2014.03.26

Day 3

Today, no garbage truck. ;)

This morning for breakfast my host mother made gorditas. This is a made from the same pastry as tortillas but they are three times as thick and smaller. We had them with salt, chilli, and LOTS of butter.

For lunch, we made our own tortillas. The dough (masa) was already prepared and we made little balls and put them into this wooden tortilla maker that flattened the dough out nicely, and then the tortilla was cooked. The verb of handling the dough for the purpose of making gorditas or tortillas is called tortillar. I really like this word. Once finished, the tortillas are placed in a basket with a cloth to keep them warm. Also, I am beginning to realize that tortillas in themselves are very filling and quite heavy, especially if you have them two or three times a day.

Tortilla maker

For dessert we had flan.

In the evening, we went to a city called Zapopan. I think that Guadalajara is growing so much that now Zapopan is almost part of the city but still retains a separate name. We went to visit the Basilica of Zapopan, built in 1730. This cathedral hosts the third most important religious procession in the country, when thousands come to visit a little virgin statue, called Nuestra Senora de Zapopan or La Generala. It takes place every 12th of October. The procession starts from the Cathedral in Guadalajara and ends at the Basilica, which totals 8 km. I learnt that churches in general are kept open all the time, even in the evenings for anyone to come in and pray.

Observation of the day:

In case you cannot see, this is a horse on the back of a truck on the highway. Any comments?

Namaste,

Cs.