Tequila!

We are close to the famous town by the name of Tequila... only about 40 kms (25 miles) away. But we've decided not to take the group there. Ruth and I have been before, and we found it a bit touristy, and with touristy prices to go along with it.

So instead, we found a local distillery in the next town. And what a great choice that was!

Our host Bonnie here at the campground was helpful in arranging a 14 passenger van for us. For the very reasonable price of 125 pesos ($6.55 USD, $8.70 CAD) per person, we had a van and driver for the day!

We started off by going to the Guachimontones archaeological site.

Ruth, at the entrance to the relatively new museum there.

Guachimontones is very different because of the round pyramids!

The people who built this chose a spot with a view!

Inside the museum was a mural depiction of what the area might have looked like.

We took the van into the town of Teuchitlan, and looked for somewhere to have some lunch. The van driver spoke to some of the locals at the plaza, and they said you will get the best and cheapest food at the food court building by the market. Okay!

Ruth, checking out the menu.

Mmmm... looks yummy!

And it was. We had some delicious chorizo tacos for 9 pesos (47 cents USD, 63 cents CAD) each. I went back to get some more, but this time I ordered barbacoa tacos and they weren't quite as good as the chorizo ones.

When I sat down with our driver, a lady asked if I wanted anything to drink. I asked if they had beer, but she shook her head no. However, her son would run to the store to get some! So I gave the kid (about 12 years old) a 100 peso note, and off he went, returning minutes later with some cold beer and my change. I love Mexico.

As we were finishing lunch, we heard some familiar music coming from the plaza. It was the voladores ready to do a show...

Way up high!

The last time we saw them was in Mexico City, but not all of our group had come to Mexico City. So we were glad that the rest of them were able to see a show.

Twirling to the bottom.

After lunch we drove to the town of San Juanito de Escobeda where our driver knew of the Agave Azul tequila distillery. This is a small operation that doesn't receive many visitors. 

All of the tequila distilleries in the town of Tequila take advantage of their popularity by charging for tours. And they are not cheap! Prices are around 250 pesos per person for the tour, and then they charge you extra if you want a tour with tasting.

However at the Agave Azul distillery, there is no charge. We were introduced to our tour guide Antonio, and we set off to learn how to make Tequila.

Antonio, showing us the oven and pressing area.

They call it the kitchen!

Then, the fermentation vats.

And the distillation area.

And the maturation area.

We were led upstairs to the tasting room. Remember I had mentioned that there was no charge for the tour? Well there was no charge for the tasting either... as much as you wanted.

The final products!

The leather chairs.

Tasting time!

We were tasting and talking about tequila for about 45 minutes. There was no time limit, but we figured we had better not overstay our welcome! We tried to give our tour guide a tip, and he would not accept it!

There was no pressure at all to buy anything. Just friendly people. We even met the owner of the company!

But, a few of us did buy a bottle or two. I chose the Don Anselmo Tequila Blanco... very smooth and only 180 pesos ($9.50 USD, $12.60 CAD) per bottle!

In the evening, we had a campfire...

 Another great day in Mexico!

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