Travel Log 11: March 19, 2009 - A Fabulous Time in Guadalajara

We left our great RV resort in Lo de Marcos on March 13. We had been there for a month and really enjoyed ourselves. Upon making plans to move toward home, we decided to make one last side trip to Guadalajara. We were only one day’s travel away, and really did not want to miss it. 

 

We travelled north from Lo de Marcos (north of Puerto Vallarta) to Compostela, then east on Mex 15 to Guadalajara. Our travel day had a little bit of everything. 

We experienced construction zone detours and delays; we missed a turn, got lost, then took a wrong turn and ended up at a toll both where we didn’t belong. Fortunately the officials at the toll booth were able to stop four lanes of traffic to allow us to back up and turn around to get going in the opposite direction. One thing we have discovered about driving in Mexico…we spend a lot of time in “reverse”!

 

Anyway, we arrived at our new home for the week safe and sound. We are staying at Roca Azul RV park south of Guadalajara on the very west tip of Lake Chapala. This location has allowed us to explore the Lake Chapala and Ajijic area, and is only an hour’s drive to Guadalajara. 

 

We spent one full day exploring Guadalajara. The city has double-decker bus tours which show the historical and artistic sites of the city. We enjoyed this very much as it gave a great perspective on the city. In many ways, it reminds us of Vancouver. We spent the rest of the day walking the “Centro” area, where the cathedral, town square (zocolo) and other historic buildings are clustered together. The architecture was incredible. We had lunch on an open-air patio overlooking the park.  We also enjoyed the window shopping. The stores are upscale and modern: book stores, department stores, galleries. I was most impressed, though, with the number of shoe stores – I’m sure I could live here!

 

We were hoping that visiting Guadalajara would “balance” our experience of Mexico so far. We were not disappointed. After three months of small beach towns which are dirty and have few resources, the sophistication of the city was a very welcome change. It feels as if one could function here and enjoy most of the same trappingsas life at home.  Our visit only skimmed the surface, and we are already looking forward to a return trip to Guadalajara to spend some serious time enjoying the sights and shopping. 

 

We have also spent time this week exploring Ajijic, which is on the north coast of Lake Chapala, Jocotopec and Villa Corona. The park in which we are staying has been good logistically, but the services are disappointing. The property is massive and has amazing potential. There is a huge million-litre pool on the property, as well as a warm-spring pool (not hot, just bathtub temperature). However, the pools are quite dirty and in need of maintenance so we have stayed away from them. The lawns are green and maintained, but fences, benches and pool deck chairs are rusty and dirty. There are washrooms, showers and saunas in a building off the pool deck, however these offerings are not sanitary. One trip inside to investigate was all we needed before we made a bee-line outside! There is a building with a bar, restaurant and bungalows – all unused. It all looks good at a distance, but the whole property really needs a big clean up and could be really great. 

 

Since being in Mexico, Adrian has coined a phrase for properties like this: “filled with the patina of a bygone era”! It seems such a shame that an original effort, investment and vision are left to crumble. We see it time and time again. A gussied-up resort so close to a major airport in Guadalajara would really rock. It makes us wish we had pots of money for such a venture.  

 

Tomorrow (Friday) we begin our trek homeward. Some things we are looking forward to in leaving Mexico: English road signs and menus; being able to use Lola, our GPS (Brenda, the GPS, isn’t nearly as reliable!); and no more topes (speed bumps)! In one 9 kilometer stretch of road near Puerto Vallarta, we counted 56 topes. Enough already!!

 

Now for our trip home. Get out your atlas! We plan to go north along the coast, while catching a few of the areas we deliberately missed on the way down. Our travel legs will be roughly as follows:

 

--          Tomorrow we head north on Mex 15 through Tepic to Teacapan. Teacapan is on the coast about an hour south of Mazatlan. Big Day.

 

--          From Teacapan we will continue on Mex 15, north of Mazatlan to La Cruz and re-visit Celestina Gasca where we stayed at New Year’s. Smaller Day, but takes off some kms for our next big day.

 

--          Mex 15 through the cities of Culiacan, Guasave, Los Mochis, Navojoa and travelling inland to Alamos. Alamos is a heritage town and is reported to be the oldest town in Mexico. Big Day.

 

--          Mex 15 through Ciudad Obregon, Hermosillo, then west to the coast on Sonora 100 to Bahai Kino.

 

--          Back to Mex 15, north to Santa Ana, then west on Mex 2 through Caborca and landing in Puerto Penasco.

 

We plan to cross back into the U.S. at the Sonoyta/Lukeville crossing. It is a small, safe crossing used by many RVers. At this time, we have no plans to travel with anyone, but if the opportunity arises, we will certainly do so.

 

After we accomplish this, we will set our itinerary for travelling through the U.S. We will let you know our plans at that time. This will be the last travel log for awhile as we make tracks north to the U.S.

 

As always, we will let our Moms know the days when we are travelling and advise on our safe arrival at our destination.