I just poked my picture directory to see what would come out for this post. What you see is the raw ingredient for tequila. I took these pictures when we were in Guadalajara Mexico in 1995. I spent a lot of time there during my life in the corporate world. I never found a more gracious people than the co-workers families I visited while there.
Let’s finish up the tour of my time in Mexico with photos of the people and the places I lived. I haven’t been back to GD since 1995 when these pictures were taken but I hope to return there again some time soon. The first picture is of my wife walking the beach in Manzanillo. It is one of my favorite pictures of her.
This post is pictures of the central area of Guadalajara. There are numerous large public squares with many local vendors. These pictures were also taken in 1994 and 1995.
Mexico is about 90% Catholic and there is a grand church in almost every area we visited. Here is a sampling of those buildings… Again these pictures were taken in 1994 and 1995 in and around the Guadalajara area.
Let’s do a couple of other posts with my pictures of Mexico. This time we will concentrate on Tequila 
We were very privileged to have a private tour of the tequila plant by one of the owners! These pictures were taken in 1995.
During the 80s and 90s I made quite a few trips to Mexico, particularly the Guadalajara area. I will spend the next few posts on some of the pictures from that area. See my other blog www.Waiting4God.net to see some discussion on these experiences. Since I have many pictures of GD this will probably be the first of many posts on the area.
I spent quite a bit of time south of the border during the 1980s and 90s. As was typical of most U.S. corporations the company I worked for displaced factories from the U.S. to that area. Of course all those factories are pretty much shut down now and moved to an even cheaper labor market in China. But that is another story.
The area I visited most frequently was in Guadalajara Mexico. I believe that Guadalajara (or GD as some call it) is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever visited. It is about a mile in altitude and has a pretty constant temperature in the 70′s F. Yes, GD seems to get frequent rains but it is generally here and gone quickly. That is expect for the monsoon season. GD like Mexico City has a large poor population but there are also considerable affluent areas around the city too. My wife and I lived there for a few months so we got to know the area pretty well. We spent several weekends going to areas outside of the city. The home of Tequila was one of those area. We also ventured out to the Pacific coast for a long weekend in Manzanillo.
The locals who are worked with there were also some of the friendliest I have known. Since GD is not a big tourist site English was not spoken in many areas. One of the local traditions is to “pop” someone on their birthday. Thanks to a friend, as shown by the pictures here I was popped at the Guadalajara Grill. What they do is they sneak up behind you while you are eating at a restaurant and pop tequila down you followed by some cake with whipped cream icing. . I was not as surprised as many with the ceremony. Since I was deaf they didn’t want to scare me too much so I saw them coming
I will always have fond memories of my times and the friends I made in Guadalajara. It was a pleasant part of my life.
If you want to see more pictures of GD check out my 8/9/10 posting at http://www.InTheSlowLane.net
And the journey goes on..
