Our first week in Mexico contained highs and lows – things we loved and things that we wish wouldn’t have happened. All experiences are part of this bigger experience for us, even if some aren’t as pleasant, but overall we have enjoyed our first week in the first international country of our trip.

We flew into Guadalajara from Dallas Fort Worth in the evening. Once we landed, we made it through immigration easily but ran into problems when getting our bags. We each have one large hiking backpack in addition to our carry-on backpack with electronics and my messenger bag. My large backpack came through on the conveyer belt with all the others, but Jon’s was nowhere to be seen. Finally as they stopped the conveyor belt, we flagged an airline worker to help track down his bag. He, speaking no English, tried to explain to us what was going on but we weren’t able to understand much of anything. After an hour of talking with him and starting to fill out a form for the missing bags, another worker came over with a few bags on a trolley; low and behold, Jon’s bag was one of them! It turns out that it was placed on a different conveyor belt from a different flight that arrived shortly after ours.

Time to board! On our way to Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque!

That problem solved, we then took the airport shuttle to our hotel in Tlaquepaque for the evening, Casa Armonia. We quickly went to sleep after a long day and a little bit of stress at the airport. The next morning, we got the opportunity to look around our hotel and also scout out the neighborhood briefly. Breakfast was at the hotel; we had juice, coffee, fruit, scrambled eggs with bacon, and chilaquiles. It was a delicious start to our time in Mexico!

Eggs and chilaquilles for breakfast our first morning – what a great way to start the week!

Later in the morning, we checked into our apartment rental about 3 blocks from the center of town. It was a one-bedroom on the third floor, with our own private balcony from which we could see the two churches in the center of town. It was just a few minutes to walk to the main square full of restaurants and stores, and a bit further to our language school, where we enrolled in Spanish language lessons for a week.

The sunset from our 3rd floor balcony.

Monday morning was time for our first class! Each day, we had two separate two-hour classes; one with Arcelia in the morning and the other ended up being split. Jon took his afternoon class with Luce while I had mine with Monica. We had class with another American, Heather, who had moved to Tlaquepaque for 3 months with her 4-year old son. The language classes were beneficial, making us more comfortable with the language, city, and culture.

One of our teachers, Monica, going over the verb gustar.

The downside to our first week in Mexico was that we both have experience some stomach issues. I’m sure many people have heard of Montezuma’s revenge – let me assure you, it’s not fun! Unfortunately that’s caused us to be pickier about what we eat and there are a few meals that I’ve skipped due to not feeling well. We’re still feeling the effects (even now that we’ve gotten to Mexico City) and are hoping that it will be over soon! One of my favorite things about Mexico is the cuisine, so I’m looking forward to feeling better and enjoying some delicious meals.

Jon tasting his taco lunch in the Mercado Benito Juarez in Tlaquepaque.

Our first week in Mexico was good, but not what we had expected. We loved being in Tlaquepaque and would have extended our stay a bit if we didn’t already have our next stay booked. The food that we were able to eat was wonderful – such unique flavors and delicious dishes. Our language school was extremely helpful with directions, bus tickets, and advice, not to mention the Spanish language. We were in Tlaquepaque for Independence Day which was a wonderful celebration that we got to enjoy. Despite our stomach issues, we have had a great time so far in Mexico and can’t wait to see what else the country has to offer!

Lana in Tlaquepaque, the main city center – Jardin Hidalgo.