In late May 2004, I travelled to Mexico to participate in the 3rd European Union - Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit (www.alcue.org), held in Guadalajara, from 23-29 May 2004.  Then, I stayed on a bit to get to know the city itself and a few other parts of this huge country.  Here are a few highlights from this trip.

The Instituto Cultural Cabañas, where the Summit was held

Corridors bustling with life suddenly emptied after the end of the Summit

This beautiful patio served as a snack area for those lucky enough to have time for lunch

Disassembling the Patio Mayor installations, where Heads of States/Government met

...looks quite different without the trimmings, huh?

Same story for Patio Dos, where all MFAs lunched on Thursday and where several Heads of State congregated at Multilateralism Table B on Friday

The beautiful Capilla Orozco held most of the LAC group's preparatory meetings

Sculptures such as these by Alejandro Colunga adorned both the inside and outside of Cabañas

The façade of the Instituto Cultural Cabañas, seen from Plaza Tapatía

More sculptures on the other side of Plaza Tapatía

The Teatro Degollado, another one of Guadalajara's many splendid colonial buildings

Plaza de Armas, with the Palacio de Gobierno in the background

Inside the Palacio de Gobierno, the Patio where the main official dinner was held

A very large Orozco mural depicting the abolition of slavery by Hidalgo decorates the wall above the main staircase inside the Palacio de Gobierno

The majestic Catedral de Guadalajara is another major focal point in the Centro Historico

The entrance to the original Universidad de Guadalajara building, housing yet another Orozco mural

Finally, the Summit was over and I am packing up to leave the Quinta Real

Tlaquepaque is supposed to be a small town in itself but is really just a suburb of Guadalajara.  However, it has much charm, with a pedestrianised central zone dotted with beautiful shops selling arts and crafts, what Tlaquepaque is well known for.  It also has a few good restaurants, which apparently about 6-7 delegations knew about on Saturday, 29th May 2004.

Tlaquepaque has many cute restaurants like the Casa Fuerte, where we lunched on Saturday

As you can see ours was not the only delegation... The Mariachis are singing for Haitian PM Gérard LaTortue

George, the Cypriot Honorary Consul in Guadalajara, with the Mariachis in the background

Christiana and I enjoying some hearty Mexican food

After an exhausting week at the Summit in Guadalajara, I headed off to the Pacific Coast resort of Puerto Vallarta.  I tried to skip the main hotel chains and went into the old part of town, though this, too, was marred by development, though not as bad as in some other beach resorts around the world.

From the dry heat of Guadalajara to the tropical heat of Puerto Vallarta

PV has one of the largest bays in the world

Colunga's sculptures have founds their way to PV

No, it's not the Guadalajara Declaration!

All good things must come to an end... in PV the day does so gloriously

Having recharged my batteries on the beach, I headed - via a couple of days in Guadalajara - towards Mexico City (or "di-effe" as it's known here, from the initial Distrito Federal).  Friday night was a wild night of partying as these following photos bear witness to!

About an hour-and-a-half's drive from Mexico City is the quaint little town of Tepoztlán, whose main attraction, apart from the town itself, is the pyramid at Tepozteco, high up in the surrounding mountains.  A perfect detox from the "noche loca", this is where I spent my last weekend in Mexico.

The drive out to Tepoz runs through some beautiful mountain scenery

Christiana and I reached Tepoz just in time for lunch...

...and drinks!

Sunday morning and the team is ready to conquer the Pyramid...

...but not before a hearty breakfast of chilaquiles!

Every authentic Tepoz experience starts at Tepoz XP :-)

The locals have seen it all before

So, can you spot the pyramid?

The 45-min climb up was no ride in the park...

...but it offered some decent places to rest along the way...

At long last, the pyramid was at sight

Enjoying a well-earned rest...

...before taking in the spectacular view...

...which of course provided for some good photo ops

These locals came to meet us on the way out

Time for some rest after the exhausting climb up and down

Saying goodbye to Mexico, on my way to the airport...

...cannot but be impressed with the sheer vastness of Mexico City