Eight Tips After You Choose Your Mexican Hotel

If you know survival Spanish and have a spirit of adventure, you can go beyond the guidebook in any part of Mexico. By soaking up information wherever you find it, you'll be making the most of your personal preferences even if you sacrifice some "attractions" as you see Mexico beyond the gringo trail.

In November when I went to the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, I took six pages from the Lonely Planet Mexico guidebook in my pocket because I didn't want to carry the whole heavy book. After Guadalajara, I expected to head south for several days to the neighboring state of Colima, then swing back by way of Patzcuaro to my adopted city of Guanajuato. That was my plan but by going beyond the guidebook, my trip turned out to be full of unexpected twists and new experiences.

MAKING LOCAL CONTACTS: A week before I went to The International Book Fair in Guadalajara, I found an email in my inbox from a fellow member of the 5W women's international friendship organization. The writer, who lived an hour from Guadalajara, said we were probably the only two members from Mexico. I emailed right back and within a day we had arranged to meet at a designated point near the acres of bookstalls in the Guadalajara expo center.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK: Our plan worked-we met right before lunchtime where we had arranged. My new friend suggested the cafeteria, which I already knew was noisy, expensive, and limited to fatty fast food I didn't want to eat. I looked for someone with an official badge who could suggest another place and of course the Expo Center contains just the kind of restaurant where an editor would take an author he was wooing. Yes, the prices were higher so I limited myself to a bowl of tasty squash blossom soup and we both felt we'd been behind the scenes at the fair. A question can lead you beyond the obvious while you are traveling, whether for food or a destination you didn't even know existed.

GOING TO PLACES NOT YET IN THE GUIDEBOOK: Any big city has good places to eat that your guidebook doesn't list, sometimes because they are too new. One evening I was walking in downtown Guadalajara when I saw a modest restaurant bustling with Mexican diners at this unusual mealtime hour in Mexico of 6pm. Backtracking, I saw a Chinese buffet. Why not? Just what I wanted, plenty of vegetables, not very abundant in the Guadalajara cooking I'd tasted so far.

TALKING WITH OTHER TRAVELERS is a wonderful way to expand what you know and decide what to star or write into your guidebook. Even though I've settled in Mexico, I don't want to lose my traveler spirit so sometimes I stay overnight in the hostel in nearby San Miguel de Allende, partly to have the chance to talk with other travelers. That's where I learned about the centrally located budget hotel that worked well for me in Guadalajara.

Coffeehouses and intercity bus stations are other places to strike up a fruitful exchange of information. At home, I occasionally I surf to Thorntree, a Lonely Planet forum with good ideas for offbeat travel.

USING THE OFFICIAL TOURIST OFFICES: Don't forget to stop by the official tourist offices. After being indoors at the Book Fair, the next morning I decided to go to the office near my downtown hotel. It is on the broad walkway that leads down to the San Juan de Dios market. Although many Mexican tourist offices cater mainly to traveling Mexicans, the office in Guadalajara was right on my wavelength.

On the tourist office counter I found a booklet about the city and its surroundings. I read about a town with the pine trees and sloping rooflines we take for granted in the United States. As I now live in a zone with nopal cactus and flat roofs, once in a while I get homesick. I couldn't resist. Mazamitla turned out to be a special place for me so I didn't mind crossing off Patzcuaro on this trip.

UNPLANNED EVENTS: During my wanderings beyond Guadalajara, I had the unplanned good luck of arriving in Colima the week before Feast of Guadalupe in early December. Right near my hotel near Plaza Nunez vendors were set up in the usually tranquil plaza Nunez selling snacks and drinks I had never tried before.

UNEXPECTED PURCHASES: I went to Colima by way of Sayula where I didn't achieve my goal of finding someone local to ask about Juan Rulfo, one of my favorite Mexican authors, who had been born nearby. I had, without thinking, arrived during Sunday siesta time. On the other hand, Sayula was where I first saw the little oval wooden boxes of cajeta (caramel) made and packed in that small city famed for the candy. A few boxes made an inexpensive, light way to carry the small gifts home.

A DETOUR MAY BE IN ORDER: The woman I met at the Book Fair invited me to visit at her home on Lake Chapala, a place I had never been. In the two days I was there, I saw the lake in many kinds of light. I also had a glimpse of daily life in this popular area where expatriates and Mexicans live side by side.

TO SUM UP: On my trip beyond the guidebook, I traveled too many bus miles on back roads but even so I look back on the week as one of the best trips I've made in Mexico. Keeping my eyes and ears open made all the difference.