As nice as the beach sounds, sometimes it can get annoying. Either the sun is far too hot and bright, branding your skin the color of a tomato. Or maybe it's the sand that somehow manages to worm its way in every corner and crevice of unknown parts of your body. Perhaps its the ocean that gets on your nerves as you try to swim but only end up with salt water in your mouth and up your nose. However, there are thousands of places that you can visit to avoid the annoying factors of the beach and still enjoy a nice and relaxing vacation.
1. Guadalajara
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Aside from enjoying a walk in the plaza with not a care in the world as you do some window-shopping, there are many things you can do in Guadalajara aside from that. For example, you can enjoy some art made by the indigenous Huichol tribe of Guadalajara found in the museum of Huichol art; this art is formed through their famous (and time-consuming) technique of placing the tiniest of beads on a needle and placing them on a canvas coated in wax, making the beads form ethereal patterns that will leave one breathless and astounded at such magnificent work. Another thing you can enjoy (especially of you enjoy shopping) is going to the Tianguis de Artesanías de Tonalá, a traditional market where you can shop traditional artifacts and take a little slice of Guadalajara to your home. Not to mention of the immortal history and traditions that Guadalajara has and can be enjoyed in every corner of it, some of them including charrería, the traditional dance called Jarabe Tapatío, and, of course, mariachis and tequila (both of which were born in the state of Jalisco, Guadalajara).
2. Guanajuato
Lingua School
Known for its quaint plaza decorated with colorful, traditional buildings and houses, Guanajuato is also remembered for its mummies. A museum with mummies of all ages (yes, even babies) due to the plague of cholera that seized the city in the early 1800's demonstrates the complexity of Guanajuato's candy-hued streets for it shows that Guanajuato is more than the one-dimensional facade many see. Aside from this gothic backdrop, Guanajuato is a center of the arts for Latin America as it possesses Teatro Juarez, a beautiful Doric-Roman/Oriental Theater, where only the best plays and shows and ballets are held. Aside from this, it also hosts the biggest and most important cultural and artistic festivals in Latin America known as the Festival Internacional Cervantino (FIC) held every October for six decades since it was founded in 1953 and it honors famous Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes de Saavedra, author of Don Quixote. A multi-dimensional gem, Guanajuato awaits you.
3. Puebla
Global Adventures
Puebla, a city declared one of Mexico's most beautiful. is full to the brim with places to know; the first one of which is the most amazing architectural designs in the city: the Cathedral. Puebla's cathedral, built around the 1500's, is one of the most astounding feats Puebla has thanks to the designer Manuel Tolsá! Another thing that is a must-see when traveling to Puebla is the House of Culture for inside is the prominent Library Palafoxiana, a home to many first edition and lost works of famous Latin American writers like Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. Aside from this, you can enjoy a walk in the city's famous Callejón de los Sapos, where revolution-era trinkets and traditonal artifacts are found for you to take home.
Safe to say, with such beautiful and astounding cities, who needs the beach?
