Irapuato/ Guanajuato

Irapuato/ Guanajuato
“No Entiendo Nada”
(I don’t understand a thing)

Off to Irapuato Melanie and I went after a delightful week in Guadalajara in which I felt that I was able to understand most everything said by the hotel front desk attendant, waiters, 7-11 employees, the cashier at Wal-Mart (named Suburbia, but with Wal-Mart nametags), etc… Communication for me in Guadalajara seemed easy for the most part. I could order food, ask for the bill, count, ask for the bathroom, ask directions, and accomplish many other simple direct tasks fairly well. I wasn’t exactly asking about anyone’s life story but I thought I was doing well. Not really…

The bus ride was yet again very comfortable and very uneventful. However, I was forced to watch the dubbed version of Jumanji, which actually happens to be a slightly better movie when you don’t understand anything the people are saying in that god-awful script.

Not that this bus ride compares, but I am reminded of one we took several years ago in the Yucatan Peninsula from Chichenitza to Cancun. It was a 4 hour bus ride in 200 degree heat with a malfunctioning bathroom door latch causing the bathroom door to bang against my leg every 5 minutes, the person sitting on the pot left to say “Lo siento (I’m sorry)” as politely as possible while farting. To top it off, “Small Wonder”, the most ill conceived sitcom in the history of sitcoms, played the entire journey on the televisions at top volume. That was definitely the worst mood I’ve ever been in while traveling. Melanie will attest to that. Hopefully I don’t come up with a worse story on this journey.

So, returning to our current trip, we arrived in Irapuato. We gathered our bags, guitar, and box o’ books and called my sister-in-law’s mother’s sister’s son to come and pick us up at the bus station. My sister-in-law (Isela) had set it up to have him pick us up and show us around a little bit. As it turns out they were all more hospitable than we could have ever imagined. After showing us around town a bit and getting a bite to eat at the Wal-Mart restaurant (named Patron’s, but with Wal-Mart nametags), the nice young lad named Mauricio, brought us back to his house to chill and watch Mtv until his family arrived home from their respective works. He spoke a little bit of English very shyly but better than he gave himself credit for, so I was able to have about 2 minutes of conversation with him. The rest of the time he spoke Spanish at a clip of about 100 WPS (words per second) which Melanie understood perfectly, but which I, even if he had been speaking to me like I was an American talking to a Japanese tourist, would not have understood. I was starting to fade into communicative darkness. He and Melanie talked about many things and had a few good hearty laughs, I’m sure probably at my expense.

The family all arrived home and we were expecting to say hello, maybe go out to eat, then get a ride to the place we were expecting to stay, at Isela’s father’s house. They, however, wanting to show us a good time (even though I think we were all tired, us from traveling and them from working all day) decided to take us out to the local fair that happened to be in full force that week.

When we arrived back at their house a few hours later they invited us to stay the night at their house, which by the way was a very nice home, and the two brother’s even gave us their beds to sleep in. I, of course, simply nodded and said “Si” whenever anyone said anything to me, then asked Melanie for the translation when no one was looking. I could tell by their vocal intonation/ body language, however, that they were extremely happy to accommodate us and were amazingly hospitable people. We slept well and in the morning their mother had breakfast ready. Mystery meat tacos, refried beans, and pickled jalapeños aren’t exactly my favorite breakfast entrée but it was a grand gesture. After breakfast they gave us a ride to Isela’s father’s house.

Isela’s father is currently in the U.S. but his wife (Marcela) stayed to watch over their house and their things. Her daughter, Natalie, also lives here, and is the most precious 4- year-old little girl I think I have ever met. Marcela immediately showed us up to our bedroom and gave us keys to our bedroom and keys to the front door. I cannot overstate the hospitality that she showed us from the first minute she met us. She bought food and cooked for us every night the first week that we were here. We also went out with all of them to the fair and had a great time once again. This time though we watched the rodeo, complete with bull riding, horse tricks, and even some drunk, stupid human tricks. It was a blast. I still did not understand a word anyone said and was as quiet as a mime. I did, nonetheless, communicate perfectly with 4-year-old Natalie, so we become good friends very quickly. While Melanie is having in-depth conversations with all the adults, I’m at the kid’s table with Natalie making animal noises, juggling, and crossing my eyes to great cries of glee, which is perfectly fine with me.

We stayed for a week in Irapuato, and then decided to take a 4-day side trip to Guanajuato. It was about an hour bus ride (sans box-o-books hooray!). Once at the bus station we grabbed a taxi that brought us to the main part of the city. The last bit of the car ride was amazing – a tunnel that plunges into a mountainside and ends up being an extensive network of roads inside of the mountain. It seems to go on forever and the walls and ceilings look as if they were freshly dug. In fact, as we drove through there were workers wearing miner hats digging new tunnels or doing maintenance. The dumb thought actually crossed my mind that this is where they took tourists, into the center of the mountain. Then we emerged out of the darkness and into the beautiful city.

What an outstandingly beautiful city Guanajuato is. The center of the city is set in somewhat of a valley, the amazingly colorful houses rising above it in layers into the surrounding hills. The mountains and hills in the distance are some of the most picturesque I have ever seen. The city overall is extremely photogenic. There are hundreds of years old buildings, cathedrals, and theatres that are absolutely spectacular to look at. The town also seems to be an epicenter for gorgeous people as well. Here’s a good example:

We stayed in a luxurious historic hotel in the center of the city. On our day of arrival we walked around a tiny bit, ate at a cute little café, then went to sleep in our plush king sized bed. The second and third days we were way more industrious, hiking up the very long and steep hill to a statue called the Pipila. The view from there was breathtaking. We ate at a nice restaurant that night and took in some free salsa music in the center rotunda stage of the main courtyard while watching the old-timers dance around like teenagers. There were about ten mariachi groups waiting to be hired by people at the surrounding restaurants so we sporadically would see their great performances as well.

The next day we hiked more and went to several museums. Our last stop of the day was the Museo de las Mummias (The Mummy Museum). Wow, this place definitely gets the creepy award of the trip so far (even over the corpse in the church in Guadalajara – see previous blog). There were about 50 corpses in glass cases in this place, mummified with some of the freakiest facial expressions ever. It was truly a catacomb with about 15 different rooms winding around like a maze each room sickeningly creepier than the next.

It was kind of weird taking pictures of all those dead people, but I felt better after exiting and seeing the mummy gift shop with all the mummy postcards and the dudes selling the mini-mummy stuffed dolls for the kids to take home (yes, there were a couple of five or six year old kids walking through this place while we were there, not freaked out at all. I would have been crapping my pants at that age – I did a little anyways, shhhh…)

After the mummy museum we ate at the theme restaurant next door called “Mummy’s home cookin’”. I would highly recommend the entrail enchiladas, however, stay away from mummy’s maggot mole.

Just kidding!!!! There’s not really a restaurant but there should be.

We actually took a nice stroll through a beautiful cemetery afterwards, then hiked back to the main plaza, and ate a great dinner at a fancy restaurant. There was live music yet again, this time orchestral style, which we sat and enjoyed from a nearby park bench until we were ready for bed. By the way, I would highly suggest taking a valium before sleeping after visiting the mummy museum unless you want Tales From the Crypt nightmares all night. ------------------------------>

The next couple of days we mainly strolled around the city taking photos of the locals and students, trying not to look too totally touristy. We had an incredible time in Guanajuato and I would highly recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Mexico. We packed up our things on checkout day and bused it back to Irapuato where we will be staying for another week before leaving for Mexico City and where I am sitting as I write this entry.

Today I just practiced my guitar, played a lot with Natalie (she loves Elmo), and we took a trip to the town center so Marcela could buy Natalie some new shoes. It’s a tough life, but someone’s gotta do it right? By the way, I am almost fully communicating with Natalie now – she’s taught me a lot, but there’s a long way to go.

Everyone (not just my mother) please feel free to leave comments. I love to read the feedback and it gives me the opportunity to hear from all of the people that I miss so much.

Thanks,

Chris