Blog
The Monday market is located below the Hole in One Restaurant in San Antonio. The address is: #89 Carretera. It is easy to find. It is across the street from the Chula Vista Golf Course. Both the big buses and the small buses will stop there for you. This market hasn’t been open long. At first it was on Tuesdays but that conflicts with the organic market in the shopping center in San Antonio. So they changed it to Mondays. Many of the same people sell at both markets but the Monday one is mostly for already made foods. It is great if you don’t like to cook or don’t have a kitchen. You can just freeze these delicious dishes and put them in the microwave when you get hungry. Not all of the food that is sold in this market is organic. The organic foods are always labeled as such.
The Hole in One Restaurant Building
Category : Activities &Blog &Food and Dinning
Yesterday, I went with three friends for a day trip to see the Pelicans in the small fishing village of Petatan which is on the south side of Lake Chapala. It was a beautiful sunny day, as usual. We read about it in the Guadalajara Reporter newspaper. That is often a source of interesting short trips. It takes just a little over an hour to get there through picturesque scenery, small towns and farm lands. There are many photo opportunities along the way.
The Pelicans at Petatan
The pelicans come to the lake area from Canada and they stay here all winter. They return at the beginning of April. They go back to British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba for breeding. Approximately 260,000 pelicans leave Canada each winter and most of them come here. It is a long flight back, 3,876 Kilometers.
Category : Activities &Blog &Retirement
I went with my friend Valerie on a boat ride across the lake to San Luis Soyaltan. It was exciting. I love to be out on the water. This boat can be found at the pier in Ajijic. Right now, it only runs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It stays in San Luis Soyaltan and is only at the Ajijic dock a little while before they take off again for San Luis Soyaltan. I found out about it through friends at the Lake Chapala Society.
Boat at Ajijic Pier
There are no signs up on the pier. They have just been in business a few weeks and most of their advertising is by word of mouth. I have nothing but good things to say about the trip and the people who run it. They were all very friendly and helpful.
Category : Activities &Ajijic &Blog
Recently, I took a bus trip to the beach town of San Blas. When I told my friends in Ajijic that I was going to San Blas, most of them did not know of the place. When I was in San Blas and told people I was from Ajijic, most of them had never heard of it. It only takes about five hours to drive to San Blas and seven hours by bus. It is an easy bus ride.
Man Walking on Borrego Beach
The way I did it was by taxi to the long distance bus station from my house in Ajijic. That was the most expensive part of the trip, about forty dollars. From the long distance bus line, I went to Tepic. I changed buses in Tepic for San Blas which is just a little over an hour away. The entire trip cost me less than seventy dollars.
Category : Activities &Blog &Retirement
Sundays on the Ajijic Plaza are always fun. Many times there are various art and craft shows and events on the plaza. It is a great place to meet up with friends. There is always music, entertainment and lots of fun to be had.
Canadian Couple Enjoying Ice Cream on the Ajijic Plaza
The Ajijic Society of Arts and Crafts had a show this past Sunday. I love to see all the beautiful things and paintings that the talented people here make and sell. It was a great place to buy Christmas presents. (more…)
Category : Activities &Ajijic &Blog
Hamacas is a small development down the street that runs next to the Hole in One restaurant in San Antonio Tlayacapan. It is a beautiful country road just a few blocks from the main highway. It feels like it is out in the country, yet it is close to town.
3 homes in Hamacas
It is a very secure, gated community. Fifty two houses are going to be built there very soon. For now, there are six finished houses. The common area will be finished in January of 2012. There will be a heated pool, clubhouse, and barbeque area. These are beautiful homes. They start at just a hundred thousand American dollars (100,000 USD). (more…)
Category : Blog &Real Estate &Retirement
El Dorado is one of the best locations in the Lake Chapala area. It is only a twenty- five minute drive from Guadalajara. It is within a few minutes drive of Ajijic and Chapala. Building on it started in 2007. It was built on the old driving range known as “Oso Dorado”. That is the origin of El Dorado as a name for this beautiful complex. It is on the Libramiento, within walking distance of the new shopping complex in San Antonio and local buses.
Jacuzzi and Tower A
There is no way into the complex except through the front gate which is guarded twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Everyone who visits must sign in at this gate. Security is a high priority here. (more…)
Category : Blog &Real Estate
Every year the Lake Chapala Society puts on an art and craft fair in their back garden area. This year it was on Saturday, November 5th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I went when the gate opened and stayed until almost the end. It was well attended and there were so many interesting things to see that I kept on hanging out. I ran into many friends. I ate some delicious food. It was great fun.
Entrance to the Art and Craft Fair
During most of the day the place was crowded. This event is always popular with the buyers and the sellers. It is a good place to get early Christmas gifts and also to visit with friends. It is for the Expats and the Mexicans. I like to be in social events that are attended by both communities. (more…)
Category : Activities &Blog &Entertainment
The Day of the Dead if one of the biggest holidays in Mexico, especially in Ajijic and Chapala. It lasts for several days with lots of firecrackers going off day and night, parties, food, parades, and decorations. It is a time when Mexican families get together and communicate with their deceased loved ones. The cemeteries are cleaned up. Each family takes on the responsibility of sweeping and cleaning the grave or graves of their loved ones. Huge wreaths of bright colors are bought and placed on the graves. For two nights the cemeteries are open for celebrations and parties. Altars are also made in honor of the deceased loved family members.
Alter for a Deceased loved One
The altars contain photos of the deceased, articles of clothing he or she loved, favorite foods and things he or she liked to do when alive. You can see that in the photo above there is a guitar, and a cowboy hat and rope. Also there are paper bulls. This man must have been a cowboy. Don’t forget the bottles of alcohol also there. (more…)
Category : Activities &Blog &Entertainment
September 16th, Mexican Independence Day is one of the biggest holidays of the year here. The festivities started a few days before the 16th. There was so much going on that it was impossible to see it all.
Little Girl with Confetti in Her Hair
There were festivities at the plaza, parades, and celebrations in the local restaurants, horse events, the shawl parade, private parties and many more things. There was too much to be able to cover in this one article. (more…)
Category : Activities &Ajijic &Blog &Entertainment
Mazamitla is a mountain town about an hour and a half outside of Jocotepec . It is approximately 77 miles from Guadalajara in the Southeast region of the state. It is about the same distance as Sayula except further east. The scenery on the way is beautiful in the rainy season. Everything was green. Wild flowers were in the fields. The sky was blue with billowy white clouds.
- Church in Mazamitla
The town looks like an alpine village. There are many houses built with wood. The air smells like pine because there are pine trees all around. It is a vacation spot on weekends and holidays for the people from Guadalajara. They go there in droves and rent cabins in the woods or stay in their own vacation homes. There are many mansions belonging to the wealthy. We tried to find the park setting where most of them are located but we got lost in the woods instead. (more…)
Category : Activities &Blog &Retirement
The hot air balloon race is always held on the Saturday before Independence Day, which is September 16th. It is held at the soccer field on Calle Revolucion. It is half a block down from El Torito grocery store and the movie theater in Ajijic. This event is the beginning of the Fiesta Season that lasts until after Easter. Life is very exciting at the Lakeside area during this time of the year.
Globo in the Sky
Every year more people enter the globos competition. The crowds also grow. If you want to get a seat in the bleachers, you have to arrive at least an hour before it begins. Many people bring their own chairs and sit out on the field. There is no entrance fee but they have a box out for donations to help defray the cost of the next year’s competition. The winner of the race is the balloon that goes higher, further away and stays up the longest. (more…)
Category : Activities &Ajijic &Blog &Entertainment
