TEQUILA!

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  Tequila, Mexico
Thursday, January 24, 2008

TEQUILA!!!!

Well we decided on a road trip to Tequila...the home of....em Tequilla!! It was a 10am start, so we decided to line our stomachs with a half bowl of Frosties...a bad start to the day..and it got a little worse when we saw our chariot for the day. It was jeep that seated 5 but unfortunately there was 8 of us. So we had to fold the seats down and lie in the back. It wasn't too bad for Eoin and myself but poor Bill beside us is 6 foot 4....poor bastard!! And just as we were about to leave, it got just a little worse....the driver crashed into a parked car. It was only a small tip, but it wasn't boding well for the rest of the day!!

Once sorted we set off on the 1 and a half hour trip to the little town, and we got to see some great scenery along the way

Tequila town

. We arrived at 11.30 and at 11.45 we were sitting in a local little bar with a large glass of Marguerita in front of us..game on!!! 

When we left the bar, we walked to see this little tourist bus in the shape of a Tequilla barrell (photos attached) and we all cracked up laughing at the stupid tourists that'd be getting it....we should have known it was gonna be for us. So, with heads firmly between our legs we got on and set off for the distillery. 

The first distillery we went to was that of the La Gofradia brand, a massive onw here and in the US but not so much in Europe. It was up in the hills so the scenery was amazing. It's fantastic to see how they grow their own Agave plants (the plants used for the taste) and do the whole process in-house. We went into the main distillation Vats and got a taste of pure Tequila straight from the taps, which made tears come to our eyes. Bill the Aussie decided to drink it straight from the tube instead of a little glass, so Eoin stepped up to the challenge and kicked his ass! Now there was still a lot left in it and the two lads were a bit wobbly, but we later heard that 5 Irish girls had downed the whole lot in about 2 minutes only a few weeks ago! 

From there we went into the museum and saw bits and pieces from the company's history including the largest bottle of Tequila in the world...45 litres

The wierd Marguerita glass

! We also about another 10 shots of the local brews in the meantime..it wasn't even 1.30 yet & we were seriously on the ropes!

We all had a bad case of the munchies but we still had to head to another distillery! So we got back in the barrell bus and headed off to Don Kiko's. This was a lot smaller and low key, but still sampled about another 8 shots. They also managed to twist our arms into buying 5 litres of their stuff all for 400 pesos, about 25 euros!

We headed off for something to soak it all up cos we were completely pissed by this stage. After the meal I spotted some Mariachi's outside and asked them to play a song for some Irish people...it wasn't fantastic to be honest. You should be able to see a video of it attached to this.

There was a couple of hours to kill in  the afternoon so we wandered through the town and got hussled by some 8 year old Mexican kids, who actually turned out to be really funny, and were just trying to get a few quid off the tourists! One of them had robbed a Porno DVD and took great pleasure in showing it to us. There was rumours that Eoin tried to do some bargaining with him, but I cannot confirm or deny those stories!! We sat in the main plaza and watched the locals sitting there, watching the world go by.

Soon it was time to head back from the mini-road trip. We left with some very good & drunken memories and got back in the cramped jeep for the drive home.

When we got back we were all wrecked but decided on a game of pool with some of the other nationalities, and am proud to say the Irish team beat the Yanks and a team made up of an Aussie and a Mexican...so we were happy.

So today, the heads are heavy and we're lashing back the water. We've only one day left in the hostel so we might leave Guadalajara tomorrow and head south east. Will keep updated either way!

Slainte for now,

James

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures & Videos

First one of the day	My 1st one of the day	The barrell bus	The railway to nowhere
La Gofradia factory	A local bakery	Rows of Agave plants	The agave plants to be used
Eating some agave..	..it was manky..like raw sugar cane	1 shot of the day!	Bill upped the anti!
Eoin didn't let the side down	The Vats	Going into the museum	The biggest bottle in the world...45 litres
The barrells	The less glamourous Don Kiko factory	With the tour guide	With the 5 litres
even the Brazilians wanted some	Pedro and Jose	Eoin lost by the way!	Pedro, Bill and Jose
The gang	Afternoon chat	The Plaza	Eoin's new hat
I had to give it a shot!	Leaving Tequila	Tequila....Pueblo Magico...magic town	On the Barrell Bus
Asking the Mariachi's to play	The Marichi's	Pedro and Jose	Arm wrestling

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