I had to scour some "Best Cities in the World" reviews looking for Guadalajara because for the 8 hours I've been here, in the 10 square blocks I've walked, I have to say I think this city just kicks ass.I got up early this morning and hopped on a bus to PV, got off at the Central Camionera (the main bus terminal, which is near the airport, and not 15 minutes later I was on a first-class bus to Guadalajara. The ETN bus I took was very comfortable and was only forty bucks for the five-hour ride. There were some minor issues: the restrooms were sort of gross and only partially functional (no water for hand-washing), and the crappy headphones they provide let more sound out than I'm sure was getting into the ears of the guy behind me. I sure wish more people would get good in-ear or over-the-ear headphones that kept their music a bit more private. Come too think of it, it drives me nuts when people spend $200 on an iPod or $400 on an iPhone and use the crappy headphones that come with the thing. It's not usually an issue for me except on public transportation. Sorry... noise pollution rant over.The bus' route into Guadalajara was funny, and frustrating. I didn't know where the bus stop was here, but just in case it was close enough to walk to the hotel I programmed my handheld GPS with the hotel set as a mark. For about 30 minutes we stayed about 6 miles away from the hotel, coming as close as 3, but then ending up 6 miles away again at the central terminal. A taxi ride later, I ended up at the Hotel Morales in the city center. It's a restored hotel that they say the bullfighters used to stay at, and though I have an interior room with no view, it also has no street noise, so I'm fine with it. I want to be out on the city anyway and not hanging out in my room.
I started in the bar downstairs for a margarita and some guacamole y totopos (and to finish some work using the hotel's wifi), and then started walking. I was blown away by how crowded the sidewalks are - New York is as close as I can come for comparison, but I haven't been to that many big cities, I guess. I love the "walk" signs they have here; they're animated with a stick-figure guy who looks like he's running. And at night the streets have tiny lights to help distinguish the lanes. The streets are sparkly. Anyway, I walked from the hotel to a large square where there were kids playing and literally hundreds of people just sitting on the benches and talking to each other, enjoying the magic hour (it was sunset time but we couldn't see the sunset because of the buildings). I sat and journaled for a bit, then decided to relocate. I walked kitty-corner to yet another square, this one even bigger, with a cafe, people performing at the cafe, shops all around.... Sat and had a coffee and journaled some more, listened to the music, invited a couple to join me as they were looking for a table and I was getting the check anyway, and we chatted a little bit - as well as I could with my limited Spanish. I think I actually speak fairly well for a gringo. I know what I want to say anyway, and I seem get my point across without being ridiculed (too often). But it's the comprehending that gives me trouble. Sometimes I think it's easier to pretend I don't speak Spanish at all - then I can understand them when they talk back because they either speak English or they speak very slowly.
