England or Italy, for example: they are the ones standing at the red traffic lights with the locals rushing across the street because there is no car around.

So when I am awake and alert, I make my way like a Mexican. But when I am tired, I can be found standing dreamily in front of a red traffic light, eyed suspiciously by the locals who look at me as if I was an imbecile.Or a tourist.....

Tequila

Last weekend I went on an excursion to the little town of Tequila, because I am right in Tequila country here. Actually, Guadalajara is a good place to see the "real Mexico", because this is also the region where the Mariachi music comes from.

Anyway, we first stopped at a hacienda where they make Tequila and could see all the steps of the process from the agave plants to the finished product. Of course, we got to try some and also could buy bottles of different sizes.

Then we had a look at the town, which is a typical little Mexican town with a nice marketplace and a beautiful church. In the end my friend and I got some fruit flavoured water and ice cream and sat down in the shade to have one of these endless women talks .... it was a great day !

Guadalajara:Churches

Guadalajara is an old colonial town , today the capital of the Mexican federal state of Jalisco. You can see a lot of churches here, I want to show you two of them. First the Cathedral, which for me looks more like a fortress from the outside. It was built in the 16th century and as it took them about 60 years to finish, a lot of different styles can be seen. The towers were destroyed in an earthquake  at the beginning of the 20th century and were rebuilt  in this way then.

A look at the stone masonry in the chapel to the right.

This church is called  Templo Expiatorio and was built in the Gothic style between 1897 and 1931. It is an impressive and, in my opinion, very beautiful church, as the only decoration inside are the architecture and the beautiful glass windows.

Finally I saw these guys heading for an old building of the university... aliens studying in Guadalajara as well, it is a famous university !!!

Mexican Adventure:Rain

As I said before, it is the rainy season in central Mexico and I did well to escape the European heatwave by travelling to Mexico. But on Monday I was caught in a tropical torrential rainfall that turned the streets and pavements into rivers within minutes. I was lucky, a lady in a shop asked me to come in and wait there, but still, being stuck for an hour because of the weather is something that a German finds hard to swallow.

In Germany people would get upset, look at their watches and blame the government. Or the opposition. Or both. In any case, they would expect the world to end soon. Here in Guadalajara, however, everybody just waited patiently until the street appeared again and one could walk on. And isn't that the best way to cope? After all, we cannot change the weather, so why get a heart attack about it ?

Mexican Adventure I

Finally, after months of waiting I boarded a plane to take me to Mexico City on 9th July. About 11 hours later I arrived, took a taxi to the Terminal de Autobuses del Norte and then one of the very comfortable coaches to the town of Aguascalientes, where I spent the first weekend with a  good friend. When I got there after having been on the road (or in the air) for more than 24 hours, I had indeed passed my first adventure.

Getting out of the plane and through immigration was like everywhere else in the world, but Mexican customs has a kind of lottery for the passengers: you push a button and when the green light appears, you may walk on, if the light is red, you must have your luggage inspected. I was lucky to get through everything in no time, so my next task was to find a desk where I could buy a ticket for an authorized taxi. No problem. Then I bought a telephone card - again no problem - and then tried to ring up my friend . Hmm ... several times I dialled something wrong, but in the end got the right number. Mexican telephones work like phones all over the world, it was just me who was too stupid to dial correctly.

Well, the taxi ride was amazingly fast considering that it was Friday evening and Mexico City was hit by two storms. At some point I thought I should have taken a boat instead of a taxi, but the driver sailed through the water bravely.

In Mexico you don't have railways like in Europe, you travel by coach, and although everybody says that they are cheap, comfortable and very reliable, they really are. I could sleep well during the night ride of 500 km, and the reason why my bus was nearly 2 hours late was the storm in Mexico City. I got a document from my school stating that I am a teacher in three languages: German, English and Spanish (Gracias, Guillermo!) and so I got a discount on the bus and for someone who is used to German railway prices this was like travelling for free. And how can you not like a country where teachers get discounts ????

My first weekend was spent seeing a bit of the city of Aguascalientes and its food (very important) and after the World Cup final I took the bus to my next destination: Guadalajara, where I am doing a two-week Spanish course.

That's all for today ... nos vemos !!!

Internet Friends

I have already written something about the positive sides of the Internet here, but  I would like to add another aspect:   there is more to Internet contacts than "not being only bad." Let me explain:

- You can keep in contact more easily. I know a lot of families that are spread all over the globe and thanks to email, IM and video chat they can exchange information quickly and keep in touch. 200 years ago, when a member of the family emigrated to Australia, it meant that a letter travelled about half a year ... nowadays, an email reaches its destination in half an instant.

 - You can really get to know someone . The anonymity of the Internet can create an atmosphere where very personal talks are possible that would not happen in real life. If (big IF!!)  both partners are honest with each other (of course, with due caution), we come to the next point:

- You can make  good friends on the Internet. Long chats, exchanging photos and information and seeing each other in a video chat, all this can lead to a point where you get really close.  I have talked to hundreds of people and gotten to know a bit about their lives, but some of them have become  good friends. Some I have already met here in Europe - others I still have to meet.  Some have become very important for my life and I owe them a lot (for example the courage to start this blog - xie xie, Sam)  ...  and all this has made me curious as to where life will still lead me.

So next Friday I am travelling to Mexico for four weeks to see a new country, learn more Spanish and meet two more of my Internet friends ... one of them a young woman who I have known since she was a teenager. I am happy about how the Internet has opened the door to the world for me  - so that we all can become friends and be united in peace.

(photo: "Friends" by Guillermo Macias)