05 April 2010 14:45
Making memories in Mexico
Discover the pride and sophistication of Mexico’s second biggest city, Guadalajara, and enjoy a visit to the home of tequila – a far cry from “drunken tequila slammers in London bars” says ANNA LEVY
travel@thesouthafrican.com
I tend to have a soft spot for the underdog and have often found myself drawn to “second cities”…capital cities always seem too brash, too sure of themselves, too loose and easy with their admittedly ample assets. Give me a Barcelona over a Madrid or a Melbourne over a Sydney any day.
Compared to macho Mexico City, the notorious B.I.G. of cities, Guadalajara would seem the ultimate underdog. And yet there is a sense of relaxed pride and understated sophistication here amongst the local Tapatia people which reveals no sense of playing second fiddle to the Chilangos (literally “chilli monkeys”) as they derisively call those from the capital.
Guadalajara has a lot to be proud of. It has given birth to some of the most quintessentially Mexican exports including Mariachi and tequila, and was home to one of the country’s most celebrated artists – the great muralist Orozco. I would challenge anyone not to draw breath at his staggering mural of the priest Hidalgo, a national hero in the fight for independence, who towers triumphantly over the main staircase of the Palacio de Gobierno.
Those on a musical pilgrimage to the home of Mariachi however might be disappointed. By day, aging troupes in faded brocaded suits sit around the Plaza de los Mariachis on plastic chairs waiting for a commission; while at night, the area takes on a distinctly seedier tone, with musicians waiting around on street corners to be picked up by drunken revellers for a song or two on their way home from the bars. I’ve been told many of them are even picked up in cars and taken back to parties; and that some offer more than their trumpet to the festivities...
Anyone with a taste for the strong stuff can’t miss a trip to the nearby town of Tequila. A rowdy tourist train called the Tequila Express will take you on a daytrip to visit the distilleries accompanied by jolly Mariachi players and plenty of liquid refreshment. It’s a beguiling ride through the blue fields of agave, the cactus used to produce tequila, which coat the hills of the Sierra Madre like neat rows of tentacled sea creatures.
The town itself is a pretty old-fashioned Mexican pueblo whose quaint streets belie the lethal liquor produced here. Sampling the vintage, full-bodied anejo variety is a big surprise to those of us whose experience of the stuff is limited to drunken tequila slammers in London bars.
Despite having such strong links to its national heritage, Guadalajara doesn’t make a big song and dance about it. Tourism posters for the city are much more likely to focus on the beauty of the local women, famed for their big Tapatia eyes, than on the city’s cultural attributes.
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Akumal, a tourist town south of popular Cancun, is the perfect place to discover shipwrecks, sacred wells and sea turtles writes MACON GRAVLEE, whether you’re an experienced diver or not.
Akumal is a tourist resort located 100km south of Cancun, between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, with a tiny native population of 1,198. The name “Akumal” means “place of the turtles” in Maya language. Surrounding bodies of water and beautiful, white sandy beaches provide the ideal setting for many sea turtles’ breeding grounds.
Akumal was established in 1958 mainly as a location for scuba divers to experience the many species and types of turtles which call the area home. Akumal Bay and Half Moon Bay provide optimal opportunities to survey the land and underwater life during diving tours and expeditions.
For experienced divers, local dive shops offer a variety of different diving trips to the 30 reef sites which include shipwrecks, cenotes (sacred wells in Maya) and caverns and a breathtaking amount of marine life that you can view. The dive shop makes all the arrangements and you can lease a scuba tank and regulator, mask, flippers and anything else you want.
You can book an all day diving trip or if you are more adventurous, you can visit the caves, caverns and cenotes that make Akumal unique. Travellers from all over the globe come to explore the cenotes and caves of Akumal and this small village is truly a diver’s paradise.
Dive shops also teach courses so you can get certified to dive in open sea. They teach all levels from resort course to advanced cave diving. These PADI Certified Instructors will guide you through the process of certification so you can enjoy exploring the wonders of the reef that awaits you in Akumal.
One of the easy dive sites which is very popular is Cuevas de Tiburones. This site features rock overhangs which provide an optimum sleeping spot for nurse sharks. Las Redes offers an array of marine life, schools of fish, barracudas, stingrays, lobsters and sea turtles. Yal ku is a popular feeding site chock full of Elkhorn coral structures, tunnels and lobster.
Other popular shallow dives are found at Dick’s Reef and Motorcycle Reef. Motorcycle Reef is named so for the 15 year old motorcycle which is now covered with living coral and plankton that protects local ocean life.
Deep divers can enjoy an afternoon at Tzimin Ha, which features parts from a fishing boat wreck. Dives of 30 metres deep are located at Trigger Fish, which is a favorite deep dive spot for locals. Here, huge patches of coral contrast with the sandy white bottom with various forms of tropical fish providing a colorful array of rare beauty.
Xaar Beach and Gonzalo’s Reef offer feeding grounds for several different species of sea turtles for a once in a lifetime diving experience.
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