Guadalajara

I hope to get a bus 12 hours south to Guadalajara, but its already 9pm, and i have no idea if there will be any more transport. Waiting outside, is a herd of taxis, but its very orderly and no-one harasses or try to rip me off. Its 50 pesos, £2.50, from the out of town train station to the bus station, there is a bus going in a few minutes, all the way to Guadalajara, but Ninety minutes later, however, it still hasn't arrived, but soon a guy who has seen me waiting tells me to change my ticket as the other bus has broken down. I guess my Spanish needs to improve a bit before i can understand the announcements (if there were any)!


Mexican buses are very comfortable, and the deluxe ones even have free sandwiches, candy bar and drink (yoplait!) for the journey. As well as personal head phones, rather than the blaring of dubbed movies through the whole bus.

There's so much to see in Mexico that I'm not really interested in visiting the cities, but Guadalajara makes a nice break and i get to see how modern Mexicans are living it up. Its in stark contrast to the living conditions of the indigenous Tiamahura people at Copper Canyon, largely still living in caves and selling art work as their only form of income.

Everyone is eating soft cones ice cream, the central market sells everything from the cheapest Chinese imports to flat screen TVs. I even see two porsche, and business men at the Holiday Inn. 

The city is a mix of classical colonial architecture, water fountains and churches, and quirky modern art.

My hostel is 150 peso a night (£7.5) for a dormitory with breakfast and wifi. In the bathroom, of all places, i find Elias, a friend from Germany.  He's been studying Spanish in Chihuahua, we were supposed to meet on my way through Northern Mexico, but he couldn't get a holiday when i was going to be there, and was on the road already. But who needs planning when you can meet like this!

He tells me Guadalajara is the best city in Mexico to meet girls, but all we can find is gay bars, at least 10 of them! so we walk around aimlessly drinking Jack Daniels in a can, bought from OXXO, a type of 7-11 chain, and then a very early night.