Spanish School in Tepoztlan (Part 1)

It has been quite a long time since our last post and we have about 6 posts staged and ready to go out. We just got internet coverage again after a very long dry spell, so hopefully you will see many posts hit today and tomorrow. We are back at sea- Yea! And enjoying great sailing and reef diving. But, more on that later...let's catch up on what we have been doing for the past 30 days...

Last month, we put Mangas in a marina in Mazatlan and headed inland for Spanish Language School. We found an outfit in Tepoztlan, in the Mexican state of Morelos just south of Mexico City. The school is in the mountains outside of the state capital of Cuernavaca and the area is regarded as "Eternal Spring" for their year round Spring-like temperatures. It was quite a shock to the system after the hot humid days in Mazatlan. But, more on that later. 

First, we had to get there. That meant an 8 hour bus ride to the city of Guadalajara where we could spend the weekend visiting an old family friend, and then a second 8 hour bus ride from there to Cuernavaca.

The bus lines in Mexico are very nice with some offering "Executive" or "Premier" class seating with tv screens on every chair, meal provided, etc. The ride from Mazatlan left at 11:30 at night and the ride was very uneventful. There are usually one or two stops at different terminals where you can stretch your legs, buy a refreshment or a coffee and use the bathroom (though there are men's and women's toilets on the bus). The terminals are very clean and bright and safe and we found that the class of passengers ranged from working class to executive businessmen and everything in between. On every ride we have taken, I have found several fellow passengers who are very concerned that we understand what the driver is saying, how to navigate the terminal stops, what to do at any military checkpoints we might encounter, etc. Between their broken English and our broken Spanish, we have never had a problem understanding each other. The kids are, of course a big icebreaker and quite a spectacle as the three little toe-heads scamper onto the buses. We have not seen any other gringos on these buses yet, so they absolutely get noticed.

Our destination was Zapopan, a suburb of the greater Guadalajara. Our friend Karla once cared for Reid, just after he was born, when Mike and I were both working. She was in her early twenties at the time and has since finished college and now teaches English to elementary students in Zapopan. 

Karla and kids in a square in Telaquepaque

Our first excursion was to Telaquepaque. A beautiful old town within a city, this area has many famed galleries and shops that feature everything from old world craftsmanship of iron and wood to modern art creations of glass and steel. Our favorite art gallery was Bustamante's where his whimsical pieces come in all sizes and different mediums. I am a real fan of his work and really fell in love with his sculptures when we came across one of his most famous works on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta. His gallery in Telaquepaque extends to an outdoor garden space with a tranquil waterfall feature and lots of bamboo making for a very peaceful atmosphere. 

Bustamante art gallery in Telaquepaque

We had great day strolling through all of the shops, finding a lot of inspiration for our future adobe home build in Yarnell. We also encountered fun street scenes along the way. Traditional caballero dancers and fortune telling parakeets were mixed in among the street vendors selling fresca drinks of jamaica and rice drinks and others selling fried snack treats of small donuts and pastries. 

Caballero Dancers

Need to know your fortune? For 50 cents, the little bird in this cage will pick out your fortune card.

Families enjoying the weekend park scene. 

Karla found a street vendor that had pop rocks (the exploding kind, not the candy) and matches that popped when struck. The kids had a great time snapping the pop rocks to the ground and striking their matches....much to the chagrin of their dad. But, the folks in the park never batted an eye. 

Our next field trip with Karla would be to downtown Guadalajara...