Thursday January 30, Guadalajara Zoo

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Thursday, January 30

The Lake Chapala Society had a bus going to the Guadalajara Zoo today on which we had booked seats. It was a large tourist bus with very comfortable seats but with the very long wheel base of the bus we could really feel the side to side roll on the highways. Guadalajara has very soft soil which results in a sinking of the pavement here and there, resulting in a motion that resembles a boat in rolling seas. A long trip would definitely required sea sickness pills.

The Guadalajara Zoo is the largest in Latin America and well worth a visit. It would take days to really see and experience the whole place. Since we were only spending one day there we had to pick and choose.

The entrance has a huge waterfall with statues of monkeys that lead down the stairs to the entrance of the zoo.

Our first choice was to take the sky ride which seems to go on forever. It allowed us to see how large the zoo actually was. From our perch in the sky we watched wolfs racing and playing together, black bears sleeping, and many other animals that we would later see when walking. The end of the sky ride provides a magnificent view of the mountain ridge before turning and taking us back to the beginning of the ride.

Next we walked a while checking out different animals as we made our way to the Safari Masai Mara area. Then we boarded a safari vehicle that drove us through areas that only a jeep or safari vehicles could navigate. We drove through rivers, over rocks and down hills that shook every bone in our body. The animals were all around us and most just glanced at us in passing. Instead of fences, the zoo uses cattle grids which consist of a hole in the road surface which is covered with a series of bars that allow wheeled vehicles but not animals to cross. This keeps some animals separated from others,

The end of the first lap of the safari is in an area where the giraffes were grazing. The vehicle stopped and gave our bones a rest from the jarring drive and allowed us to feed the giraffes some chopped carrots that had been provided at the beginning of the ride.

After the ride, we walked again, this time we headed for Monkey Land. Similar to most zoos there are many monkeys climbing and showing off with their antics, behind large wire enclosures. However, in this zoo the entrance to Monkey Land includes an area where the humans and monkeys are all within an enclosure. The cute little monkeys in this area are hilarious little devils. They are so very quick and have no fear of humans. They will climb all over you and within a blink of an eye will snatch things from any openings in your purse, bag or pocket. There are zoo keepers available to distract them and try and take back things that they have stolen that might harm them if eaten. Candies are not a problem but the little plastic packages that the candies are enclosed in are a problem.

We skipped the reptilian area and headed for the aquarium which was near the Australian exhibit. The kangaroos and the wombats were relaxing as we roamed Australia on our way to the aquarium. It was a very impressive aquarium with a walk through tunnel, similar to the one we experienced in Dubai but much smaller. Considering that this aquarium is just a part of a zoo it was pretty amazing.

We were quickly starting to fade as it was well into the afternoon. We headed for the little train station and viewed the rest of the zoo from the train that took us closer to some of the animals that walking would have.

At 3:30pm we met our bus for the return trip to Ajijic.



The zoo entrance, the sky ride, safari, train ride, monkey land, and aquarium was less than $15 US. There are picnic areas and you can bring your own picnic food. It is a wonderful family area right within the city limits.

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