In La Paz we discovered the cost of the ferry to Mazatlan (18 hours) had increased from 835p to 1190p. To fly to Guadalajara cost 1200p so guess which one we chose! We flew over here yesterday, it took 1 1/2 hours and caught 2 buses from the airport into the city center. While sitting in a park trying to orientate ourselves we met a Canadian called John and went with him to find an hotel. The one in his new Lonely Planet which was listed as the cheapest had had an increase in prices probably because it was now quite popular. They charged 155 per dorm bed and 350 for a room. Since our daily budget is about that we went looking for another place. In our 10 year old book we found a hotel no longer listed in Johns new book so went there and got a nice room with ensuite for 160 per night - now we can afford to eat as well as sleep! :)
Guadalajara seems to be a really nice city (pop 4.1 million). We walked all over it last night and even though it was Monday evening the center was packed with people. Today we (and John) took a bus to Chapala which is beside the largest natural lake in Mexico. We are here today and it is a lovely town though the lake is nothing really special and suffers from a weed problem.
The nights and mornings here on the mainland are cooler and Carol is wearing a cardigan then. The midday is still nice and warm, actually this time of the year is just right for us.
Just to finish off this part:
We spent the next day walking all over Guadalajara, it is a nice city except for it's full on busyness. It has parks or squares all around the central city and streets which are only for pedestrians. There is something going on all the time and the streets are busy until around 10pm with the shops all open. Things are cheaper here than in Baja, the city feels more Mexican although a lot of foreigners live in the area. The Mexicans are quite a small race as a rule, Carol is feeling quite tall at times, all those we have met have been very friendly and kind. As you can imagine we are doing our best to murder their lovely language, we feel like we are making progress but make a lot of booboos. One evening Carol walked into a shop and greeted the man with 'Buenos Aires' whoops, buenos noches or hola would have been better. Carol can carry on a small conversation and Kent is great at the written word, we will get there...
