Mexico Journey 2010

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Last December in 2010, I visited Mexico for the first time. My trip was a happy balance of typical American tourist activities, and Mexican tourist activities.

First Stop: Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 
(click for photo diary)

I first landed in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, where the main activities included, sleeping until noon, bobbing in the ocean for a few hours, taking a nap, waking up at 9:00 pm, and drinking and dancing until 2:00 (sometimes 4:00 am). As I lay on the sand beaches with my friend, I expressed my contentment by saying, "this is the first real vacation I've ever had."

When I travel, I usually spend my time frantically running around some urban metropolis, trying desperately to see and do everything I planned. 

No so in Puerto Vallarta. My only to do list was to sample every Mexican cocktail and eat my way through the food carts. I had an abundance of free time on my hands and absolutely no schedule. 

It was awesome.

Second Stop: Guanajuato, Guanajuato

(click for photo diary)

Next we boarded a luxury bus and journeyed six hours into central Mexico to the region of Guanajuato. 

This was my friend's natal home, so I feel like I got to experience Mexico very authentically in this city through him. The city of Guanajuato is also a very popular tourist destination, especially for Mexican tourists. Many of the tours I found were only in Spanish, and the people I encountered spoke little English. It was a very old and colorful town, though I don't think I'll be spending another six hours on a bus to go back.