Día de los Muertos

Guadalajara had never once shut down since the start of the pandemic, but they decided to implement a full city lockdown as soon as the gringo showed up. At least I have a beautiful Airbnb with a spectacular garden and pool, so I shouldn’t complain too much.

Weather's not too bad either

Luckily, I had 10 days pre-lockdown to explore the city and get my bearings, including a trip to Lake Chapala to drink a “vampirito,” which is basically tequila and sugar in a bag.

High risk beverage for gringos

This excursion was organized by the little sister of my friend from Mexico City who happens to live in Guadalajara and was kind enough to take the gringo on a tour of this spectacular body of water.

Lake Chapala has the highest concentration of US expats in the world

No blog about México is worth reading without a deep dive into the food here. I live 2 blocks from the Mercado Alcalde, which has mountains of fruit everywhere and also really delicious fresh food stands. I’ve already found the 4 spots that will keep me fed throughout my stay here.

1) Juanito's – tacos

2) Biónicos – fruit cups

Fruit, fruit juice, yogurt, grains, honey

3) David's – birria

Birria: famous Jalisco dish of goat meat stew

4) Siglo XXI – breakfast

Molletes dulces con cajeta

Here are some final random highlights to conclude:

Spectacular Spanish architecture everywhere

"Carajillo" = Licor 43 and coffee for after meals

Delightful coworking space at my Airbnb

They canceled Día de los Muertos festivities due to the pandemic, so these little statues are all I got to see this year. Will be back next year for the real celebration!

My next post will have all the juicy "chismes" about my social life, so stay tuned!