They checked out of the hotel and left their stuff in our room and we went (window) shopping and, a little while later, for lunch in the square. It was fun to walk around with no agenda, to just relax knowing that we had nowhere to be, nothing to ride, nobody that was wondering where we were. Motorcycle riding is fun, exhilarating, exciting and breath-taking. But it is also dangerous and scary, Mexico notwithstanding. One of the attractions of motorcycle riding is that it IS scary; think about riding on a ride at the midway: the reason you do it is because it is scary. Motorcycling is like that and even though the people that do it love it, it is also a treat to have a break from riding when the opportunity presents itself; both Nan and I have experienced it dozens of times. So to have a day where there is NOTHING, no responsibility, is great.
When we were having lunch at the central square, we saw Lynn and Eric walking one of Lynn's dogs, Lucy. They joined us and Lynn invited us to have dinner with her, John and Eric that night. The irony is that we were going for dinner at Alex's: a Canadian owned, Italian restaurant in Mexico.
That is pretty much the end of the trip. On the flight home, we were at the airport in Guadalajara in plenty of time but getting to Houston, there was a mere one hour and forty minutes to make our connection. Sounds like a lot of time but there was only four border agents on duty for several plane loads of people and we barely made our connection. We only did because we RAN from customs to our departure gate, where the plane was already half boarded by the time we arrived. We ran straight into line and boarded.
In conclusion, I would say that I had several pre-conceived notions busted while we were in Mexico. I recognize that some reading this blog will have been to Mexico and know all about it but as a Mexico newbie, I had a pleasant surprise about what Mexico has to offer.
Certainly, many people worried about what crime we might encounter, like "the cartels" or being robbed while out riding. I don't want to suggest that I don't think that happens but we didn't see anything that would suggest there was undue risk in the areas where we were travelling. Stories we heard about travellers running into travel were often situations where there were one-off circumstances, such as people travelling on the highway at night. Like anywhere, I think the idea is to mitigate risk by chosing places and timing wisely. We found the people incredibly friendly and helpful, as well as generous. We had only great experiences and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Then, there was the issue of riding in Mexico. What had initially appeared to me to be "chaos" was in fact, "organized chaos". That Mexican drivers are attuned to passing, pulling over, seeing motorcycle riders, slowing down for topes and watching for people turning gave me confidence that, as wild as it looked, it was really far better than dealing with people texting, drinking coffee, putting on makeup or trying to be "first" in line. I still wouldn't drive in downtown Edmonton any sooner than I would drive in downtown Guadalajara.
It wasn't the best place in the world we have visited, but is has a great deal to offer. I am pretty confident in saying that I expect we will repeat our experience there, going back to motorcycle at some time in the future. Between Nan and me, we have well over 1,000 pictures; feel free to contact us to see a few more.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for our next motorcycle adventure. Our plan is to ride around Lake Superior in September.
Howi
A few more pictures, courtesy of Nan Spragins
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