The Fat Tuesday parade, otherwise knows as the Mardi Gras parade, always starts with the running of the boys.   What are they running from? The people behind them throwing flour at them.  By the time the parade is over, the entire town is engulfed in flour. For ten days before the Fat Tuesday parade, there are smaller parades in town. Just about anytime you walk into town during these ten days, you are...

February 9, 2016 Carnival celebrations in Ajijic & Chapala take place during the first two weeks of February every year. Although Ajijic is known for its more traditional Carnival parade with Zayacas and flower throwing, the town of Chapala also holds one, that is more focused on promoting their two week  Carnival celebrations at the Christina Park. Where there are rides, food stands and shows...

There are thousands of reasons to take a vacation and even more than that when deciding on places to go. Well on a recent trip I think I discovered a small piece of heaven. It's called Ajijic, Mexico. A small city of 15,000 people, about 45 minutes by car from the airport in Guadalajara, and about 3 blocks from Lake Chapala. We decided to stay for the week at Casa del Sol, a very lovely bed and breakfast...

The New Year's Day parade was fun. I went into town around nine in the morning. I thought the parade started in the morning but it didn't start until two in the afternoon.  The town was practically deserted in the morning until around noon and then it got crowded. There was more traffic here than I had ever seen. Traffic was at a standstill. Lots of people were waiting for the parade too. Parade...

I walked into town in Christmas Eve to be part of all the activities and take photos of the Crèches at the church. Surprise, surprise. Very little action was taking place in the plaza this year and there were only four live crèches. Last year the church yard was filled with crèches and the plaza was very busy. We have had weeks of excitement here, including parades and fireworks going off every evening....

December 25th, 2015 Christmas festivities in the Lake Chapala are taken very seriously and decorations start going up at the end of November. In the town of Chapala a life size Creche is displayed along with beautiful lighting along the Malecon and a large Christmas tree that stands in front of the Municipal Presidential building. In the town of Ajijic real life Creches are set up on Christmas eve along...

November 26, 2015 The most celebrated event in the town of Ajijic and possibly all of Lake Chapala. The Ajijic fiestas is an important event for locals and even some expats who do not mind the commotion, noise and bottle rockets going off early in the morning. The celebrations last 9 days and every night a new group (aka guilds or "gremios" in Spanish) sponsors the music and fireworks, the most...

Mexican Revolution Day was November 16th but the parade and other celebrations didn't happen until the following weekend. On Monday, the legal holiday, many places of business were closed. But the celebrations didn't begin until the parade on Friday the 20th. The Mexican Constitution dates back to 1917. When you think about it, that was not very long ago. Not even a hundred years. When people in my...

November 21, 2015 The Lake Chapala area has great access to activities and events on a monthly basis, but a tru highlight that takes place every week is the Tuesday Organic Market. It takes place every Tuesday in West Ajijic and has grown substantially over the years. Some vendors even come from as far as Guadalajara to show their organic products to the local expats.  You will find everything from...

November 20th 2015 November is a busy month in Ajijic. It starts with Day of the Dead which is at the beginning of November, then the Revolution Day parade on the 20th followed by the Ajijic Fiestas on the 23rd. During the parade local schools, clubs and organizations participate, This year even the Chapala Municipal President and some of his staff paraded down Ocampo street. Below is this years...