Traveler's Pack of Cigarettes

I'm not a smoker. Sometimes I even forget I am smoking a cigarette and not a cigar. But when I am travelling, a pack of cigarettes is sometimes the best tool you have for meeting people. The evil little death sticks turn out to bring good fortune when in a social setting. Here are some reasons why these chemical killers are helpful:

Bus Life In Guadalajara

Bus Life In Guadalajara

I ran face first into the bus life in Guadalajara. Literally, I have experienced all shapes and sizes, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and everything in between. Bus life in Guadalajara is amazing, just not for a rookie. You may have had your own unique experience, but this is my list of observations/experiences during my first two weeks on the Guadalajara bus system. In no particular order, here is sort of an insider's guide to the bus system in Guadalajara.

Hostel Life: A New Best Friend Everyday

Hostel Life: A New Best Friend Everyday

A great benefit of a hostel is that you can meet a new best friend everyday. Hostels are of course filled with globetrotters and people on vacation. Some have bars and host the party, others are more quiet and expect you to make something of it yourself. No matter what type of hostel you are in or where you are at, the one common factor is meeting new people with exciting stories. You get to hear some amazing travel tales, have political debates, find common interests, share a few drinks, and truly enjoy each other's company. Then all of a sudden, within a day many times, you are torn apart.

Salsa Night in Guadalajara

Salsa Night in Guadalajara

After one long and crazy fun celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in Guadalajara, I thought for sure Thursday night would be low key. The British girls I was hanging out with mentioned that Ivan of Bar 911 might show up around 11pm to take us dancing, but they couldn't tell if he was actually serious. Completely exhausted and my stomach controlling my day, we decided on a change of pace for dinner. We headed out to a quaint Italian restaurant. We shared one decent sized pizza, one creamy mushroom pasta, and one amazing salad. The salad was simple, but compared to the al pastor diet we had been eating, it was just what the doctor ordered. As soon as the food arrived, the table went silent and the only sounds were of enjoyment and relief. My night could have ended there, and it probably should have.

My First Tacos In Guadalajara

My First Tacos In Guadalajara

Tacos are in my blood. Actually when I get cut I think I smell al pastor. On my first night in Guadalajara, I thought of wandering and finding a grocery store, until I saw it. It was the lone street vendor within a 5 block radius, with 3 different families enjoying what they had to offer. I was 2 blocks away, and gave up the idea of grocery shopping at 11pm in Guadalajara. I walk up, quickly examine what was making my nose aroused, and pull up a seat. It is a wife and husband and their two young boys running the joint. The wife asks if I would like to eat there and what I was hungry for. Forget asking prices, that wasn’t an option. They weren’t trying to sell me on anything, they knew what they had for me to eat was going to be well worth my money.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lamazone/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Saint Patrick's Day In Guadalajara

Saint Patrick's Day In Guadalajara

St. Patrick's Day was quite an adventure. We ended up gathering all of the hostel people and polishing off a few 40's (to save money on beer) before walking to an Irish pub. We met a lot of cool people there because it was one of the only Irish pubs in Guadalajara so all the internationals were there mingling with locals.

La Alborado Distillery - Tequila Gran Jubileo

La Alborado Distillery - Tequila Gran Jubileo

My favorite distillery in Tequila ended up being one I got to visit after hours on a private tour. La Alborado Distillery was a family run, organic and sustainable factory. It was great to meet someone pouring their heart and soul into every ounce of Tequila and the entire process. One good example, was how they would play classical music to the fermenting agave to affect the outcome of the tequila. I definitely tasted the difference. Their main brand of tequila Grand Jubileo is not readily available, but can be found in the US in a few places. The most famous would be Eva Longoria's restaurant in Hollywood called "Beso". She just opened one up in Las Vegas as well, so hopefully they start serving this amazing spirit.

My first taste of Tequila, Mexico

My first taste of Tequila, Mexico 

My first morning in Guadalajara, the Internet was down and so I decided to pick up and catch a bus to the city of Tequila, Mexico. Turns out, so was the fellow sleeping on the bottom bunk. We headed out for the 2 hour bus ride looking forward to tasting some tequila.

The bus was very comfortable (there and back), but definitely longer than the stated time it should take. Not a problem, I planned to stay the night so I had all day. My partner in crime, Tom, planned on catching a night bus back to Mexico City that night so he needed to get in and out fairly quickly. Throughout the bus ride, several people told us it was the "next stop". 10 stops later, we finally made it. I informed Tom about the traditional food of Tortas Ahogadas and we were both starving so that was the first mission. We found a great market full of small taquerías. We grabbed a seat and quickly consumed one of the best meals of my life. It could have been the extreme hunger, but this was amazing!

Next stop, we hit up Los Abuelos tequila museum, which is really the museum of the Sauza family. Unfortunately, the Sauza family sold their "name" to a large corporation so now their tequila can't have that name on it. The tour guide was great, we learned a lot about the history and entire process, then went ahead and tasted a small amount of their blanco, reposado, and añejo tequila. They were all very impressive, but due to the traditional style of how they produce tequila, the bottles were just out of our price range. Their distillery tour was also out of our price range so we headed out to the next place.

My friend Clayton from Experience Tequila recommended we head to the "Mexico Tequila Tours" company and pick one of their tours. We quickly made friends with Lilliana and she took us and a few others out to La Confradia distillery. This was definitely a larger distillery, and there were many large tour buses pulling in. Luckily our group was small so we had a more personal tour, but just behind us was about 200 students not even old enough to taste the tequila so it was quite annoying. I enjoyed the beautiful distillery, and their tequilas were enjoyable but not my favorite. I still would recommend this tour though, just not when the locals are on vacation or Spring Break.

Not quite satsfied, my newfound friend Tom decided to stay the night. We spoke with Lilliana and she wanted to take us to this other smaller distillery the next morning at 10am but we knew we might not be able to make. She then offered to take us to the distillery after she got off work in 20 minutes. That was perfect because we grabbed some street tacos then headed out to what would be the highlight of our trip. We went to the La Alborado distillery which made the brand "Gran Jubileo". This is very hard to find and is famous for being available at Eva Longoria's restaurant "Beso" in Hollywood and I'm sure now at her new one in Las Vegas. We got the private tour, had a great time getting to know Lilliana, and then she left us there to hang out with Juan, the manager of the distillery to teach us more about his tequila and let us taste it. About 1.5 hours later, we knew we had stumbled upon a gem in Mexico and vowed to not only come back, but actively support the brand. I bought a bottle of the Blanco which is the best blanco tequila I have ever tasted and Tom went with the Reposado. This tequila was so artisanal, they would play classic music to it while it was fermenting. Juan would watch over the agave plants to make sure every plant surrounding it was adding to the flavor, such as planting mango trees in precise locations. This was not just a completely organic tequila, but the entire process was perfected to create the best artisanal tequila around.

After a great time at La Alborado, we headed back to the Hotel Casa Dulce Maria to freshen up and get ready for some rowdy nightlife we had heard of. Because the next day was a Mexican holiday, we were expecting a bit of a crowed. I checked in with Karen over Skype, lent my shorts to Tom who had ripped his bathing suit and had nothing else because he left his pack back in Guadalajara at the hostel (remember he was supposed to go back that night!). He gave up on going back, and we headed out for a couple bars and night clubs that the front desk girl recommended. The first stop, completely dead. We didn't even go in, onto the second place. This was called Cielo and was packed with everyone dancing! I had a small attempt at dancing with the locals, but was very unsuccessful. Onto place number 3, then 4, then I think I had one too many tequilas so I left Tom dancing with a couple girls much larger than him. I grabbed a few tacos, then found my way back to the hotel (eventually, took a couple of wrong turns for sure). Turned out to be a great day and night, I had a blast in Tequila and can't wait to go back.

Mexico Travel Packing List

Mexico Travel Packing List

*update 6/15/2010: After backpacking for over 3 months I posted a packing list review broken down by must have, good to bring, and leave home.

Life in San Diego is temporarily over as I know it. What I have left to show for it is a large backpack filled with what I hope will get me by for the next 6 months at least. My final Mexico travel packing list contained a total of ~76 items, not including duplicated such as 4 pairs of socks. I’m sure I will soon realize some were unnecessary, but I figured it would easier to get rid of things on the road rather than acquire them. Here is the final list!

1. Clothing
1. 5 pairs of boxers, 2 of which are smartwool merino wool that I love.
2. 6 shirts: 1 dress shirt, 1 workout shirt, 4 regular tees
3. 5 pairs of socks (the boxers, shirts, and socks were packed into 4 scivvy rolls)
4. 1 pair of board shorts
5. 1 pair of North Face convertible pants = 1 pair of pants + 1 pair of shorts
6. 1 pair of jeans that could pass for casual or dressy
7. 1 pair of shorts
8. 1 pair of Asics GT 2150's (all black so they can pass a little dressier too)
9. 1 pair of Reef flip flops, had to foregoe the rainbows because the leather wouldn't work in hostel showers.
10. 1 sweatshirt
11. 1 jacket
12. 1 beanie
13. 1 belt
2. Toiletries
1. 2 travel packs of baby wipes
2. 1 travel bottle of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner
3. 1 stick of deodorant
4. 1 pack of dental floss
5. 1 travel bottle of hand sanitizer
6. 1 small shower poof (aka loofa???)
7. 1 pair of toenail clippers
8. 1 travel tube of toothpaste
9. 1 toothbrush
10. 1 electric razor w/ power cord
11. 1 small pack of liquid laundry detergent
3. Electronics
1. 1 Acer AS1410 netbook w/ power cord
2. 1 Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH double A battery recharger + 4 extra batteries
3. 1 Canon PowerShot A570 digital camera w/ mini USB camera cable
4. 1 pocket size digital video camera
5. 1 Fenix LD10 flash light
6. 1 Petzl Tikka Plus 2 headlamp
7. 1 set of ipod headphones
8. 1 Logitech Skype headset
9. 1 iPhone + power cord
10. 1 set of iHome portable travel speakers for my iPhone
11. 1 Sandisk Cruzer Micro 16gb USB memory stick
12. 1 Timex Ironman wrist watch
4. Utility items
1. 1 small bottle of REPEL 100% deet bug repellant
2. 1 Flexo-line travel clothesline
3. 1 camelback water pouch
4. 1 small can opener
5. 2 caribiners
6. 1 stick of chapstick
7. 1 ziplock of ear plugs, just in case the hostels get a little crazy
8. 1 Coleman first aid kit (which multiple items but I didn’t count towards my total)
9. 1 dirty laundry bag
10. 1 leatherman tool
11. 1 box of Coleman weatherproof matches
12. 1 MSR medium pack towel
13. 1 small Cutco pocket knife
14. 1 poncho
15. 1 North Face Cat's Meow sleeping bag
16. 1 Therm-a-rest ProLight Plus sleeping pad
17. 1 light-my-fire titanium spork
18. 1 small tube of Coppertone sport sunscreen
19. 1 small roll of tape for any necessary gear repairs
20. 3 Brinks small travel combo locks
21. 1 Gorillapod tripod
22. 1 Platypus water bottle (1 liter)
23. 1 Aloksak plastic waterproof bag
24. 1 Coghlan's six function whistle (magnifying glass, thermometer, flash light, mirror, compass, and whistle)
25. 3 zip lock bags
5. Paper products
1. 2 paperback books: "A Cook's Tour" by Anthony Bourdain and "The Revolution" by Ron Paul
2. Copies of all my important documents
3. 1 travel document organizer
4. 1 emergency contact list
5. Laptop warranty information
6. 1 detailed map of Mexico
7. 1 small notepad
8. 1 passport
9. 1 plane ticket
10. 1 Lonely Planet Spanish phrase book
11. $100 in cash
12. 2 bank cards
13. 2 credit cards
14. 1 drivers license
6. Miscellaneous
1. 1 Discraft Ultra-Star Ultimate Frisbee disc
2. Kelty Red Cloud 6650 backpack
3. Deuter Futura 28 daypack

Like I said, I’m guessing several items of my travel packing lits will be dropped along the way in the next few weeks. But all of this fit into my Kelty 6650 backpack and I also strapped a daypack onto my Kelty for trips under 5 days or so. The Kelty is the biggest you can buy but I made sure not to fill it all the way because it is huge! It weighed in at 30lbs with everything in it and the daypack attached. I have done 5 months in Europe with the Kelty and my friend has done a lot of Asia with it so I know it will last and I love the setup of the pack. I haven’t tested the daypack yet but I am very optimistic about it. I will be reviewing each product as time goes on and giving it my thumbs up or thumbs down. And yes, I will be linking to them on Amazon so if you feel like trying one of these items out yourself, click on the link from my page and it will help fund another day of my Mexico adventure! Right now I am typing this as I am flying over Mazatlán and I can’t wait to land in Guadalajara.

Leaving the USA

Leaving the USA

    I woke up to my little brothers saying goodbye and my mind racing about every last minute detail I needed to take care of. I was about to embark on at least a 6 month Mexico adventure and I knew it was going to be a 180 degree life turnaround. First things first, a cup of coffee and breakfast.

La Familia! Fiesta de Adios Hansen

    Next up, let the US Embassy know I will be coming to Guadalajara. Do a little check of all my travel documents and what I need to do before I land in GDL. I was done packing, I stayed up until 12:30 last night making sure my Kelty 6650 was perfectly packed with easy access to the most important items. After a few weeks of travelling I will write about the organization of my pack, it’s pretty intense.

Mis Amigos de Whittier! El Grand Jubileo
Other items on my checklist that needed to get done ASAP:

·       Get a haircut

·       Buy new Asics GT 2150’s (black ones that could pass for a little more dressy and a little less touristy but also keep my feet healthy)

·       Copy important documents

·       Clear out little brothers room of my mess and hand it back over to him

·       Shave my beard off! So sad to see it go, but I have a feeling it will come back quick in Mexico

·       Book my bed at a hostel. I know I know, it was super late to do this but hey I got one.

·       Say goodbye to my family

·       Clip my toenails. Maybe a little TMI, but it had to be done.

·       Ship off last eBay item I sold

·       Transfer electronics to day pack for my carry on

    There were probably more things that I did this morning, but life was moving so fast I couldn’t keep track. One thing is for sure, the best part was yet to come. My Dad picked Karen and I up at her apartment in Encinitas at 12. We picked up my new shoes and headed for the border. Unfortunately, this was the first time I ever experienced a 30 minute wait to cross the border into Mexico! We finally crossed, and knowing exactly what we wanted. 3x$1 tacos and 3x$2.50 beers at Taco Fish in Tijuana. It was just as good if not better than ever and I got to say goodbye to my friend there.

    Off to the Tijuana airport (my first time) and we only had one wrong turn, pretty good for Tijuana. Got inside, checked in my bag, said my goodbye’s and off I was to gate B-14 for my first Volaris flight. So far great service from Volaris, a quality airplane, free drinks and snacks, good view of the sunset over BCS, and a countdown to my new life. All of that for a $1 peso flight + taxes from TJ to GDL, pretty good deal. Unfortunately, I have an empty seat next to me that Karen couldn’t fill and Volaris wouldn’t let me change the name on the flight which I should have known ahead of time. $1 peso flight, I had to book an extra one just in case!