Guadalajara Summer Vacation Day 1 2008

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This will be my first trip to Mexico, the land of my forefathers, since forever. We are on our way to Guadalajara in the great state of Jalisco. I say goodbye to apple pie, McDonald's, and the Internet.

It has been a good 20-22 years since I've visited family in Guadalajara. One of the two memories I really remember involves being left behind at my aunt's house by accident. The other memory? Just some strange event in which I got lost at one of the large mercados in town. They found me talking to an old vendor. A low table with large piles of gleaming crystals of different colors sticks out in my mind.

As we leave Nuevo Laredo all I see are dry lands, trash, old tires, abandoned businesses dotting the sides of the road. I ask myself if its always been that way, or if I am merely remembering it wrong. We used to go this way often to visit the family ranch. Things seemed so much more vibrant then.

Fortunately, as the land becomes wilder, the scene becomes easier to look at. Joshua trees litter the land while the distant mountains of the Sierra Madre come into view. I must say how much I love mountains. They look so.... majestically impenetrable. I don't get to see mountains often enough. In school we've been reading about El Cucuy, the Boogey Man, who lives in the mountains of Mexico. I can see why he would live up there all alone in some cave with the bones of eaten children laying about.

We stopped in Monterrey in the state of Nuevo Leon to buy some machecado tacos. Machecado is shredded, dried beef. Then it is cooked again, making it soft and thready, mixed with salsa or egg and served on tortillas. It's strangely delicious. I found myself eating as many as I could before my brothers beat me to them.

Something else that also struck me was the poverty clearly visible along the road, tiny shacks made of wood and adobe and barely standing there. Its no wonder why people choose to leave these towns and head for the border states in the U.S.

After falling asleep while looking at mountains I opened my eyes to the bright sands of the Chihuahuan Desert. There was nothing except the desert far as the eye could see in all directions. Eventually the horizon broke and the mountains come into view again. But by then I had seen plenty of bright sands and rocks and cacti, along with tiny (and I mean REALLY tiny) villages that were maybe 3 or 4 crumbling houses big. I couldn't help wondering what these people do for a living out here in the middle of nowhere.

We eventually reached Guadalajara late into the night. My dad awoke me as we were driving in. Seeing random city lights with sleepy eyes added a sense of dreaminess. It felt as if I was reaching a long sought after end to a journey. We arrived at my aunt's house where we were greeted with love and hugs and kisses and food. I had a strange feeling having them know all about me but me not really knowing them. I couldn't wait to meet them for the second time though!

That was a nice end to Day 1.

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Photos

Mountains Coming Into View
After a few hours of nothing, the scenery starts to change!

HIlls and Valleys
I want to roll down this hill.

Mountains!
Mountains were the traditional abode of El Cucuy. He has a mountain cave where he takes naughty children to feast on them.

Time for Tacos
Me outside of the restaraunt serving machecado tacos.

Impenetrable
So impenetrable they bult the highway around it! (Love stating the obvious.)

Desert Landscape
Desert.....far as the eye can see.

Martita Rocking Out
I had to teach martita the proper way to rock out to music. She was a bit too hyper after our chocolate fest.

Random Mountains
random mountains which really stood out as we traveled to Guadalajara.