Visit Across Lake Chapala to the Driscolls Jocotepec Raspberry Farm

I have done many interesting things since my last entry on the Access blog.  I have gone to the Wednesday outdoor market in Ajijic and taken photos. I have gone to Chapala for a dentist appointment. I have visited with friends at the Lake Chapala Society. But the most interesting thing I did all week was to take a day trip to a town around the lake, San Luis Soyatlan and on our way there we stopped by a plant nursery and a large rasberry farm in Jocotepec where you can buy a bucket of raspberries for 50 pesos (under $5 usd). This farm is actually owned and managed by Driscoll.

My friend drove us across lake chapala to visit with a friend of hers. He has been living in San Luis Soyatlan for a few years and he loves the peace and quiet there. Before the raspberry farm and before we got to the town we stopped at a nursery and my friend bought him a geranium for his garden.  It was a well-stocked nursery and I loved seeing all the plants.

The side trip to the raspberry farms just outside of Jocotopec was wonderfull.  As soon as you get outside of the towns here you will see raspberry farms. They dot the hillsides. Remember, Driscoll buys their raspberries from here, so you know they are good.

There is a big difference between buying raspberries in the store in the States and buying them in the fields here.

I took a two and a half gallon bucket and they filled it up and charged me fifty pesos. That is less than five dollars. My friend in the States said she paid five dollars for a very small basket in her local grocery store. It is also a lot more fun to buy from the people working in the fields. They are all friendly and even though we don’t speak the same language we were able to understand each other.

In my last article I wrote about how people have freedom here to choose their own lifestyle. I have known people to come here and immediately have a full social calendar. Every day and night is blocked out with a club meeting or a performance or a dinner out with friends. Some people can maintain that kind of activity level all the time they live here but most people calm down after a few months of frantic running from place to place.  Maybe it happens after stepping on the scale one day and finding that they have gained ten pounds from eating out too often.

I believe that where a person finally chooses to live is determined by One’s activity level and desire to be social. Ajijic is the heart of the social scene. I have chosen to live here because I hate to drive. I can walk out of my little casita and within a few minutes be downtown or at the Lake Chapala Society. Others would rather live in outlying towns and be further from the social scene. In terms of cost of living, the most expensive area is in the heart of Ajijic and it radiates out from there, getting less expensive the further out you go.

Make sure to look for my next blog entry on our visit to San Luis Soyatlan.