Getting out of the rainy North, we decided to go further West. After the small colonial towns, it was time for something big again. So we set out towards Guadalajara. The second-largest metropolitan area in Mexico is best known for mariachi and tequila! 😁
As the weather was really nice and sunny, we decided to take a walk into the city centre. ☀️ From our motel-like Airbnb it was about 20 – 30 minutes. We enjoyed the warmth and discovered some nice places on our way. In Guadalajara’s historic center we found (once again) amazing colonial places and landmarks such as the cathedral with twin gold spires. Located around the cathedral there are four diffrent plazas with nice cafes, a theatre or museums.
Stunning artwork
After the colonial walk, we headed to one of the must-see places we read about, the “Hospicio Cabañas”. The building is one of the oldest and largest hospital complexes in the Americas. Nowadays you can visit the complex for its art exhibitions. The highlight is the series of monumental murals by the famous Mexican painter, José Clemente Orozco. As he specialized in political murals, he showed a lot about the Mexican history with a critical view. A free English speaking guide told us about the meanings behind Orozco’s work. In the centre of the murals you can find the most famous one “The Man on fire”. It was really stunning to see and hear about it.
Nightlife and animals
At night we paid a visit to the nearby bar scene. “Rock it” was a nice bar with some live music and good beers and mezcal! Of course we had to order the special of one beer with one mezcal for free! 😁🍻 The only downside was that they serve the mezcal with this weird chili powder called “sal de gusano”. It is also called “worm salt”…yes, it actually contains crushed up moth larvas. Not so much our taste… 😅
Another great place to visit in Guadalajara is the zoo. We decided to go there on a sunny Sunday. The special thing about this zoo is, that they have many special attractions. There is the 20 minute chairlift ride to get a great overview of the size of the zoo. Also we joined a kind of african style safari where you drive through the enclosures of zebras, curious giraffes, antilopes and even rhinos. Furthermore there is a big aquarium with a lot of different penguins. The size and attractions of the zoo kept us busy for a whole day and we really enjoyed it!
After getting so many impressions of Guadalajara it was time to head out of the city. A place not many know about awaited us next… 😁
