On the advice of many new friends, we left Guadalajara and headed for the hills. We camped one night back in Ajijic, where still more canons and bells sounded through the night per the Fiestas de Otubre. I think at one point during the darkness of the maddeningly irregular tolling, I turned to Juan and said, “We’re never coming here again.” They do, however, have one of the nicest skateparks I have ever seen.
I love the mountainous area of Jalisco. It is so cool and pastoral and beautiful wildflowers grow everywhere–purple, white, yellow, gold, and red. We spent two lively nights camped right on the main square in Tapalpa.
From there, we investigated the nearby Las Piedrotas.
Our big adventure was finding the elusive Salto del Nogal, a waterfall that took us an entire day to get to, simply because clear directions were hard to get and the road was bad, so we ended up following random signs to nowhere. When we finally came to the end of the road, we didn’t find the waterfall, just three guys standing next to a pickup truck in the shade. One of them became our guide on the tricky hike down to the falls.
Milo absolutely loved the walk, which included cool cliff caves and a chamecuaro tasting, courtesy of our guide of few words.
It was, in short, a lovely few days in Tapalpa. Thanks for the recommendations, Bob, Ana & Juan Pablo, and Argentine papeleria guy!
In gastrointestinal news, I continue to play host to some persistent amoebas. Mexico is a sad place to not be able to eat.
And on a closing note, this is lovely downtown Guadalajara, which we did not spend much time in at all. Because of Amoebas. The end.
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