We caught the bus to Tequila, it cost 55 pesos each and took us 1 1/2 hours to get there, even though it is only 50 km from Guadalajara!
On the road we pass though acres and acres of fields of blue agave cactus. This cactus is the sole ingredient of premium Tequila.
Tequila is a very typical small Mexican town, with narrow one way roads and stone cobbled streets. We managed to find a hotel (Hotel Abasolo) off the main road for 200 pesos a night, which was the best we could find price wise. It was a pretty large room with an ensuite and cable tv.
We searched the town over looking for a reasonable tour of one of the Tequila factories (there are quite a few factories) but they were all outside our budget. In town we were offered samples by a local shop owner and his brother. Carol liked the Real Almond Tequila Liquer - very nice, but expensive, while Kent stuck to the straight Blanco (white) Tequila. We were pondering about buying a 250ml bottle of tequila for 40 pesos, when the owner suggested sampling the stuff straight from the factory. Woohoo - talk about blow one's socks off! 100% blue agave tequila straight from the still, at 100% proof! We were offered a nice plastic litre bottle of it for 60 pesos, how could we refuse! (Update 15/12/08 - I STILL have half a litre left, Kent!!!).
We retired to the hotel for the afternoon, being a typical mexican town, everyone seemed to disappear for a siesta and the streets were deserted.
In the evening the town became alive with a parade down the main street up to the main church, with lots of noise, music and dancing. Then there was a carnival, with lots of rides for the kids. One ride in particular was pretty scary, not only of the way it spun the occupants arround, but it was located in a narrow street and only just missed the upstairs balconies!
About 11pm we retired to the hotel expecting a good nights sleep, however the revelling outside kept us awake for ages. We did finally sleep... until 4am when there were these HUGE explosions - what the hell!!! Mexican fireworks, not like the pussy chinese crackers we get at home in NZ, but ones that sound like sticks of dynamite, in a string of twenty! And just when you thought that was all, another string went off!
We did sort of sleep the rest of the morning, and around 8am we arose. After repacking, we set off west, having decided to take a chance hitch-hiking and seeing how far we would get.
