Guadalajara, Mexico Trip October 29, 2012-November 1, 2012
Walking out the door
Setting up booth the night before expo
Jaime Pérez, my host and owner of International Green Solutions.  He was an incredibly thoughtful and attentive host, taking me to dinner and lunch, as well as introducing me to clients and friends alike as if I were a brother.
Booth set up and ready to receive people.  Video was playing on a loop on the monitor.
Sponsorship advertising in our area
Some of the other booth areas
Sponsorship by two universities and International Green Solutions
Speaker's daize where opening ceremonies took place.  There was a Mexican Army color guard present, and I found it interesting that when the national anthem was played, the people put their right arm horizontally across their chest, fingers extended, thumb tucked down, and with the palm facing the ground, almost like a military salute with the fingers over the heart.
Booth area with big screen TV playing the animation loop on two corners.  Jaime arranged for the rental of all equipment.
People gathering around Jaime's display.  The second big screen TV playing the animation can be seen at the opposite corner of the booth area, between the center advertising tower and the International Green Solutions logo at right.
Crowd gathering around the corner monitor displaying our animation
Jaime working the crowd...
Jaime's group, he and I in the center, and his friend Jim from Seattle far right.
View out my 9th floor hotel window at dawn, volcano in the background.  The strange circular object left center is a sculpture with another view later.
Close-up of sculpture mentioned above.
View in the other direction of an unusual suspension bridge.  Sorry it's a bit out of focus.
Jaime and his parents
Jaime and his son, Iván.  Iván is a really sharp and very likeable young man.  He created the Spanish subtitling on the video we were displaying, and he even made one for me in Korean, using text that I already had prepared.
Closing ceremonies, Jaime seated far right

With the show now over, I had one day to myself to sightsee, and I wanted to visit a site of ancient pyramids called Guachimontones about an hour outide Guadalajara, so I hired a guide to take me there.  It was a great experience.   This is an industrial park out the window of the car en route to Guachimontones.
Volcano hiding behind haze
Lake Vega Presa (Vega Dam)
Pelicans on the water.  Didja know that the word for pelican in Spanish is alcatraz?  Yup, just like the prison.
Stork on the water of the lake
Small boat
Road through Teochitlán, the little town just outside Guachimontones.  It looks very similar to many rural Mexican towns that I passed through on an extensive road trip I took there nearly 40 years ago.
The center of Teochitlán, with clock ahead left, and a park directly across the street on the right
Close-up of clock tower taken from the park
It happened that I was there on November 1, the day after All-saints Day (our Halloween).  That day is celebrated in Mexico as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.  It's a celebration of one's ancestors, and the park was being decorated for planned festivities.
More of the preparations and costumes
Young girl placing flowers along the border of the path
Adobe wall in Teochitlán on the way to Guachimontones
Stone wall along same route.  It's a bit out of focus being snapped out the windshield as we were moving, but I included it because it shows the interesting stone road.
Much better picture of the wall without the road
An aqueduct carrying water to Teochitlán
Curved sign pointed out later in satellite photo
Gustavo Meléndez, my tour guide.  This man was wonderful.  He had an extensive knowledge of history and had a true passion for it.  It was obvious in the way he described things, and the detail that he added.  This was far more than a job to him.  If I lived in Guadalajara, this guy would be a friend of mine, and we continue to stay in touch via email.  He speaks Spanish, French, and perhaps speaks English better than I do!  He made the experience worthwhile.  Gustavo explained that the name Guachimontones came from a contraction of the name of a local fruit called guachima that grows on trees and was used as a remedy for kidney maladies, and the word montones, or mountains.
Plaque that reads:  "In tribute to Dr. Phillip Weigand, for his work and investigation in the archeological heritage of Jalisco, and for his work as a teacher of new generations of archeologists."  It was he who discovered and excavated the site, and the cultural center at Guachimontones is named in his honor.
The farthest right-hand section of a very large mural in the Weigand Cultural Center.  It depicts a man sporting wings suspended by a rope from a pole atop a small pyramid.  It was a way of honoring the God of the Wind.
More mural moving from right to left along the wall
Still more mural.  It was really very large.
The mural wall is on the right, and this is at the end of it.  The doorway leads to some exhibits at the rear.
Stone statue of a woman.  The very large nose was considered a sign of beauty.
Reproduction statue of man in the style of the Colima-Comala people
Another mural at the rear area of the cultural center.  Sunlight reflection made good photography difficult.
Another section of the same mural entitles, "A day at Guachimontones", depicting everyday life.
A poster at the Weigand Cultural Center announcing the "Day of the Ancestors"
A ball court delineated by stone walls about 3 feet (1 m) high. The players were only allowed to hit the ball with their hip.
Closer view of rock walls
Volcano in the distance, rock walls in the foreground
A plaque explaining a bit about the culture.  English is at bottom.
Approaching the smaller, well-excavated pyramid
Closer view, showing the rock walls on left
Some of the rectangular structures placed in a circle around the pyramid
The edge of the pyramid in view for perspective on the rectangular structures.
Very small, flat pyramid.  The architectural style of the people was concentric circles and it was used extensively.
Another view...
The small pyramid.  You can see the fence encircling the bottom with "Do not climb" signs posted.  Note the volcano behind and its shape relative to that of the pyramid.
More of the surrounding structures...
More ancient stone walls
A view of the smaller pyramid taken from the larger pyramid.  I don't know why, but I took no photos of that pyramid, but I climbed it and took photos from it.  It was unexcavated and really looked like a hill.  Only in the satellite photo can it be seen very clearly that it is a pyramid.  Note in the left center of the picture just above the tree there's a structure with a spire and a dome-shaped top.
That structure with the spire is this church in Teochitlán.  This photo was taken from the same location on extreme telephoto, and without a tripod it was almost impossible to remain centered on the tower.  The tiniest movement of my hand caused the image to jump all over the place.  This was the closest I could get.
The Lake Vega Presa in the distance, the city of Teochitlán below
Some of the landscape on the way back down

A satellite view of the area to make it a little easier to visualize.

This was a wonderful site to visit.  Don't miss it if you ever get to Guadalajara.