Guadalajara, PV, and Home

After New Year's in Puerto Vallarta we headed inland over the
impressive Sierra Madre mountain range to the big city of Guadalajara
(GDL).  A very old city with buildings dating from the sixteenth
century, Guadalajara is steeped in history.  We stayed in a little
hotel in the city's historic centre and spent our days exploring by
foot.  José Orozco's murals, in the former government palace and the
Instituto Cultural Cabanas, originally an orphanage, were a pretty
powerful sight, especially when explained by our flamboyant Mexican
guide.

The food in GDL was fantastic, perhaps as good as any during our time
in Mexico.  The city, although a charming place to explore for a few
days, is big dirty and the air is thick with raw diesel and gasoline
exhaust.

Before flying home we returned to Puerto Vallarta to Mark and Karli
Picketts' home for one final night of fine tequilas and beer.  On our
last day in we headed to the beach nearby and spotted a 3-4 metre
crocodile just off the beach.  Walking down the beach a bit we came
upon a volunteer run turtle release organization and were thrilled to
be handed two olive ridley sea turtles hatched just a few hours
earlier, definitely another of the many trip highlights.