Published on Zoomer on November 4, 2025
by Diana Ballon
When my son was noncommittal about coming home for reading week – and Flair Airlines announced $300 round trip fares to Guadalajara — I decided to entice him and his sister with a family trip to Mexico for the break. It was to be our first international trip with our adult children (Felix, then 19, and Antonia, 21). We started travelling when the kids were under the age of two, when we could do so thriftily, but this time, we would travel to three “pueblo mágicos” or “magical towns” – Tlaquepaque, Ajijic and Tequila – designated for their “magical” qualities, such as their beauty, culture and gastronomy.
For our initial three nights, we stayed in Guadalajara. The vibrant, historic city with its colonial architecture and lively night life seemed like the perfect landing spot for us. However, with two queen-sized beds in a single room at the Hilton – I had won the accommodations in a lottery – we could have done with a bit more space. (When Antonia called her boyfriend in Germany to wish him happy Valentine’s Day, she sat on the bathroom floor and I brought her a Corona to nurse during her chat. Yes, things have changed.)
Our first night, we had dinner at Hueso, an avant-garde restaurant on a tree-lined street in Colonia Americana. After several courses of innovative, artfully plated dishes, served at long, shared tables, with a striking décor of whitewashed animal bones – we already felt we were somewhere special together.
We did several tours in Guadalajara, but it was the one to the craft and art area of Tlaquepaque that was our favourite. With our guide, Ada Martinez, owner of Sensaciones Turísticas Experiencias de Viaje, We explored art galleries featuring pottery, ceramics, carved wood and bronze sculptures. We also visited boutiques showcasing high-quality embroidered clothing. At the local market, we sampled jericalla, a Mexican take on crème brûlée, and bite-sized pieces of birote salado, a sourdough bread. And we wandered the colonial-style streets, stopping at a local taco joint to have their renowned birria sandwiches, and at another eatery for their rich carne en su jugo, a beef soup with flank steak.
The next day, we experienced our first charrería (a Mexican rodeo), which originated in the 16th century as cattle-herding work before evolving into a competitive sport in the 1930s and then becoming a UNESCO-recognized cultural tradition in 2016. The atmosphere was festive, with a mariachi band playing in the stands and charros (Mexican cowboys) wearing bright felt hats and embroidered suits, their attire proudly embodying the history and culture of their traditions. Our guide, Jesus Mora, was a charro himself. As we watched, charros on horseback worked together with their horses to showcase their skills, turning in circles, stepping sideways and backward, and then forward only on their hind legs. Mora explained, “A true charro must first master his own fears before helping a horse overcome its own, so that together they can achieve greater feats. Some of the charro skills involve the artful use of the rope, such as roping untamed horses or bulls, whether by the head or even by the hind legs.”
Later, Mora takes us out to a smaller ring, and Felix gets to ride a horse, before we all try our hand at lassoing a wooden training horse. Antonia is first, and she lassos the horse’s head each time and is thrilled at her unexpected prowess.
After several days in the city, we sought a mellower pace in Ajijic, a small lakeside town with a big Canadian expat community just an hour from Guadalajara. With a four-bedroom Airbnb as home base, we spend a few leisurely days here, wandering along the malecón (waterfront) next to the lake, and stopping for guacamole and margaritas as the sun sets. We hiked into the mountains on a trail that was within walking distance from our house, and we had numerous inexpensive meals at the many excellent restaurants in town. On our last day, we took a local bus 10 minutes to the San Juan Cosalá Hot Springs. This time, we shirked the kid-friendly side of the attraction featuring water slides in favour of the quieter grown-up side where we could soak in outdoor hot tubs infused with herbs, hibiscus tea and even red wine.
The final town on our itinerary was Tequila. While you can tour it on buses shaped like chilies and tequila barrels, we chose a tequila experience that began in the blue agave fields just outside of the village. Master tequilero Rene Carranza, holding a barreton (a pick axe-like tool), demonstrated how, after six years, the baby agaves (hijuelos) need to be taken out of the soil and moved to a more open part of the field. “In the ground, there is a great connection between the mother [plant] and the baby,” he says. “But then the babies need to be separated from the mother [by size] and allowed to grow on their own.”
After his demonstration, Felix and Rick used all their force to pull one of the agave plants from the soil, and Rene shows us how he cuts some of the leaves with a machete. We then cook birria tacos (slow-cooked shredded beef) over an open fire, and enjoy swigs of tequila. With the backdrop of blue-grey mountains in the distance, it is a magical setting.
Later I think about Rene’s description of the baby agave, as we get a tour of the distillery, La Guarreña, that adjoins our pretty hotel, Casa Salles Hotel Boutique, just a short walk from the town. While I love our three-bedroom family suite, I have to admit, there is just a little piece of me that misses us all being crammed into one small room.
Like the blue agave, I know that our kids need their own space to grow, but I will miss them, until their next visit home or our next family trip.