Shortly after our arrival we sat down for some grilled chicken at a local stand just across the street from El Parque, our community. Impromptu stands like this are very common across Mexico. This one came highly recommended and it was fabulous! Here are our hosts who are more than willing to ham it up for Cindi. Usually these local stands are not recommended for Gringo consumption, but we had no gastric difficulties with this one. A full chicken with potatos, "cole slaw" (they didn't know what that was) and large soda for only $10 for the two of us!
Waiting in eager anticipation with the other "locals." Many workers spontaneously stop for a delicious lunch here. Many Gringos are perhaps turned off by the crude accomodations but we find it authentic, fun and extremely enjoyable. Our host was very accomodating, friendly and welcoming.
Here is the front view of our casa, now about five years old. We had to paint the exterior recently as the high mountain sun wears exterior paint quickly. The shrubs are so much taller than when we first saw them. They grow these beautiful purple flowers, the color of Cindi's choice.
The inside of our casa from the living area looking into the kitchen. Everything seems to be in good shape except the drapes are faded from the intense sunlight they get in the early morning hours. Once past about 10 am the porch overhand shades these windows. You can see me relaxing on the porch just outside. Everything is tile, hand picked by Cindi. Everything is modern and very functional.
Relaxing outside on the porch with some ice cream in a marguerita glass made by local artisans in the community of Tonala to the east of Guadalajara. "Guad" is an easy though sometimes intense forty minute drive north of us.
Standing on our "mirador" which is an upper porch to the back of our casa reached by circular stairs. The view of the moutains is refreshing and calming. We are enjoying it now since a new shopping mall was created just to the left of this picture. Ajijic lies over the mountains from Guad. This elevation keeps the year round temps in the 70's. Though this past winter was unusually cooler and wetter than normal. When we first got to Mexico five years ago I kept looking for a particular door that had a mirror on it until I finally realized it wasn't a door at all!
This same evening storm clouds formed over the south mountains on the other side of Lake Chapala (visible to the left of my head). Cindi got some spectacular pics of the storm clouds seemingly on fire in a blaze of thermonuclear vision. No it's just the setting sun casting a perfect reflection creating an apocalytic image. We got some spectacular lightning and thunder storms during our stay, a little late in the rainy season for this area. We had plenty of sun and warm--very welcome since it had turned unusually cool back in Wisconsin.
Here's our "hood" looking toward Lake Chapala in the distance. It's a wonderful community with a pool and hot tub. There are about 120 "casas" in this gated community called El Parque, "The Park." When we built five years ago El Parque was far from complete. Today it looks like a well established community filled with mostly English speaking US and Canadian citizens with some Mexicans.
Back when we built our casa we were warned by our realtors of the possibility of scorpions invading. We were to always put our shoes up on a shelf as they are prone to hide there. Early one morning Cindi awoke, got up and reached for the light switch to our master bedroom walk in closet. There was clearly a bug we hadn't seen before with a distinct shape. Bugs are a part of the local landscape but this one is dangerous. The picture of this scorpion was the second "visitor" we had during our stay and was crawling up the bedroom wall.
In our past trips to our Casa it was almost all work and very little play. On this occasion we had much less to do to get the casa in shape for our new long term tenant. So there was much more time to play. I had always wanted visit the tequila areas around Guad, especially the city by that name's sake. So inspired by a travel article I had cut out some years ago we set out to the highland area east of Guad then to the west of Guad a few days later. Here Cindi and I pose inside Mundo Cuervo, "Cuervo World," in Tequila, Mexico.
There are regularly scheduled tours of Mundo Cuervo which is nice. The other tequila refineries require advanced appointments. Here on the tour we see the "pineapples" of the agave plant stacked. At this time young, strong, red bandanad men with axes split the pineapples for steaming. We were also able to have a separate English speaking tour with a bunch of young American kids who were definitely ready to party! They took full advantage of the free samplings along the way.
Here is a view of Mundo Cuervo from the Tequila town square. The very long building on the left houses the museum shops and refinery. The building on the right is also Cuervo's. The very front is the Cuervo restaurant which we ate at for a late breakfast. It is highly regarded but not expensive.
This is an opposite view into the village square. Every Mexican village has one and is the center of social interaction. The square is typically anchored by the Roman Catholic cathedral. Many are very old and historic. On this day there was a traditional Mexican wedding. The members of the party "paraded" throughout the square. You can see the local arts and crafts tents that are commonly set up in such areas. In Tequila we found the prices higher likely because of this location as a popular tourist attraction. In Tonola the prices are often half.
Cindi and I posing by a large delivery gate toward the rear of Mundo Cuervo. This was a Saturday and it was quite busy. We had wanted to go the following Monday but had important business to wrap up on that day before flying back on Tuesday. In spite of the crowds the visit was well worth it.
Having taken a wrong turn out of Tequila to the west we got terrific views of the many tequila fields in the area. There are many smaller tequila refineries in the area who harvest fields here. You can see the bluer looking agave plants rising up the side of the hill in the foreground. In some cases agave and corn were in alternating rows.
I had wanted to visit one or two smaller tequila refineries based upon recommendation of the travel article. This is the historic hacienda of the Casa Herradura. Their Reposado (a slightly aged tequila) is the highest rated. We were able to get inside the hacienda, look around and buy a larger bottle of the Reposado along with smaller gift bottles of the Anejo (a longer aged tequila made for gentle sipping). A full tour of the operation requires advanced appointment. Casa Herradura is located in the village of Amatitan, just east of Tequila.
Here's a close up look at the agave plant. I took this in front of the Tres Mujeres refinery, also in Amatitan. When Cindi and I first laid eyes on an agave field we thought for sure it was pineapple. Indeed the part kept for tequila is called the "pineapple." The fiber is white and doesn't really taste like much. When it is chopped and steamed, the process brings out the sugary juices. We tasted samples of this at Cuervo and it is very sweet. It is these sweet juices that are refined into the tequila.
