2013, Day 310 - Gods of water

This morning we awoke to quite a chilly day.  We all broke out our warmest clothes which weren't really all that warm and layered up as much as possible.  When we left our room to meet up with our guide we could see the white plumes of our breath in the crisp air.

Monica, our guide, was only a few minutes later than we agreed and given that she had almost an hour drive I think we can forgive her for that.  She spirited us away and in moments we were pulling into the parking lot at the citadel, the first stop on our visit to Teotihuacan.  Within moments of stepping out of the car we had a white and black dog come bounding up to us with great excitement.  He had no tail but his whole butt was wiggling with joy at meeting new friends.  We decided to call him Spot and he followed us around with his friend for over an hour.

As we walked to the first pyramid Spot and his buddy followed, playing and wrestling the whole way.  There are two pyramids in the citadel complex, the earlier is dedicated to Quetzalcoatl and bears his image and that of the Tlaloc, the god of water.  The second was meant to replace the first is called the Adosada platform.  The platform is open to the public and as we climbed and descended Spot continued to follow, urging us to pet him when we were standing still and getting information from Monica.

When we left the citadel other visitors were beginning to arrive and Spot stay behind with his friend in their home range.  From there we got back into the car and drove nearer the site of the Temple of the Sun.  It is the largest of the temples at Teotihuacan although its ultimate elevation is the same as the Temple of the Moon because of the latter's higher elevation.   Undeterred by the height we ascended the pyramid which offers an exceptional view of the entire complex.

Once we descended it was back into the car to drive closer to the Temple of the Moon.  Here we were able to see some of the preserved paintings with all kinds of iconography intact.  We also had a display of how the red dye was collected that the residents used to adorn the stucco that covered all the structures.  It is extracted by grinding the eggs of an insect that nests on the cactus paddles and is then set using the liquid extracted from the same cactus.  The intensity of the color and the amount produced by a tiny collection of eggs was staggering.  At the Temple of the Moon we were only permitted to climb to the top of the first platform but the cloudy morning made for a spectacular view of the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl in the distance.

By this time it wasn't quite noon but because we had such an early start when Monica suggested we eat we jumped at the suggestion.  She took us to her favorite place where we had nice big breakfasts.  It was so much food that even though we were starving none of us was able to eat all that was set in front of us.

After lunch Monica took us by our hotel to help us arrange to have some laundry done before taking us back to the temple complex.  We continued to explore some of the smaller sites where people made their homes.  While these were small complexes of structures it was here that the best examples of the art was preserved.  We saw jaguars, coyotes, serpents, birds, gods, depictions of paradise, and all kinds of depictions of daily life illustrated on the walls.  It was very interesting and always there were images of the two sacred liquids; water and blood.

At one point I was able to distract Monica into examining some of the large spiders that spin their webs on the cacti.  When we discovered little fat grasshoppers in the tall grass she really started to take note.  Soon we were all looking at the grasshoppers who appeared to be having an orgy of sorts in the grass around the cacti.  It was a fun diversion and I think I got some good pictures.

Soon it was getting late and Monica told us that the archeological site closes at four o'clock.  I couldn't believe the day had gone by so quickly.  Although we got a chilly start it was perfect weather for running around and climbing pyramids.  Fortunately we have already booked her for another archeological site in a couple days, she was definitely worth the expense.

So we headed back to the hotel where we whiled away much of the afternoon reading and playing on the internet.  Although none of us had much of an appetite after our huge meal earlier we decided to go out and find a little something just to be safe.  I guess it is a good thing we only wanted something little because none of the restaurants was open, probably because temple complex closed hours ago.  Oh well, we went back to the bakery we stopped by last night and bought some bread and found some cheese at a little corner store and that was our dinner.  Now we're finishing up the day and getting ready to call it an early night.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
26mm, f5.6, merged layers of 1/800, 1/400, and 1/200 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 309 - Spare a thought

Sadly we left Guanajuato this morning.  It would have been nice to have a few more days to wander the streets, alleys, and tunnels but the temples are calling so we packed our bags.  Once we were more-or-less together we decided to take advantage of the free continental breakfast.  Admittedly it wasn't much but that was fine with me, I didn't want to need the bathroom too urgently on our day of travel.

Initially we were planning on taking a later bus out of town but we were ready so we caught the earlier bus to Mexico City.  It wasn't as luxurious as the last bus we took and it was a lot more crowded but it was a bit cheaper than the last one we took to Guanajuato.

Once in Mexico City we had the option of taking another bus to Teotihuacan or take a taxi.  We opted for the taxi thinking it would be quicker.  That was true and when we arrived in Teotihuacan we discovered that the bus is really just a van and felt a bit of relief that we didn't try that route because it would have been difficult with our bags, especially considering that they were packed in.

After a little confusion our taxi driver found our hotel.  The proprietor wasn't around but they was a group of locals using their common area and one spoke English well enough to help us find a room.  I suppose he will leave a note for the owner to let them know we're here.  We also asked about where to eat and he brought back a nice woman who was cooking for the group who said she would make us dinner for forty-five pesos each (that is less than four dollars).  She even brought a little sample which helped to seal the deal.

Fifteen minutes later we were sitting in the common room sipping glasses of guava juice.  Soon we were presented with plates of rice, a big bowl of beans, a stack of hot tortillas, and I was given a bowl of nice scrambled eggs while Francene and Araceli got beef stew.  To finish it off was a slightly sweet and spicy salsa that was delicious.  It was a lot of food and we pretty much cleared our plates.  All was excellent and very filling; a steal at forty-five pesos.

With dinner completed we went for a walk through the town.  There are metallic buntings that crisscross the streets and in the evening light they sparkled.  I don't know if they were part of their Dia de los Muertos celebration or for something else entirely but I liked the effect.  As we wandered it quickly became obvious that we're the only foreigners around town but it seems safe in a small town way.  We even found a bakery that was still open and bought some pastries for breakfast tomorrow.  Given that it was a long day of travel we headed back to our hotel to play on the slow internet and get ready to turn in early.

Below is another one of the baby sea turtles we released in La Libertad.  These little guys are so cute and I keep hoping that they all made it safely past the predators to the open ocean.  That is probably as close as I will ever come to praying.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 308 - Hills of Frogs

Today was our full day in Guanajuato and I can already say that it isn't enough.  This city is amazing and beautiful, the people are friendly, and the food has been fantastic.  We started the day with a light breakfast of fruit, toast, and cereal and then got ourselves ready to meet with our guide.

Alex met us in the lobby of our hotel early and we set off on our walking tour.  The first stop was the basilica across the street.  Guanajuato has no cathedral, he explained, because there isn't a bishopric in this city.  That is not to say it isn't an important religious site, Pope Benedict visited a few years ago and stayed about a block away from our hotel.  He then took us to the university which was founded by Jesuits in the 16th century and after that he talked at length about the school's recent history and my mind started to wander.  I did get to wondering if we should redirect him towards the topics that hold interested to us but it was hard to find an opening.

Alex told us about the mineral wealth, mostly gold and silver, and how this was the jewel of the Spanish empire in Mexico.  The name Guanajuato is derived from the native words for "hills of frogs" because of the shape and color of the mountains surrounding the city.  I suppose it is a trait that could have be observed in the past but it isn't obvious now.  Sadly there is no connection to real frogs but the climate is probably too dry for that even if there used to be natural rivers cutting through the settlement.

We explored some of the tunnels, saw the museum to Cervantes and the statutes of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.  In October they have a three week festival dedicated to Cervantes which we just missed but which was described as rather overwhelming.  Apparently Guanajuato's sister city is Ashland, Oregon where they have the Shakespeare festival for ten months out of the year.

Finally we circled around to see Guanajuato's mummies.  The high mineral content in the water here coupled with the used of catacombs due to the rocky soil has led to natural mummification.  A tax on burial plots has forced the eviction of some tenants and of those a fraction have been put on display in their museum.  It is a rather macabre collection of people with a fairly mixed representation.  There is a man who died of a stab wound where you can see the wound and the staining of the tissue surrounding, a woman who died with her unborn child both displayed together, a number of people of European descent, a Chinese woman, and a number of children and infants, one of which looks as though it was autopsied.  I may share a few pictures eventually but they might be rather disturbing for most.  Although one young boy who couldn't have been much more than three years old excitedly pointed out all the babies to his family so I guess it isn't upsetting for everyone.

It was getting into the afternoon and we decided lunch was in order.  We looked at a couple menus and when I found one with something acceptable I was ready regardless of the quality.  Fortunately the food turned out to be excellent, I had the fish tacos and I don't think it is the hunger speaking we I say they were the best I've ever tasted.  Once we paid our bill Francene did a little shopping and then we stopped off for gelato at a different place where it was not only cheaper but better too!

We then retired to our hotel for a little relaxation before heading out again to take the funicular to the best viewpoint in the city.  It was raining but by the time we got to the top the thunder had stopped and the rain lightened to a mist.  Once we had taken our pictures we were ready for a light dinner but there wasn't must to speak of by way of food up there so we walked down the steep winding stairs into town and one of the first places we came to was a well-review Italian restaurant.  I had the pizza because I have had a little too much fish recently and it was quite tasty.  Francene and Araceli both raved about their food; I think it was polenta and enchiladas respectively.

Full again we stopped off for some Mexican candies, some bottled water, and just a little more gelato before retiring for the night.  Tomorrow we are on the road again; although I generally prefer to stay put a bit this has been a lot of fun so far, I am just so happy to be away from Puerto Vallarta, it is not my kind of travel at all.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
20mm, f8, merged layers of 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, and 1/8 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 307 - Holiest

This morning we had a mysterious start to our day because our hotel room has no exterior facing windows so it was difficult to just what time it was without checking the clock.  Finally I got up to use the bathroom just before seven and in the process spurred everyone into action.  We got dressed and walked into town to look at all the Dia de los Muertos decorations without the crowds, check out the historic buildings, and get a little site seeing in before we leave in a few hours.

The churches were massive and quite spectacular, the photo below is from the Catedral de Guadalajara.  Boy does God ever have a bunch of nice homes, I suppose it vindicates my career, invest in real estate!  Since it was early the only things we could get into were the churches but that was fun and we felt a little less cheated that we were spending so little time in that most interesting of cities.

We returned to our hotel to clean up and get our packing done before finding breakfast.  My slightly dodgy belly is still a little bit of a concern though much improved so I had fruit and yogurt while Francene ate a mountain of eggs and Araceli had a pile of chilaquiles.  Although I was a little jealous I was concerned about the upcoming four hour journey.

This time we decided against hiring a private car not only because of the expense but we knew that realistically we wouldn't be stopping on the way.  Therefore we opted to take the bus.  Now I know the idea of taking a four hour bus ride in Mexico sounds scary but for forty dollars you get a new luxury touring bus with recliners, massive leg room, onboard individual entertaining, free wireless internet and a snack.  It felt like a bargain to us and the suspension was so smooth that it was like being on a cruise ship.

When we stopped in Guanajuato it didn't look that exciting but it was only the bus terminal.  Once we collected our bags and found a cab we wended our way into town.  First we went through new construction with lots of big box type shops until we passed through a small tunnel and it got less commercial.  After another tunnel the roads narrowed and the traffic increased.  Though another tunnel and the streets became cobblestones and the buildings we looming above us.  It is so European here!  The city limits signage so it doesn't distract from the architecture.  There are churches and theaters all over the town and each is an impressive monument.  We were and still are so excited to be here.

Our hotel is right in the middle of everything in the historic district and the rooftop patio had wonderful views.  There is no air conditioning in our building but the high today was seventy-five degrees and the low tonight is supposed to be fifty-five with almost no humidity.  It is such a welcome relief!

So after soaking in our new accomodations we headed into town.  First we wandered aimlessly and kept finding all kinds of little gems of buildings, streets, and alleys.  Then we decided to find dinner and between a guidebook in Francene's bag and Araceli's sharp eyes we found a little place at the top of a lot of narrow winding steps.  It was a house that was converted to a restaurant and we didn't really know what kind of food to expect but the view was amazing and we were hungry.  When it turned out to be Italian we were all find with that and happily ate our various pasta dishes.  It was delicious and we had an ideal vantage point from which to watch the sun set over the city.

After dinner we wandered some more, explored and took pictures.  There was a candy shop we passed earlier and a walk down an alley deposited us right at its doors so we went in.  It's like the Mexican version of Willy Wonka's factory.  They offered us samples of so many little treats it was had to decide what to buy.  Of course we say we're buying for our friends and family back home but they may end up with the stuff we didn't like so much.  It will still be good and they will be none the wiser.

Even though we sampled a bit of candy we also wanted ice cream so that was our next mission.  We found a little helado shop and both Araceli and I wanted the same flavor, pinon, pine nut.  It was in a fruit base and was delicious.  All this time we continued to wander and after a series of turns came to a tunnel.  When I asked my companions if we should take the obvious alley back to the hotel or explore the tunnel the latter was the resounding choice.  It is crazy, there are intersections in the tunnel!  After quite a bit of walking we came out the other side and it was only another five minutes to get back to the hotel.

There was no fighting for the shower, we're quite civilized about that, and soon we were all clean, well-fed, and generally content.  So I loaded the day's pictures and sat down to share all of our adventures.  Tomorrow we explore more of the city and I am like a kid before Christmas!

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f2.8, 1/60 @ 2500 ISO

2013, Day 306 - Tequila!

Today was a long but rather uneventful day as it was a travel day.  We awoke slightly discombobulated thanks to daylight savings time and packed up most of our stuff.  Once we got a good start on that we went out for breakfast.  Upon our return our cab driver from yesterday, Augustine, was waiting for us, albeit almost an hour early.  Good thing we did most of our packing before we left.

So we gathered the remainder of our belongings and set out on the road to Guadalajara.  Although it is supposed to take just four and a half hours with road delays and a very brief detour to Tequila to visit the town square and stop by the Jose Cuervo compound it took us more than seven hours.  Guadalajara is a big city and he had to ask another cab driver for help finding our hotel.  Fortunately that driver offered to show the way so all Augustine had to do was follow.

Our hotel in Guadalajara is about four blocks from the cathedral and was initially an old mansion that has been added on to a number of times.  It is a very impressive building but the rooms are a little cell-like as the only window to the exterior is in the bathroom and is very small.  Once we dropped off our stuff we headed out to find dinner.  The woman at reception told us there is a good place a couple blocks away towards the cathedral so we started walking.  It was immediately apparent which establishment she was referring to as there was one with a line out the door at five o’clock in the afternoon, La Chata.  Famous for their fried chicken I shared some quesadillas with Francene and ordered the enchiladas.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach; I am mostly over my digestive distress but there are still some lingering symptoms.

After we ate we walked down to the cathedral and in the square were skeletons decorated for Dia de los Muertos and tons of people.  Inside the gazebo in the middle was a band setting up to play; it seems that the celebrations are over yet in Guadalajara!

My stomach started to feel a little iffy with food in it so I asked for the key to return to the hotel and we all ended up heading back.  Although we didn’t do a lot today I think we’re all pretty tired from the trip and tomorrow we have another four hour trip before we get to resume our adventures.  I can’t wait!

Sadly it was another day of almost no pictures so I decided to process this one of a fisherman in La Libertad.  We were walking down the pier and he was working with his buddies, all of an age.  When I gestured to him with my camera and for his permission he smiled and I caught it!

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/160 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 305 - Muerto

This morning when I got up I was still feeling pretty rotten.  It was a fitful night but as the morning wore on I started to feel better.  We had to change hotels today because Francene traded some of her timeshare weeks and they require stays of a week at a time and we were setting off for a hotel closer in to town.  So we packed our bags, checked out, and took a taxi to the new place which is a huge improvement, not as new and maybe not as nice but more comfortable and free internet access.

We asked the cab driver to wait for us because we wanted to visit the cemetery after checking in because we knew our room wouldn't be ready.  Today is Dia de los Muertos, a day when family and friends gather to remember the departed.  The go to the cemetery to clean and decorate the graves, picnic, and make offerings of food and drink.  It was a bit of a work party.  People were scrubbing down the concrete, sweeping, painting, and setting out food.  Candles were lit, flowers were placed, and decorations soon festooned the graves of the morning crowd.  It wasn't too busy as it was still morning but there was a lot of activity and it didn't feel intrusive being there because it seemed like a bit of a party.

Sweating we left the cemetery to find our cab driver waiting for us and we told him that we would like to go to lunch.  He recommended a place called La Langosta Feliz, the Happy Lobster, which was very good.  I had the broiled snapper and managed to eat most of it without too much discomfort.  Having eaten our fill we returned to the hotel and found our room almost ready.

Most of the afternoon was spent lounging in the air conditioning but we also spent a little time down by the pool.  The water seemed a little chilly so we retreated to the hot tub and allowed the bubbles to massage our aching muscles.  When we had our fill we returned to our room to get ready for dinner.  There was a nice restaurant close by and we all had different soups and split some appetizers to make for a light meal.

Tomorrow we're headed off to Guadalajara.  Because our cab driver was so nice we asked if he would be willing to take us.  He offered us a fair price and we accepted so he will be coming to pick us up tomorrow morning.  Since I'm still on the mend it's going to be an early night to be ready for more adventures tomorrow!

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
70mm, f5.6, 1/1000 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 304 - Drag

I know, I am a day late with my blog update.  While I am not dead I did get sick and I blame the dodgy eggs I had for breakfast on Thursday.  By Thursday evening I was feeling a little off but generally okay and then through the night I started getting chills and frequent bathroom breaks.

Since Araceli was arriving yesterday we had planned to stay around the hotel until she arrived anyway and I spent much of that time laying down feeling achy and reading my book.  Araceli arrived at about noon and after getting her stuff dropped off in the room she joined us on a bouncy bus ride into town.  Rather stupidly we sat in the last row and with my achy body and bad suspension I felt pretty beat up when we arrive.

Fortunately there was a good restaurant right where we hopped off the bus so we stopped in for some lunch.  I ordered the tortilla soup and was going to split an order of fish tacos with Francene but struggled to eat even half the soup.  Too bad because it was tasty just too much for me.  After eating we stopped off a the place that sells the frozen chocolate bananas that have a candy filling and walked down to the beach so Araceli could get an idea of what the town is like.

Soon after I was really dragging and they kindly suggested we go back to the hotel.  After chatting and catching up for a bit I took a showed and crawled into bed.  The rest of the afternoon I spent resting fitfully and making trips to the bathroom after which I worked of staying hydrated.

That was the rest of my evening, sleeping or resting on and off and making trips to the bathroom.  Now you are completely caught up on my Friday.  Below I included another picture of a pelican because I took absolutely no photos yesterday and I really like this image of her in flight.  Although it looked good in color there is such a richness in texture that I prefer it in black and white.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/2000 sec @ 400 ISO