
Fifty pesos each
buys a ticket on a 1st class Primera Plus bus and we're continuing
our trip around Lake Chapala. Scenery is lush
and easy on the eyes as we whiz past the beautiful countryside.
If you have ever
entertained the notion of traveling by bus in Mexico, take it from
us. It's easy! Reasonably priced and well-connected to most
destinations, why not leave the stress of driving to the expert?
Drivers stop regularly for food or bathroom breaks and if you have
luggage, place it in the stow away under the bus. Marking your
luggage in an identifiable manner will prevent someone from taking
it by mistake.
Then relax, sit
back and enjoy the view.

Small towns dot
the fertile landscape. We're headed through Jiquilpan (hee-KEEL-pan) before our
final push to Sahuayo.

Inviting markets
with fresh food and brightly-colored flowers are commonplace
everywhere in Mexico. We
made a quick stop here in Totolan to pick someone up.
Depending on how
long the driver stays at each stop, you could run across to the
market here and buy some fruit, nuts or other travel snacks. Be sure
to ask him how long he is stopping before you leave the bus!

Arriving in
Jilquilpan for a quick stop, here we see a man waiting for his bus
to come by. Especially with the sweatshirt, he reminded us of Sarge
from the Beetle Bailey comic strip.

Suhuayo.
With a population
of 60,000 and lying at an altitude of 1,540 meters, the word Suhuayo comes
from the Nahuatl language meaning turtle shaped pot.
Every Mexican
town, no matter how grand or how 'chico' has a plaza. Here you see
attractive stonework arches with the city's church in the distance.
Well trimmed ficus trees line the interior of the courtyard.

This sculpture is
a tribute to an indigenous dancer. You cannot see so clearly here in
the photo, but the vest-type coat he is wearing has a carved
rendition of the hundreds and hundreds of silver tube beads in rows
which chink together as he pounds his feet in the dance movements.
His huge headdress is normally quite colorful, edged in gold trim
with guidelines in his hands to keep it from falling off. We have
seen these dancers in parades and the weight of the hat they carry
on their head is astonishing.

A closer view of
the manicured gardens surrounding the pleasant plaza of Sahuayo. You
can see the back side of the indigenous dancer's headdress and see
just how large these are.

Ingredients ready
to be made into tacos and other delicious treats. Onions, jalapenos,
potatoes and chorizo are all cooking together here in a pot. Many
regional foods in Mexico are drenched in grasa. Packed with
flavor and creating the sensation of being full for little money, in
the 'olden days' when people could not afford much meat, animal fat
was highly prized. The recipes are still made in the traditional
manner.

This vendor sells
a little bit of everything, and a tricycle cart is the form of
transporting his wares. We were wondering if he could possibly pack
any more onto his bike?
The sight of
white wash on the bottoms of tree trunks is common all over Latin
America. Some say that it's just for decoration, 50-50 paint and
water. Others say it's lime and water mixed together to repel ants
and nasty insects from climbing the trees. If you look closely
into this photo, you will see the whitened bottom of the tree
trunks.

An Indian woman
selling nopales and flowers. Nopales are cactus leaves or 'paddles.'
The prickly spines are scraped off and then cut into strips. Packed
with vitamin C, these nopales are cooked or soaked and eaten as a
staple in Mexican foods. Cold with lime juice and onions it is a
salad. Cooked with melted cheese, spices and tomatoes it becomes similar to
a fondue.
Notice the
elaborate embroidery on the woman's blouse. This amount of
embroidery can take a month or more to complete. Often indigenous
people will sell their embroidered blouses, bags and tablecloths for
extra income.


Fantastic aged
Mexican queso!
We found this man
in an open air market where he was proudly tending to his handmade
cheeses. He spoke some English and we were surprised to learn how
many of the local residents had family working in Chicago or
Oklahoma. He gave us samples of his deee-licious aged product.
Similar to parmesan but bigger crumbles.

Various tequilas
are being offered here at this store for a decent price. We purchased a
bottle of the Hacienda Sahuayo, the second bottle from the left,
made in Sahuayo. It was both smooth and tasty. We like trying the
local flavors of everything.
Decent tequilas
are meant to be sipped straight or poured over ice. Cheaper tequilas
are used in blended drinks like Margaritas.

Very proud of
their City's product, this label was painted on a wall which we saw
as we were walking by. The 100% agave means that this tequila is
made 100% from the agave cactus. Cheaper tequilas will have lesser
quality ingredients mixed into it.

The No Name
Saloon.
Notice there is
no signage giving a name or stating what this place is. We spoke of this
cantina in an
earlier story. Hearing loud music with the
accompanying Mexican bar cries, it stopped us in our tracks.
We watched this older gentleman negotiate the swinging door with his
walker. Someone on the other side was kind enough to help him in.

Come join the
fun!
Music, and hootin'
Aiy-yaa-haa! is a form of male bonding and a playful way to
relax. When you put a six
piece mariachi band in a small place it gets loud.
Which is exactly the way the locals like their music.
Although we
ladies were welcomed in, Martha and I opted for an ice cream on the
plaza instead. The flavor I chose was Besa de Angel or
Angel's Kiss; An appropriate juxtaposition to the scene above.
The boys joined
in on the festivities, and were welcomed as if they had known these
guys for years.

The next day we
made a special effort to visit La Providencia Sombreros D'Avila
hat factory. World known for quality hats, Roberto, the owner, has
been making them since 1926.
So, why did we
come to Sahuayo?
For the Hats!
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