Guadalajara
To celebrate a rare occasion when we had both time and
money, my wife and I took the Aerolitoral flight down to Guadalajara. This
was our first time so far south in Mexico. In the failing light we found
the place we had been looking for, Hotel Las Americas near the downtown
Plaza.
Early next morning we walked all over the downtown historic
district; churches, Teatro Degollado, plazas, Orozco murals in Palacio
del Gobierno in Palacio del Gobierno. In one church Mary had center stage
at altar. A sign admonished the faithful: "No olvides visitar a Jesus que
te espera en el sagrario." ("Don't forget to visit Jesus who's waiting
for you in the Sanctuary.")
We asked a clergyman at cathedral if we could go up into the tower. He said to come back at 11 AM and he would take us up personally. Unfortuantely we were on a tight schedule and had to leave town before then, so we declined. We did have time for a quick breakfast at Malaga's - moyetes, fresh ground espresso coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice.
We also visited the huge indoor Mercado Libertad. Whenever we get within 10 feet of food vendors they commence with a loud singsong chant "Tenemos birria de borrego, pozole y aguas ..." ("We have lamb soup, pork-hominy and drinks..."). Apparently not loaded down enough on this trip, I decided to buy weighty brick sized package of tamarindos. Saw much of the city (which has glommed onto Tlaquepaque and the other small burbs) from the bus on the way to the Central.
Beautiful ride through the Agave region around Tequila - truckloads of pina (hearts of agave) and acres of agave, guarded by iguanas on stone walls. When Julie got off the bus in a small town to stretch her legs, she was met with a chorus of "Guera! Guera!" (wanting to sell the white girl their wares). Bought a plastic-cup concoction of cucumber, jicama, papaya, watermelon, chile and salt.
Tepic
Hotel near Plaza. We were kept awake for reasons I won't
get into. Couldn't find anyplace to eat downtown. A few Huichol Indians
in costume. Saw the Palacio. Overall disappointing except for the Supermarket
Ley by the bus station. Bought yogurt and chicken for trip to San Blas.
Also bought a curious fruit that was a cross between a pear and a pufferfish.
The flavor was between mild and bad. It might have just been a bad fruit,
but who's to know what a good pufferfruit tastes like?
A curiosity is found in Tepic; a local church courtyard has grass that grows in the shape of a cross. Supposedly no one has watered it or mown it to get this effect (do I sound skeptical?).
San Blas
We came out of the station to a cacophony of Great-tailed
Grackles who have taken over the plaza. A writer of an American travel
guide book on Mexico, referring to this same cacophony, says that
bird-watchers should love this place! That person does not seem to understand
that birdwatchers like to see different kinds of birds, not a thousand
demonic-sounding Hitchcocky clones screeching and gracking in malodious
harmony.
Stayed at Casa Marias - her husband made her raise the price the second night. Should have left the buggy place. At night the parrots in the courtyard climb up to their cages, open the door and go to sleep.
We walked to the beach the next day, passing a military marine base on the right and some frisky free-roaming piglets on the left. Better steer clear of both. The view of the sea, the islands and bay were very pleasant. We followed the rocky spit as far out as it would go and then climbed a rickety rusty tower for an even better view. The air was somewhat close in town (though it was only February) but out here there was a rewarding breeze and delightful glimpses of wildlife that we would not see back home: Iguanas basking as ornaments on some of the larger rocks, pelicans and frigatebirds all along the estuary. Oh yes, the pig gauntlet awaits us as we head back.
The next morning we crossed the estuary to the Isla del Rey, "Rey" ("king") being the pagan god the Indians used to worship. We saw his house, a half-thatched grass hut with various nicknacks and baubles that supposedly please ol' Rey. There were beer cans nearby as well. What was more interesting to us was the deserted lighthouse tower right near this hut. We were able to go in and negotiate the somewhat reliable circular stairway all the way to the breezy top. The view was great in all directions, North and South you could see that this island stretched for a good ways. To the West you could see that the Sea was just a short walk away. The Eastern view was of the town of San Blas itself and of the Fortaleza on the hill behind it. Seeing this fort and the jungles behind it, I was already making plans for the next day.
We got up very early for this last day in San Blas. It was just starting to get light as we ventured down the crooked streets. No one up but, well, roosters, pigs, dogs and half the village. Our first stop was that fort on top of the hill. The road to it was easy enough to get to; cobblestones went up the hill past the cemetery on the left. After a short walk we were to the top. The ruins of the church were invaded by banana trees and vines. The bells from this church inspired Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to write his last poem, "The Bells of San Blas".
"What say the Bells
of San Blas
To the ships
that southward pass
From the harbor of Mazatlan?
To them
it is nothing more
Than the
sound of surf on the shore,--
Nothing more to master or man.
...
They are a voice of the Past,
Of an age that is fading fast,
Of a power austere and grand,
When the flag of Spain unfurled
Its folds o'er this western world,
And the Priest was lord of the land.
The chapel
that once looked down
On the little
seaport town
Has crumbled into the dust;
And on oaken
beams below
The bells
swing to and fro,
And are green with mould and rust.
"Is, then,
the old faith dead,"
They say,
"and in its stead
Is some new faith proclaimed,
That we
are forced to remain
Naked to
sun and rain,
Unsheltered and ashamed?
...
O Bells of San Blas in vain
Ye call back the Past again;
The Past is deaf to your prayer!
Out of the shadows of night
The world rolls into light;
It is daybreak everywhere."
From the stone walls we were able to see the town of San Blas, many just now waking up. We could also see the island across the estuary, and the lookout tower from which we saw this fort the day before.
Walking down the hill to the landing, we found a young man that was willing and ready to take us on our jungle boat ride. Francisco, our helpful guide, was well-worth his pay (a modest 200 pesos, I seem to remember. We added a 100 pesos as a tip). He had a motorized flat-bottomed boat that quickly brought us to where the wildlife was. He crossed the San Cristobal Estuary and brought us to a smaller and ever-narrowing tributary. At first we kept our distance from both shores, but soon the sides came closer and the trees began to arch arms over us until we were in a mangrove tunnel. He would often cut the motor and point to one direction, saying "Mira, mira!" ("look, look!"). Sometimes I would see what he was pointing to, but I often I couldn't until we came quite close.
Some of the more exotic birds seen were:
Olivaceous Cormorant, Anhinga, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Boat-billed Heron (with a shoe-shaped beak), West Mexican Chachalaca, Groove-billed Ani, Common Potoo (this one was really hard to spot. I owe Francisco for showing us these), Pauraque, Green Kingfisher, Pale'billed Woodpecker and Black-throated Magpie Jay.
Oh yes ... not a bird, but well-worth noting were the Caimans sunning themselves in the early shafts of light that filtered through the canopy. He called them "Cocodrillos", but I believe they were caimans. I noticed also that occasionally he misidentified a few of the harder to pin down birds that I just happened to know.
Finally our boat reached our destination, La Tovara Springs. There was nobody here at this early hour. We shared our lunch with Francisco and Julie did her dip-in-the-water ritual. Whatever exotic place we go to, she often throws caution - and some of her clothes - to the wind and enters into the all-accepting H2O. OK, OK ... she just takes her shoes off. Then she looks at me and says, "Come in, Chicken!"
Finally the time came to leave San Blas and we did so with regret. Of all the places I have visited, this is the one I most want to revisit.
The author for these pages can be reached at [email protected]
Updated: October 16, 2002
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