Guadelajara was all kinds of fun. Lots of Orozco murals, long walks around monuments, cathedrals, and the city. Also, we caught a theater performance, "Fuenteovejuna" by Lope De Vega, Spain´s Shakespeare. Luckily, the program had a synopsis, and we got there 20 minutes early so we had enough time to do a very rough guess of a translation and figure out what happens in the play. Not sure if it´s the style of theater here, the playwright´s broad strokes, or the particular company we saw, but it was a lot of scene chewing and big, melodramatic emotions. Probably just our understanding of the language is so bad we miss all the subtleties.
Anyway, it was fun. In sad and funny ways, it was just like theater in the U.S. Lots of kids there who liked they didn´t want to be there and spent the show whispering, wiggling, and giggling. A desperate message three times before the show begging everyone to turn off their cell phones, followed by three different cell phones ringing during the first 15 minutes of the show. Finally, a plug from the lead actor listing their remaining dates and begging the audience to tell their friends.
Today we did a full day of driving, on past Mazatlan, which would be a natural stop if we still thought of ourselves as on vacation. But we´re really just heading for the border, so we pushed past. The Lonely Planet guide isn´t expecting people to drive, or to stay somewhere on this highway besides Mazatlan, so we were on our own for finding a place to sleep. Ended up in Culiacan, a town surrounded by gigantic farms and farm-related industry. Didn´t see any agri-business names we recognized, but maybe they just have different names here. Felt a little like we found Monsanto´s secret hideout.
Anyway, found a little hotel and, having skipped eating all day in favor of driving in daylight, we chased food as fast as possible. Add to our hunger a deep exhaustion with Mexican food. Alan ate at Burger King. And I just couldn´t resist a sushi restaurant. We saw three of them on our way in, and haven´t seen a single one in any other town we´ve visited, regardless of the city´s size or amount of tourism.
Some - scratch that, most - of my more adventurous meal choices have not turned out well here. So, I was scared. When the condiment bowls came, containing pulverized jalapeno, soy-soaked whole jalapenos, and chopped green onions, I knew I was in for a surprise. To be on the safe side, I had ordered udon soup with only vegetables and California rolls. Happy surprise, everything was super tasty. Not the slightest bit Japanese, but really tasty.
The sushi rice was the same rice you´d get alongsize your enchilada. Apparently, the pulverized jalapeno was to be used the way you use wasabi. And the soup was kind of like a chicken broth seasoned with a little soy and a lot of lime. Funky, but good. If only I had some adventure still in me, I would have tried one of the dozens of strange items on the menu that mixed the idea of sushi with the food of Mexico.
Even more interesting was the teen-aged server and her friends who were hanging around outside the front door. They all were from California, but living here, and spoke with that accent unique to kids who grow up in L.A . but are children of Spanish speakers. She was new at the restaurant, and didn´t actually speak much Spanish, so she was very excited when she figured out we spoke English. I couldn´t help but wonder how damn hard it was for her to fit in at school here. She looks Mexican, she sounds Mexican, but she doesn´t really speak much Spanish. Ah well, in L.A. she probably learned how to kick people´s asses in any language.
Tomorrow, another full day of driving will hopefully take us to Hermosillo, deep in cactus-filled desert. Then a few more hours the next day should get us across the border. Wahoo. U.S., here we come. Never thought I´d be so excited about cactus, Arizona, or highway signs in English.
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