The time around the Day of the Dead is filled with interesting things to do and see. I have already written about the big celebration in the Ajijic plaza with the Zombie Thriller dance and parade,  pumpkin carving contest and art and craft show. These life sized, actually larger than life sized, Catrina Dolls were also out on the Ajijic and Chapala plazas. They were created by the school children with...

Saturday, October 26th, was a big day for Ajijic. There were several things happening in the Ajijic Plaza and the entire area was packed with participants and curious onlookers. The Michael Jackson Thriller Dance was one event. This is a worldwide dance to raise money for different charities. In Ajijic, it is for the Local Red Cross. People dressed in the zombie makeup and costumes were mixed in with the...

October 27th  2013 The Catrina is a referential image of death in Mexico and they are widely seen a few weeks before the big celebrations of November 2, which is the day of the dead, a very popular tradition in Mexico. During the last few weeks of October the Chapala and Ajijic Malecons held a Expo for the "La via de la Catrina" Lakeside. Several schools and cultural centers participated in the event,...

Tammy and I were on another adventure of the area east of Chapala. We stopped at El Gran Salon restaurant for a bite to eat but their electricity was out. In front of it are Tom Sumner, one of the three owners, and on the right, the musician Cesar Fabien. He plays and sings there. It just opened on July 22nd. They have Karaoke on Thursday nights. I was told that quite a crowd gathers for it. This...

This is the second article in a series that I am writing about the area East of Chapala.  It is a mostly undiscovered part of the lakeside.  The first trip out there was by bus and on this trip I rode out with my friend Tammy in her comfortable car. Both ways were interesting. We didn't go through the first town, Santa Cruz this time. Maybe we will make it on the next trip. On this trip, we focused on...

The Penthouse, Living in Community where like minds and like hearts meet. That is the opening statement on the flyer given to me by the managers of The Penthouse. It is located in Riberas del Pilar, just a block from the lake and across the street from a green field. The location is perfect for peace and quiet. The idea is for people to be able to have their own apartments but also common rooms to share...

I was fortunate enough to get a ride and tour from Shelley Ronnfeldt to the new Lucky Dog Shelter just outside of Chapala. Shelley is in the photo below. Their address is: 110 Carretera, San Nicolas. Their open hours are: 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday. If you drive, take the carretera from Chapala toward Mezcala. The street is Gonzalez Gallo and it goes past...

September 16, 2013 This years independence day parade was met with rain, due to the tropical storm Manuel (read more on this storm here). The  rain and cold damp weather did not stop the primary and elementary school kids from parading through the streets of Ajijic, celebrating their independence. Mexico declared its independence from Spain on the 16th of September of 1810 and this is considered one of...

I decided to take some of my favorite photos and write an overview of living in the lakeside area. My first impulse was to put on photos of all the holidays and celebrations. That proved to be too large of a task. I looked online at Mexican Holidays. There were nine major holidays listed and twenty nine ones that are called Observance days and four Season days. I have no idea of how many other days the...

June 12th 2013 The town of San Antonio Tlayacapan celebrates it's Fiestas every June. Many locals and even expats tend forget when each fiestas start in different towns around Lake Chapala. However the Fiestas in San Antonio Tlayacapan are hard not to remember due to its proximity with the rainy season. The first rains at Lakeside usually start the last week of May but the consistent nightly rains and...