How to Make Tequila

This will seem like a strange post coming from me.  63 years without a drink, but I enjoyed seeing how it was done.  The girls confirmed that it tasted great.

Start with an Agave plant.

Chop all the leaves off.

Cut them in half.

Cook them a few thousand at a time in a pressure cooker until done.

Squeeze them in a 122 year old machine.

Down the conveyor belt.

To the stills.

Fermentation tanks.

Age for a few months or years.

Tasting time.

The good stuff goes into Cherry wood barrels.

Time to Head Home

We've enjoyed our six days in Guadalajara.  We've had fun exploring with my sister, Sara.  Friends Jim and Marie have purchased many new items for their condo.  Mostly we've eaten too much and enjoyed people watching.

Here are more photos.



Sunday is market day in Tonala.  There are thousands of vendors selling their goods.



From honey to cactus.

Following Sara.

Need nuts?

Or a radish?

Two happy old guys.

We all hop back on the bus tomorrow for the ride home.  Life is good.

 

 

Tonala

We've enjoyed our first few days in Guadalajara and Tonala.  The food has been great and the shopping is going well.  We've purchased two pieces of blown glass, one is our new dining room light fixture.  Pictures of our glass will have to wait until we get home.

We still have 2 1/2 days to continue our exploring and treasure hunting.

Our hotel is about 200 feet from the town square.  There are churches at both ends of the square.  They seem to be in a competition to see who can ring their bells most often, it goes both day and night. 

We've been enjoying all the food vendors.  Everywhere we walk we can find great food.  Many of our meals have been between $2.00 and $3.00.

Chicken dinner 37 pesos, under $3.00 and very good.





A family made our dinner the other night.  Grandma made the Sopas, Mom made the Gorditas and the daughter who spoke English served our meal.  Dad also helped around the food stand.  Goditas were 9 pesos each and we had a choice of about 10 fillings.  Peblano peppers and cheese was my favorite filling.  Dinner for four for around $10.00.

We had a great day wandering around Guadalajara.  We rode a public bus into the city and then spend the day hooping on and off a local tour bus.

Diego Rivera mural.

Just another door.

 

 

Enough for today.  Life is good.

Off To Guadalajara

Tomorrow morning we are taking the TAP Royal bus from Mazatlán to Guadalajara/Tonala.  It's been a few years since we have been there so we are excited to go again. The driving distance from Mazatlán to Guadalajara, Mexico is: 296 miles / 476 km.  It will take six or seven hours of travel East and South through the mountains.  We'll travel through 3 states and there is great scenery along the way.

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Guadalajara is a city of 4,300,000 and is the second largest city in Mexico.  At one time it was the capitol of Mexico and still has the historic buildings that are noted for their Diego Rivera paintings and murals.

We are staying in Tonala which is the arts and crafts center of Mexico.  I will be bringing home more blown glass.  It's not a "Want To", it's a "Need To".

The living room needs more blown glass.

I'll write more from Tonala when we arrive.

Life is good.

Tonights sunset from our deck.

Parade Faces at Carnaval

Yesterdays post only showed a few of  the photos from the first Carnaval Parade.  There was a second parade today that was only slightly shorter than the 5 mile parade we attended.  The low estimate of attendance was 220,000 people.  Of course the politicians said bigger numbers, even Mexican politicians can exaggerate.

Well here are a bunch of photos to enjoy.  Faces, floats and equestrian.

 

There were 31 floats in this years parade.  They come from all over Mexico to be in this parade.

 

And a few horses to end the parade.

 

 

 

 



The Carnaval Parade is a great experience.

 

Life in Mazatlán is good.