Tequila and Larry...

Yesterday was a good day and a sad day all at once...The good part was that I got to go to Tequila.  If you know me, you know I’ve always loved tequila!  So going to the mother land was something special.  Now the sad part of my day was when I found out later in the afternoon that Larry Harvey, the founder of Burning Man, passed away in the morning...  This man created something that deeply touched many people, including me.  He basically changed my life and I believe kept me in the states probably longer than I would have stayed if Burning Man didn’t become such a big part of my life.  I’ve never met him but only saw him briefly when I cooked for First Camp kitchen one year. I know he ate my food a few times.  But mostly on the go as he was often busy and putting out fires.  I will always be so grateful for what he started and the hard work he put into it.

So it was a sweet-and-sour day.  Maybe all that drinking and cheering was to celebrate the life of this man...

I got picked up in the morning by Pako from Gdl Adventure.  He took a group of us, 13 to be exact, on a tour to Tequila! Our first stop was at Selecto Hacienda in Amatitan.  They were waiting for us with a large selection of single, double and triple distilled, blanco, repesado, anejo and extra-anejo tequilas!  I’m just glad I had a big breakfast!  Then they also had a variety of flavored tequila.  They were all pretty good, the grounds were pretty and we all became quick friends.

From there, we went to the town of Tequila and directly to La Alborada Destiliara.  We were greeted by Juan, El Diablo as Pako likes to call him.  He gave us a tour of the grounds and explained to us how tequila is made.  It was very informative and then we found out how he got his nickname... We started another tasting and he made sure that we all left even happier than we arrived.  I also got picked to demonstrate how to properly drink our first shot...

We then had lunch in a small market.  We spent some time in the main square of town, in front of the church.  The way all Mexican cities are built.  At least the ones I have visited so far.  We returned to Guadalajara around 7pm.  I had dinner and that was the end of my special day...  Cheers to a great man, I will keep on burning, RIP Larry.