On day 8 it was time to leave Sayulita even though nobody ever wants to (Nickname: STAYulita because people always extend their stays). So the day was focused on the organization of the first bus ride. After a healthy breakfast this day, I walked to the bus station to clarify everything in person.
We were first afraid, that the bus trip to Guadalajara was more than 7 hours but luckily the guy from the car rental (Which would have been 320 USD) recommended us to take the VallartaPlus bus company, which offers a 4 hours direct bus for 690M$ (so like 28€). The ride was quite expensive because they have to pay high highway tolls. After having a kind of farewell lunch with many of the people from the hostel, we went to the bus station and the bus was surprisingly luxurious. Huge seats, to lay down, with full multimedia systems (unfortunately only in Spanish) and even separated toilets for men and women in the back. So it was a very comfortable bus ride and we were easily able to sleep s well.
Arrived in Guadalajara, we got an Uber which brought us from the Zapopan bus station which is about 25min west of the city center to the hostel. Since it was the first time taking an Uber, we were very surprised about the cheap price. 80$/3,30€ for the 25min - 10km ride was astonishing.
Arrived at the hostel, we unpacked our stuff and went out to find food. We stayed again at Selina Hostel, which is located in a quite tall building in Guadalajara. It has a huge rooftop on the 8th floor which is unfortunately not used during the day, but they got some parties. In addition, they have a cute library with boxes to chill in and a big coworking space. But for me, the social area was kinda missing.
It was already late evening, so we followed the hostel's recommendation to go to a nearby Korean restaurant (UMA UMA). First, we had to wait 45min to get a table but used it for strolling around Plaza de la República. The food itself is really good, but our eyes were bigger than the stomach and I directly fell into a food coma.
On the next day, a Sunday we went out to explore the city. The amazing thing about Sundays is, that Guadalajara closes down all streets in the center for car and bus traffic, so all people are out on bikes and the city offers a loooot of activities on the streets and squares, like Rope Skipping, Streetball courts, Soccer courts, Tennis, HoolaHoop, etc.
Did not expect a central American city to be that active :D
So I was forced to jump the rope that two guys were handling (See the picture to understand what I try to explain!). And afterwards, HoolaHoop, during which I almost totally broke my glasses. Probably I'm not made to spin the hoop around my face. Well, glasses are still working, but the frame is broken at two points - congrats Timo.
Afterwards, it was time to find the birthplace of most likely theee Mexican drink - TEQUILA. We took a bus for like 2h for 120$ to go there. We went to the Algarve fields, to take pictures and see these plants, the tequila is made of.
The town center of Tequila is quite busy with tourists and weirdly designed tourist buses in the form of tequila bottles, barrels, sombreros, and others, but still really colorful, cute, and worth a visit. As there are in every city the city signs in the center, we wanted to take a photo, but in Tequila there was a queue for like 10 minutes waiting to get a photo and some smart business-minded kids taking photos of you with your phones like professionals, making some money from the Insta-tourists (find one on the picture laying on the ground taking photos). Later we planned to take a tour to see the tequila production process at Casa Orendain Tienda Centro, which was recommended to us, but appearing at their plant 15min out of the town, they told us, the English speaking guide is not there this day but offered us to try their tequilas instead. So we ended up drinking us through different aged Tequilas and some mixtures like coffee taste tequila, which was amazing, but too expensive to buy. In the evening we left Tequila, so totally fine for a half-day trip.
Back in Guadalajara, I went to Tomate Taquería and got the Tomate Especial, which is mainly an assortment of meat topped with cheese and with lots of salsas provided. It was tasty but heavy. But for 140$ it was a proper and tasty dish and the restaurant is recommendable because also really local and you might wait in line for a table. On my way back to the hostel I ran into Lea, which I met earlier at the Check-In already, who was full of energy and really sympathetic. She was just on her way out with a Mexican friend, so I joined. In the first bar, we had Cazuelas, which should not be mixed up with a popular Mexican dish, which is named after the same cooking pot, the drink is served in. It is a refreshing, light, Tequila based drink. The liqueur is mixed with the juice of grapefruit, orange, and lime and topped with ice and slices of the same fruit. I loved it and will try to get it more often in Mexico, even though it is kinda typical for Guadalajara. We also got a Mexican game called Cubilete, which is based on 5 dice and a cup. The dices represent Poker cards and you need to try to roll the dices to get the best 'hand' with a maximum of three tries. Afterwards while switching bars, we met some other Europeans, the others already knew and we went to Peter Brown Bar. This is a nice bar, which normally offers a rooftop, which was not open on this day. We still had a nice evening/night, with some beers and continuing the game.
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