mike odell
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El Grito
This is a Mexico in General report but Baja related!!
My esposa, mi nina, and I! Just came back from a 7 day trip to
the interior of Mexico. San Jose del Cabo , to Guadaljara, then Delux espress bus to San Miguel de Allende, No stops worth much, until San Miguel!
Purpose of this trip was to experience Mexican Indepence Day and the El Grito! Damn, was it worth the effort! I recomend this to any Baja Nomad, or
anyone else!!
Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajato, San Miguel, all of these cities are the center of Mexican History and are incredibly worth seeing!! All of these places
for you that don't know of them, are about 500 years old!
Churches, Cathedrals, homes, Ranchos, Water, tall grass,FAT
cows! Jackets at night, wow!
The El Grito: Was done at 11 pm, and my God, what a party!
I have never seen so many Patriotic People!! All waving the Mexican Flag, 1000's and 1'000's of people!! AND not one problem that I could see!! And I
had a birds eye view!!
Fireworks followed that lasted about 2 hours!! Incredible light show!!
Could go on and on but this already too long!
I may post more later if there is interest!
Anyway, for you all with the time and the inclination, visit the Center of Mexico!! Then kick back to Baja Time!!!!!!!1
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Dave
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mike odell
San Jose del Cabo , to Guadaljara, then Delux espress bus to San Miguel de Allende, No stops worth much, until San Miguel!
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Funny. I'm sure the folks in Guadalajara don't think you're worth much either.
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mike odell
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Dave in Rosarito
Hard to form an opion on places that the bus stops for less than 5 minutes, Didnt post this for a nasty ass reply, But thanks for your response, go
take your Vigara, find your goat, sleep well.
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bajajudy
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Well I dont understand the reference to Guadalajara but I was there for El Grito and it was quite an experience. 10's of 1,000's of people in the
square in front of the government house, almost all with flags and very few problems. I was a little alarmed when I got swept along with a group, I
am not a crowd person,
but everyone around me was in such a festive mood that I got over it. It is a wonderful Mexican holiday and the people of Mexico are very proud of
their independence and show it at these celebrations. I agree with Mike everyone should go to one of the big celebrations at least once.
Viva Mexico
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Don Jorge
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Any Pics? I remember when living in rural Baja the celebration that went on por el grito! I can only imagine what it must be like in the heartland
of the Revolution.
How cool you and your family made the journey!
�And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry
years. It was always that way.�― John Steinbeck
"All models are wrong, but some are useful." George E.P. Box
"Nature bats last." Doug "Hayduke" Peac-ck
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Oso
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One of my very first (celebration event) experiences in Mexico, within weeks of arrival in the D.F. as an 18 yr. old student- the big one in the
Zocalo with the prez- I think it was Lopez Mateos- and thousands of people.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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Braulio
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Yeah - the Zocalo's the place to be - I've witnessed 2 Gritos from a room at the Hotel Majestic - it's an excellent place to watch the celebration.
In fact even if it's not Independnce Day in Mexico I'd recommend the Majestic - it's kind of old but you get a nice view of the plaza - and watching
the Cadets raise the Mexican flag every morning at sunrise really gets the heart thumping... rooms go for about 80 bucks there.
Mike didn't miss much in GDL - it's become basically another DF - with better looking women maybe - imho.
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bajajudy
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I have to differ with your opinion of Guadalajara, Braulio. For those of us who live here, a city with all those trees is a welcomed relief and it
has become sophisticated enough to make you feel like you were in a true city without the smog, traffic etc of DF.
I love to go there and will be going again the end of Nov for FIL, one of the biggest book shows in the world. This show is open to the public on the
weekends and 1000's of people come to buy books. There are children sitting on the floor with books in their laps in every area of the convention
center, reading and smiling.
Anyway, my take on GDL. I, of course, am not interested in the babes but I did notice that they dress very nicely. My flipflops got the usual
stares and no one wears shorts, neither men nor women.
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bajaden
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Judy, I've always wanted to go to Guadalajara. Have you, or anyone else taken the ferry across and gone there. Is it a long trip, and is it worth
doing it that way?
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bajajudy
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I wouldnt even know how to get there from the ferry but the airfare is pretty expensive. The trick is to go to Mexicana and get a package deal. For
instance, on my upcoming trip we are paying around $450 per ticket with two nights free hotel. The airfire alone is almost $400. You can, of course,
stay longer in the hotel and the room rates will be lower if you book through your Mexicana package deal. If you decide to take the trip get in touch
and I can help you figure out which hotel is best. Many of the packages include downtown hotels which makes sightseeing on foot very easy. It is a
beautiful city rich in tradition. I went to a charreada there...there is almost always one on sunday....and it was one of the best afternoons of my
life.
This is a shot of an Orozco dome. There is so much art to see.
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bajajudy
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And this is the mortuary in one of the cemetaries. I had a driver for two days and went to every cathedral, church, cemetary, square....... It was
funny he had never been to a charreada so I invited him to join me and he had a blast.
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bajajudy
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Yes Pompano Guadalajara is becoming a big city with all the bad things that go along with that. That is why I told Bajaden to let me know what hotels
were available in the package deals so I can steer him into one in a nice area. The first time I went to GDL, I did a package and picked the cheapest
one. When I arrived at the hotel, I was horrified to see the surroundings. I went straight to the hotel office and got a safety deposit box and put
everything of value in there. I have very few pictures of those first two days as my camera was in the box.
After I started school, I hired a driver who watched my stuff when I was out of the car and I took hundreds of photos.
As with any large metropolis, you have to be alert.
I cant resist a couple more photos.
This is one of a group of sculptures done by an artist name Colunga. They are all chairs and people sit in them and laugh and have their pictures
taken.
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bajajudy
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One more
[Edited on 9-23-2005 by bajajudy]
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Oso
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pompano
I attended the university there for a brief year |
UNAM or U. of the Americas? I'm a U of A alum. I knew a guy named Roger there in the mid 60's well before '68, but he could not possibly have been
you. That Roger became a devotee of Hare Krishna and changed his name to Guru Das. I lived up in the barrancas- Cuajimalpa. Were you downtown? I'd
bet Lomas or Polanco.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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Oso
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Braulio
Mike didn't miss much in GDL - it's become basically another DF - with better looking women maybe - imho. |
I remember that aspect of what was (once at least) called La Ciudad Blanca, because the streets, sidewalks etc. were kept pretty clean- no garbage, no
grafitti. Don't know about now. Ajijic was already mostly retired gringos but RE prices hadn't gone insane yet.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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bajaden
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Thanks Judy and Big Fish. I will be going and whatever method of travel I choose I'll get in touch Judy and get educated. Thanks again.
Little Fish
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Oso
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Pompano, looks like I was a dropout before you were. The wife and I were actually in Portland, OR in 68 & returned to the D.F. after the
Olympics. Her cousin lives a few blocks from Tlatelolco. They hid a couple students fleeing the massacre. Last time I was there, they still had
bullet marks on the walls of her apt. bldng.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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Oso
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Yeah, I used to do dumb stuff like that too. Kept a Spanish-made .32 auto in my belt for quite a while. Got a cheap German-made knockoff of a Ruger
.22/.22mag revolver in an L.A. pawnshop for $25 once. Had it in my rucksack, hitch-hiking to the D.F. Traded it for a "little deuce coupe"! God, do
I wish I had kept that car. But, I drove it from the de effe to my wife's hometown, Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, where it promptly froze a piston. I sold
it as junk for mil pesos, $80 usd at the time, so I guess I made a profit. But, who knows what that '32 would be worth now if fully restored or made
into a hot rod.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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bajaden
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Funny you should mention that Pompano. About 5 of us were going deer hunting up around the Klamath river area. After being there a few days we decided
to go chucker hunting. I was driving a brand new toyota land cruiser with a hard top. The old style. One of the guys in the back was loading a pump
shot gun. Winchester 87, I believe. He pumped one into the chamber and it went off.
I about jumped through the windshield, as the gun was right behind my head. Blew a nice hole through my hard top. Why he put a round in the chamber is
beyond me. There are idiots in this world.
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