Fri 14 Mar 2008
Day 181
Guadalajara, Mexico
I was getting close to finishing off the current book I’m reading, an Umberto Eco novel called ‘The island of yesterday’ which was a tour de force of brilliance but was slightly distracting in my quest to be a tourist. I must try not to read when I wake up as there is a natural tendency to fall asleep once more, which is of course what happened. It was afternoon by the time I woke and I wandered up into town to find something to eat. My car was sitting baking in the sun and I opened it up to find the new wax on my surf board had melted and dripped all over one of my camping mats :/
The city center isn’t very far so I decided against putting my bike together and just walked up. The traffic was pretty bad, but this being the second largest city in Mexico would only be eclipsed by Mexico City, a place I’m not looking forward to driving in, but shouldn’t be any worse than anywhere else, it would just be more crowded. People in the states told me that Boston had the worst drivers but I didn’t particularly find that to be true just as people in Mexico warn me that Mexico City is a nightmare to drive in, but I’m not so sure. I’m sure its only as bad as Bangkok or Kamapala in Uganda. More traffic means you go slower but also means its safer. Then you only have the problem with the cars around you. I’ve found Mexican drivers to be rather selfish though, the usual stupidity of third world thinking where everyone is looking out for number one. Yesterday I saw a ambulance sitting at the traffic lights with his lights flashing and no one moved. So either it wasn’t a real emergency or the driver realised that even using his siren wouldn’t get them out of the way. This is the scariest thing I guess, you can crash your car, get some help and the traffic still kills you on the way to hospital.
Surveys show that the vast majority of people consider themselves to be an above average driver but this is clearly impossible. I find it better to regard myself as a below average driver since I am regularly doing what is the most dangerous activity in my life it is better to regard the whole act of driving as a easy route to my own death and I would be better thinking I barely knew how to drive. Hidden oil spills, dogs on the road, blown tires, mechanical failure, gravel, dust and sand, huge potholes…. the list is endless and all waiting for an unwary driver to not be concentrating. Dying in a car crash is surely the stupidest and most pointless way to die as its highly preventable. Dying in a drink driving crash is far, far worse, but we’re in Mexico… It happens.
Maybe I should go shopping, Guadalajara has loads of stores and I think my current wardrobe is rather lacking. At least I don’t have to carry any clothes 
In the city center I set off in search of something to eat but I didn’t seem to have much luck. Everything seemed so… meaty! I wasn’t going to starve though I’m sure, and I’m happy to back into size 32" jeans once more, maybe I can get it down to 30" before the end of the year, something unseen for 10 years. Kira reminded me about a water/maple syrup/cayenne pepper/lemon juice diet with daily sea water enemas which would probably do it. 10 days of that and I’d be really able to eat like crazy for a few months :p If only I could find some food. I found myself in the wedding dress district which was clearly the wrong place for a hungry tourist although it was packed with hopeful looking girls all window shopping for their perfect dress, whether they had the perfect man to go with it was unclear.
Guadalajara isn’t a bad place to get lost searching for something to eat though, the architecture is stunning, with sunny plazas around every corner and neoclassic buildings towering overhead. Its still typical Mexico though with plenty of street sellers hawking their wares; beggars and buskers. I finally gave up and headed for Sanborns, a slice of the 50’s and somewhere I had eaten in before. I was disappointed to see that they give you Nescafe if you order coffee with hot milk, although I’m not sure whether that was a better option than the weak Americano coffee with those awful non-dairy creamer pots you get. What’s so wrong with milk?? I spent far too long reading but tempered my guilt with going through some Spanish-English flash cards and hopefully sticking a few more words to my dull brain. By the time I was onto the last chapter it was dark outside but it was still early and I hadn’t even eaten. I then realised that I had gone through a time zone and lost an hour, but this is hopefully the last one I will have to suffer. I really don’t like going east!
