Tequila in Tequila!
We reluctantly left Guanajuato and headed to Guadalajara for the beautiful zocalos (town squares), the culture...and of course the day trip to Tequila. When we arrived at the hostel after a long rickety couple of bus rides we found the tequila tour guide passed out on the sofa; covered in flour and surrounded by a group of inebriated fellow travellers. We booked our tequila tour for the next day :)
I learnt how my favourite drink is made and which varieties are the best to buy. I also learnt that I can drink 22 shots of tequila and still stand up. Well as the only girl I had to represent. The guys ranged from 26 to 30 shots so I thought I did pretty well considering I´m half the size. We all had a really fun day visiting all the distilleries and trying different types of tequila and afterwards we went to ´´Lucha Libre´´. This is the Mexican wrestlimg similar to WWF and they love it here!
We took the cheap seats and booed and cheered with a bunch of crazy Mexicans, it was an experience! One of them explained who the ´goodies and badies´ were and we all cheered together. They are really crazy! Our Australian friend Scott got a bit over-excited and, being jeered on by the Mexicans, decided to pull a moony. Yes Mexico witnessed his big white bum. Security were on it pretty quickly and he was thrown out. The guys there thought it was hilarious, the parents with kids did not. I blame his last tequila.
We explored Gualalajara the next day. This included seeing a ´proper hardcore gangsta´. There´s a big gang in Mexico who are ruthless scary mobsters and this guy had their logo tatooed on his face. He pushed passed Oli, glared at us then moved on phew...I don´t think he likes tourists. We moved on to San Blas.
Surf´s Up!
In San Blas we met Anna and Oli again and spent the first day surfing. They were beginners waves so there was a relatively small chance of me killing myself... I managed to surf a few waves which was really fun. The force of the waves blasting me towards the shore felt so exhilarating, wind in my hair etc ;) I love it.
Cucarachas!
San Blas was full of Cockroaches (cucarachas) that would ricochet off the lights at night and land on..well..me. It was like an obstacle course trying not to get hit by one and was not very fun! I learnt to stay in the dark. Apart from this I loved San Blas. It was my first experience of hitch-hiking too. The beach was either a long walk in the blistering heat or a hop on the back of the locals´pick up trucks...the pick ups seemed more appealing and the locals were friendly so didn´t mind. We continued down the Pacific Coast...
Marauta...just us?
There was a brief stop at Puerto Vallerta and we were thankful it was a pit stop. The place has less characteristics of Mexico than Bognor Regis. It´s so touristy and character-less we were happy to get the next bus.
After a few more bus journeys the driver dropped us off on the side of a dusty road and pointed down. As we wandered into the village we were faced with locals´ stares that said ´How the hell did you get here? You´re gringos..´ We found a cabana to stay in on the beach which was the only place to stay and spent the day on the beach. The waves were a bit strong there and I wasn´t quite ready for them. One wave picked me up and spun me like a sock in a washing machine; then spat me back out bikini-bottom less. I grabbed them just in time to save a tiny bit of dignity in front of the boys. This spin cycle happened a couple of times to me and the others too. They stayed for more but I decided the sea had won and after long bus journeys I didn´t have the energy!
We witnessed a wedding reception there with a band so out of tune it was painful - but the whole village was there so it was interesting to share their experience.
New Life
Later in the evening we wandered to the turtle sanctuary. We helped the man there (Pedro!)to collect eggs that had just been laid by a lovely lady turtle...we took them to the protected area to bury them again. There were also two buckets filled with baby turtles that had hatched that day...we took them far away, released them into the sea and watched them scramble towards the sea. It was a really special experience to be a part of. No crowds of tourists - just us and the turtles. A few were confused and going the wrong way and one was almost eaten by a crab but Pedro saved the day. Marauta soon became a highlight.
The next morning was spent sitting on the side of previously mentioned dusty road in the blistering heat; listening to unusual Mexican music with machine gun noises...we were in pools of..umm perspiration after trekking up the hill with our heavy bags. Yuk.
The bus came and we made our way to Troncones. We stayed here for a day, stayed in Acupulco for a couple of hours going loco. We all parted here and Oli and I made our way to Puerto Escondido.
