I woke up to my first day in Guadalajara and couldn’t keep any food or water down. Getting sick is worrisome in my situation. But after a day of not moving too far from my bed, I finally felt it things turn at 2am after a 3 hour nap. Since people were partying right outside my window and I was well-rested, I decided to get up and do my taxes. Such an old man. But hey, those taxes are done.

And now to actually doing things. I was well enough Sunday so I went for a walk down to the historic center. Here are pictures I took of things.

I went to Instituto Cultural Cabanas to see some art. Checkmark.

Then on Monday, after a day of work, I went biking with a surfer from Iowa. He’s the only one, I assume. We rode around a lot of the NW of the city, and it was a good way to get a feel for everything.

Upon return, there was a public salsa party going on in the median of Chapultepec street. Pretty impressive dancing too. Like, a couple hundred people in their teens/20s/30s probably. Kind of neat actually.

And in the square the other day there were a lot of locals using the public spaces too. Just sitting around, or hula hooping, or having picnics, or riding bikes, or playing basketball. It was rather refreshing and unusual that people just kind of came out in the community and used the space.

But the roads and sidewalks are rather broken and the buildings are a bit dirty and run down, the overall facade a city that cosmetically has no desire to escape it’s industrial past despite its emerging cultural vibrancy. Charming, but they could use a few architects and landscapers. And the air just feels dirty.

On the weekend, Chapultepec turned into a little street fair. Like crafts and stuff. And a weird owl that I took a picture of.

So yeah, Guadalajara is nice enough. But it’s a city of 1.5 million people, and I’m not huge on cities. After a week of kind of coasting, I decided to go to Mexico City, which has 20 million people.

I got a legit AirBnb for a week in a nice area. Cafes nearby, little parks to run in, good wifi, a kitchen – the kind of place where I could survive for at least a week without getting too angry, I hope. It even has the exact same painting I have at home above the bed, so it can sort of feel like home.

But on my first day the English girl from Yucaton was going to and staying in Tepoztlán. I didn’t know what it was, so porque no?

It actually turned out to be a cute town. Huge market where they were making very authentic Mexican food that everyone loves. This was the main street that led to the hike to the Pyramid.

The actual hike was more strenuous than I expected. 40 minutes walking uphill (from down there) just on rocks – no friendly paths along the way. There were a lot of vacationing locals making the climb with surprising vigor, from little kids to old people, from dress shoes and slacks to a “Spring Break 1984” shirt a kid was wearing that I was tempted to trade for.

The actual pyramid at the top has some kind of spiritual significance. Something with a rabbit I think. It was just a thing with a nice view, really.

And then I made my way back to my home in Mexico City (it’s about 1 1/2 hours by train). A long walk back, and I’m ready to crash. I intend on it being a solid work week from here, and I might extend my stay a little bit as long as the first few days go well. I’d like some consistency for the beginning of the month where I know I’ll have good working conditions.