We left the sand and swaying palms behind and closed out 2024 in one of Mexico’s largest cities. Guadalajara! Though there were some indigenous populations in the area, the first colonial settlement was founded by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, and he was a bit of a jerk.

The name of the city originates from Guzman’s hometown back in Guadalajara, Spain, which likely comes from the Arabic for river or valley of stones.

We flew in on New Years Eve and spent the first night exploring the streets of the city, which we found quiet and dark for the holidays… until we reached the center city. Surrounded by the Guadalajara Cathedral and ornate government buildings and museums, the historic plazas were cheerfully decorated with all the usual Christmas things. Bright lights were strung from lampposts. There was a lineup of Santas, each enclosed in a box containing an elaborate set, all competing for the Christmas photograph business. 

But this was Guadalajara, and in the middle of everything was a iron bandstand with a mariachi band filling the air with festive music. We stopped with the crowd and listened to a couple songs.

After a couple rounds to explore the plazas, we headed home to our terrace to count down to the New Year and watch the fireworks.

Day 1

There was a hush over the entire city. All shops were closed and only a handful of restaurants or cafes were open. After spending the holidays in Argentina last year, we assumed it would be similarly quiet on January 1. So we slept in then wandered around Colonia Americana neighborhood and the famous Chapultepec Avenue. 

Chapultepec is the throbbing core of nightlife in GDL so we predictably witnessed zero action in the middle of the day after a big holiday.

The tree lined streets were still pretty and the sun was shining. I think we both just enjoyed walking around in the dry air. Since the city sits at about 5,100 feet in elevation this is the high desert. We left the humidity behind in Playa!

We stopped for a beverage at Cervecería Chapultepec, a popular beer chain also known as La Chapu. They are known for their inexpensive drinks and drinking snacks. Beers and snacks cost just over a dollar, but their specialty is liter-sized drinks for around $4 USD. These range from beer cocktails like micheladas to the 13% alcohol frozen daquiris, all for the same price! The chain has spread across Mexico because of the consistent value proposition. It’s nothing fancy but it was an authentic Guadalajara experience!

Day 2

We spent the following day exploring the historical center of the city.

The east side of historic Guadalajara used to be delineated by a river, with poorer Indian settlements outside of town, across the river. In the early 20th Century, that river was covered and turned into a large boulevard, Calzada Independencia. The current city, now expanded, is still divided by that boulevard. The west side has nice bike lanes, housing and better streets. The opposite is true for the eastern half.

Market

Our first top was a visit to Mercado Libertad (also known as Mercado San Juan de Dios), Latin America’s largest indoor market. With more than 3,000 stalls at this three-floor metropolis, it was an overwhelming experience. Just about everything you can imagine is sold – food, leather, clothes, furniture, and even fancy Louis Vuitton knockoff saddles. If you ever come to Guadalajara on vacation, bring an empty suitcase! 

We window-shopped but since our bags are full, we opted to explore the culinary options. We split a specialty of the market, the torta loca. This is a hot and juicy pork-leg sandwich that was more than enough to share. It was chased down by a drink of pressed sugar cane.

Upstairs there are dozens of small food stalls, with various local specialties like goat birria and seafood, as well as Mexican-accented Chinese food and so much more. It would take a year to eat through the options at the market!

Hospicio Cabañas

Across the street from the market is the Hospicio Cabañas. Formerly a care center for children, elderly, and disabled, it is now an art museum. The main hall features fantastic frescos from José Clemente Orozco. Disabled himself, he painted these murals in one year in 1938.

The tour provided some insight but since Orozco didn’t talk about his artwork, it is up to the viewer to decipher the meaning. No matter how you interpret the murals, the paintings and building were fantastical.

Guadalajara Cathedral

While in Centro we visited the main cathedral, which dates back to its completion in 1618, although it has been rebuilt multiple times due to earthquakes.

Around the plaza are some nice buildings and old Spanish-style architecture.

Even without the holiday celebrations, the centro seemed more hectic than the other areas of Guadalajara. We were approached a few times by beggars and sellers. It was only a slight bother and just typical of tourist zones in cities across the world.

By this point in the afternoon a refreshing libation was needed. We headed to one of the most iconic bars in Guadalajara. 

Cantina La Fuenta

A bare-bones bar just off the main plazas, this establishment reminded me of the historic pubs in Pioneer Square in Seattle. There was a mix of locals and tourists scattered around the bar and the tables. The menu was on the wall behind the bar and was predictably dominated by tequila. We enjoyed a round and moved on.

Palacio de Gobierno de Jalisco

The building itself dates back to the late 1700’s and surrounds a stately courtyard. It has been used for multiple government purposes and is still the seat of state government for Jalisco.

But we were there for more art! This building contains the second of the three sets of Orazco murals in Guadalajara, painted on the walls in the 1930’s. One is about Hidalgo and the abolishment of slavery, and the other is about the revolutionary legislature. In both, the first message appears to be glorification, but looking further quickly reveals signs of strife and inequality. Orazco’s works are complicated and fiery.

La Ultima Lucha Pulqueria

On our way back to our cozy loft we stopped at a small pub featuring the combination of pulque and lucha libre (Mexican professional wrestling). 

Pulque is a frothy alcoholic beverage made from agave, but not distilled like tequila or mezcal. The bar specializes in pulque curatos, where the pulque is flavored for dozens of options to choose from. My choice was herba buena, an herb that reminded me of basil, but a little more herbacious. It tasted good and I was okay with the texture, but the drink overall was just a bit too sweet for me.

We went to bed fairly early since the next day we had to get up very early for a day trip out of the city.

Day 3

Tequila

We went to the bus station before the sun had even risen. We waited in the dark until around 7 AM when the bus loaded up and started bouncing down the road. It was a two-hour bumpy, curvy ride to the town of Tequila, and by the time we arrived I was feeling a little queasy.

A quick coffee in the town square perked me back up and I felt well enough again to start a tequila distillery tour.

We started our morning with a tour of La Fortaleza which we had booked in advance. It was the only tour we pre-booked as we had decided that we would wing the rest of the day in Tequila.  

Set on the edge of town, we buzzed the doorbell at the oversized gates. Once all the other group guests arrived, our English-language tour began. The property seemed to be divided into two parcels across a narrow cobblestone street from each other. From the meeting point we saw where the bottles are painted, labeled, and boxed up.

We then crossed the street and walked through the agave fields and up to a gorgeous viewpoint, then around to the back side of the property. We meandered down the ridge of the property to where the tequila is made.

Production halts once a year for staff vacation and to recondition the plant. Even with the busy cleaning process taking place, we were still walked through the various aspects of production.

Fortaleza is a small producer, but the family is not new to the tequila market. The founder is Guillermo Sauza, which may be a tequila name you are familiar with! The Sauza family sold off most of their holdings between 1976 and 1988. They lost the use of their last name but kept their hacienda and a small old distillery. In 2005 they reentered the market using the name of that distillery, Fortaleza. (The product is also known as Los Abuelos in Mexico, but they could not use that name worldwide.)

Fortaleza uses traditional distillation practices like crushing the agave with a large stone, called a tejona. The other thing that makes Fortaleza different is the care they take to the bottle design, which is one of the reasons their tequila is so expensive. They hand-paint a ceramic bottle stopper for each bottle, in the shape of an agave pina. It has become a bit of a collectors items for connoisseurs.

The tour ended in the cave on property. Fun fact: the owner tried to use the cave for barrel storage, but it was too humid and there were too many bats. It made for a great place to sit and sample their tequilas though! The tequilas were all good. The fuerte blanco was fragrant and full of flavor. I also liked the anejo, which featured rich complexity.

We stayed for lunch at Sandy’s Baja-style fish tacos then walked down the historic tequila route, which has a metal catwalk over the historic river that flows through Tequila town. 

Our next stop was for a brief taste at Arette, which is operated by the Orendain brothers, a young generation of another famous tequila family. Although we were not previously familiar with Orendain, we saw it all over Guadalajara, and it was often used as a mixing tequila. On the other hand, Arette is a small artisanal product that, like Fortaleza, is producted in the family’s ancient distillery. We split a few tastings of Arette, and enjoyed what we had.

Our route then led us to La Capilla, a bar that is the place to have a batanga cocktail. Another tequila we were not familar with in the United States is El Tequileno, but like Ordendain, it is a basic brand that is poured all over Guadalajara. And it is the brand most always used for a batanga, which is comprised of tequila, lime, cola, and salt. Lots of salt! There is a salted rim and some salt flakes put in the glass. I didn’t love all the extra salt but a cold cola drink was refreshing as the day got hotter.

The funny thing we noticed is that tequila cocktails in Jalisco tend to be localized. Towns will be known for their cantaritos, cazuelas, or the case of Tequila town, batangas.

We meandered back into the very busy town square and headed toward Jose Cuervo. We had already decided not to tour the facility, but instead to just get a round of margaritas on the scenic patio. 

The line to get into Cuervo was long and it was hectic so we just bypassed the line and walked through the store. After heading down a hallway, we reached a surprisingly tranquil patio. 

From Cuervo we walked back into the square, through the throngs of tourists, families, and lookie-loos. Vendors were selling all kinds of handicrafts and crap and people were sipping tequila drinks from plastic cups. We dodged the groups and walked to the outer edges of the city.

We finally arrived at El Beso for a menu of light food and a large selection of spirits. El Beso was recommended by the day’s tequila pourers and it happened to be near the bus station.

We tried some tequilas that were new to us, as well as sotol, a Tejano/Mexicano spirit distilled from the “desert spoon,” a plant somewhat related to the agave. It was the perfect bookend to the day. I really enjoyed wandering the city and would stay overnight to see the city after all the tour buses stop running all over the city.

We returned back to the big city on a newer bus with a better suspension system. We both napped and I avoided getting carsick.  

Day 4

Terrible Juan: Brunch in the big city

After a long day out we slept in a little and made our way to a hip neighborhood of Guadalajara for brunch, at a cafe called Terrible Juan. We got there just in time as a line started to form just after we sat down. 

My marzipan coffee had delicious chunks of candy in it. We enjoyed their special bacon and grilled-cheese sandwich, which is wrapped in bacon like a brick. I think we consumed a week’s worth of cheese in one sitting! We then meandered home and Corey did karate on the roof of our apartment. 

MUSA

To maximize our touristing time, we jetted out to MUSA in the afternoon, the Museo de las Artes Universidad de Guadalajara. It is only a few blocks away from our home base. It has temporary modern art exhibits but the main draw is the Orozco mural painted in the center of the building, the third of the three sets of Orozco murals.

After the touring the museum we grabbed a DiDi over to Esquina 9 La Birria, located on a small square with “nine corners”. The little square with a fountain was surrounded by cute, painted buildings and had a quaint European vibe. We enjoyed our birria de chivo (goat stew) and tacos, then washed down dinner with some cocktails at La Occidental Cantina, a spot with a great vibe, where we drank tequila on a Juliet balcony overlooking the street scene.

The weather was pleasant, so we strolled home via Calle Libertad, where we stumbled into La Cave Liberté, a French wine bar just a half block from our apartment. Owned by a French man who speaks many languages, we enjoyed glasses of refreshing wine and some conversations with locals. A loud crash of thunder rumbled overhead and a surprising shower began. The lights went out for a minute but the generator kicked in and the power was restored. This was good planning because La Cave has a refrigerator full of delicious French cheeses! We decided to head home when we heard a lull in the storm. This was a good decision, since as we fell asleep we could hear the rain and wind smash against the rooftop windows and move the furniture around on the upstairs patio. 

Day 5

We slept in and took the bus to the popular Mirador.

It was only a 20-minute uneventful ride on the bus-rapid-transit system to the far northern edge of the city. Guadalajara has expanded to the edges of the 2,000 feet deep canyon walls. The canyon has two names for the two cities it borders – Huentitan and Oblatos.

We decided against a hike and instead walked through the viewpoint park, spread across part of the canyon rim to allow for views. It was a dry, warm day so an icy drink was a refreshing stop. 

More than 3,000 feet deep, the canyon resembles a lesser version of the Grand Canyon, but much closer to civilization.

We got back on the same bus route and rode south to the Parque Agua Azul. We walked through this urban oasis, but the butterfly dome and aviary were both closed, so we relaxed on a bench to figure out what to do next. 

We walked a few blocks over to a great fish taco restaurant called Happy Fish. I’ve never had fish tacos that large. They were extraordinary!!

From there we were only about 15 minutes away from home. So we walked back and watched NFL football while waiting for the local night market to start. This was located a block away from our apartment, in the square in front of yet another great cathedral, the gothic Templo Expiatorio del Santísimo Sacramento. This church could be seen from the rooftop of our apartment, and the bells were our morning alarm clock.

The night market ended up being fairly small but glad we walked around a locals event. I tried Tostilotes: a bag of Tostitos salsa verde chips, sliced open and covered with corn kernals, sour cream, cheese, and sauces. It was crazy delicious! Man, I am really going to miss all the great food around Mexico.

We also enjoyed a large quesadilla from a restaurant across from the church. With full stomachs we went back home to rest and eventually sleep.

Day 6: Tlaquepaque

We rose at the usual time of 9 AM and grabbed a ride share to take us to the small pueblo of Tlaquepaque, just southeast of Guadalajara. Our driver had an older car and I could feel every bump in the road up-and-down each vertebrae in my achy back. Nonetheless, I was still excited to finally get to the famous handicrafts and artsy district. Tlaquepaque (pronounced with a mostly-silent “t”) was once a separate town that has been engulfed by the growing city.

We had intended to start our day at the ceramics museum but it was closed on Mondays. Oops! Our taxi had let us out in front of a spa. The prices were right and the reviews stellar, so we made an appointment for later in the day. Plus my back has been killing me thanks to the very firm Mexican mattresses so it seems everything was working out well.

As we strolled down the colorful pedestrian-only boulevard, shops were just opening up at 11 AM. We wandered in and out of boutiques admiring beautiful designs, nice leather products, and vibrant fabrics. 

Eventually we stopped at Casa Luna for lunch in a magical Mexican setting. The trees inside were draped with lanterns and flowers. Lunch was beautiful. Bubbling molcajete, creamy cilantro soup, and duck carnitas tacos. We over-ordered and everything was fine, but the presentation seemed better than the actual taste. Mexico has a high bar when it comes to tasty dishes. 

So we walked around more and went back for our couples massage. We found out that we goofed on the timing in a true lost-in-translation moment. We had heard the receptionist say our appointment was at “dos y media,” or 2:30. But it was actually “doce y media,” or 12:30! D’oh! Luckily, they were able to reschedule it for the simpler “cuatro” (4 PM), which we triple-confirmed.

So we went off to discover different tequilas. 

In addition to all types of crafts, Tlaquepaque has multiple tequila retail stores. The shops have literally hundreds of tequilas to choose from, and they offer tastings. We tasted a few blocks down at a retail store named La Cata. They have a more limited selection of tequilas but will taste just about anything at thier small bar. We tried mezcal, tequila blanco, and racilla (another agave spirit), and purchased an aromatic tequila blanco from 545, a brand that I have not seen for sale anywhere else. If you think blanco or silver tequilas are boring, then you’re drinking the wrong stuff. These can be so complex and interesting!

As we killed more time around the centro we gazed upon the gorgeous murals at the city hall building. Coincidentally, the painter and his family were sitting in the lobby, and told us a bit about his mural. It tells the history of Mexico and celebrates the revolution and abolition of slavery. Hidalgo’s portrait is part of the whale head, as he is the one that abolished slavery in Mexico in 1824.

After much exploration, we finally laid down for our couples massage. As I climbed onto the table I felt like a pile of bricks. But the technique was great and hit all the spots. Best part was the 60-minute couples session only cost $67 USD, including the tip.

Feeling relaxed, we visited the two churches and a drink at the Parian. This is a square enclosed by a number of restaurants and bars that sort of merge into each other. Very touristy, it is where mariachi bands work the tables with their booming voices and trumpets. We read a lot of bad reviews about shady restaurant practices and we had our guard up to not get ripped off. We sat down and had a round of drinks. We didn’t request a song but enjoyed listening to the mariachis play.

This was a highly anticipated tourist day and it did not disappoint. Colorful streets, amazing artistry, and beautiful heritage on display. It’s the romantic side of Mexico. 

To return to Guadalajara, we took an Uber to a taqueria in Centro called Los Faroles. Corey ordered the Guadalajara “drowned sandwich” specialty known as torta ahogada. I ordered beef barbacoa tacos and we shared a stuffed potato and a cup of consomé. With all that food and over five miles walked, we decided to just walk home and end the day. 

Day 7 and Beyond

After a week of playing tourists, we spent the next ten days housesitting in Zapopan and exploring that area.

We relaxed a bit more while taking care of the dog and cats, so here are some highlights from Zapopan.

Similar to Tlaquepaque, Zapopan was a separate city that has since been incorporated into the sprawl of Guadalajara. But it felt far away from the more urban environment of the Guadalajara neighborhoods like Colonia America.

Baseball

One of the best activities was cheering on the local baseball team.

The Charros play in the Mexican winter league, and were advancing in the playoffs when we were there. A highlight for Corey was seeing Billy Hamilton, a speedy player who had a 10-year career in the Major Leagues (through 2023). Predictably, he was a menace on the basepaths and led the league in stolen bases this year. The other highlight was the high-quality food and reasonably-priced drinks ($5 USD for two bottles of beer poured into a large cup).

Walks in the Centro

The dog we were watching, Diego, loved to walk, and would guide you to his favorite benches and other perches. With or without him, we enjoyed walking around Zapopan Centro at all times of the day.

Drinks

Good coffee was easy to find. There were multiple espresso bars throughout the city.

Zorra was a brewery with an excellent selection of their own beers, guest beers, and cocktails. Similar to the rest of Mexico, microbrews are priced like the United States. But there were interesting IPA’s and exotic stouts on the menu, which was a nice change from the macro-lagers that we had been drinking.

Axno featured the best collection of tequila that we saw in Jalisco outside of the retail stores. They did not come cheap, as a one-ounce pour averaged around $7 USD. The environment was clubby, with a nice and airy rooftop patio.

We also enjoyed happy hour at Cafe San Pedro, a local chain restaurant that served Corey a spicy margarita that brought tears to his eyes. We enjoyed the aperitivo hour while watching the foot traffic on the square.

Food

With our days numbered, we struggled to fit in all of the great eating opportunities in Zapopan.

The fish market was incredible, with a long line of retail fish counters. We bought oysters and some fish filets. With more time in Zapopan we would have made this a regular stop! There are also seafood restaurants at the market to serve up various oyster and clam preparations.

Torta Ahogada Camaron was a different take on the drowned sandwich, substituting in grilled shrimp and a bisque for the typical pork and tomato. It was different and delicious.

El Lechon Vaquero is a man and his cart. And on that cart is a smoker, and the man smokes ribs and chorizo. He cuts the smoked pork off the bone and serves up amazing BBQ tacos. The bones were offered to Diego, who was happy to partake in the leftover pork meat!

Finally, Enora was our stop for Thursday night live jazz and French-inspired food. The drink menu was a selection of mostly French wines and local craft beers. The food was great and the staff friendly. Although a casual and hip spot, we saw a lot of couples and groups who dressed up for the occasion.

What’s next for us?

We handed Diego, Nico, and Chloe back to their loving owners, downed a cup of coffee, and headed to the Guadalajara airport in the early morning. After clearing customs in Los Angeles, we zoomed to the pier in San Pedro, where we boarded the first of a series of 2025 cruises. The first one is 80 days, which will be the longest cruise we have taken together! Wish us luck!