Tapalpa is a long, windy bus ride to the mountains from Guadalajara's central camionera, interjected with local street vendors stepping on and off at various stops throughout the villages trying to earn a few pesos by selling their fresh fruit and grilled corn or else playing a few sunny tunes on a guitar. Tapalpa itself is the last in line of the quaint little towns up to the mountains. It's gorgeous plaza boasts a grande church and the cobblestone streets are ...

Tequila is a quaint little town focused on, you guessed it, tequila. Filled to the brim with souvenir shops selling everything from shot glasses to sombreros, it's sunny outlook attracts tourists from all over. I went with a trip organised by the tequila hostel in Guadalajara. First we were shown the plantations where they grow the tequila plant (right next to the volcano tequila which is instead pronounced tek-kwee-lar). The plants are large, spiky, resemble a p...

As my time in Guadalajara draws to an end I thought it important that I see a little more of the city so I headed to the artisan boutique orientated suburb of Tlaquepaque. Fortunately for my wallet my rucksack doesn't have the capacity for ceramics or beautiful chandelier type lamps but were I redecorating this would probably be where I'd come. We wandered the streets a little, checked out the main plaza and sat in the sun with horchata and fresh coconut. Pretty ...

Today after the orphanage I ambled into the centre, alone this time, so as to soak up the culture and generally act like a tourist. The streets of Guadalajara are warm and friendly with cafés blasting out cheerful spanish tunes, children playing in fountains, and not a trace of that London philosophy that eye contact should be punishable by death. In fact passers by frequently wish me good day or say hello, even bless you (salud) when I sneeze. First stop, the...

Another laid back weekend. I went along to a graduation party for children who attend an English school, a perfect opportunity for me as my Spanish is unfortunately still not up to scratch. We organised games for the children such as a timed treasure hunt, a tightrope walking competition and 'bite the bag', which actually turned out to be bite the cereal box. Met some cool people there and after me and some of the student teachers helping out headed out for a few...