Chapala

This is my favorite season of the year. Something is going on all the time. I can't keep up with it all. Between the expat community and the Mexican community, there is no resting. There are parties almost every night. Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I heard the big fireworks going off. I have learned to tell the smaller cohetes (which just make a very loud noise) from the ones that burst in the...

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...

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...

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...

This last weekend went to the dogs in the Lakeside area. Saturday evening at Salvador's Restaurant in Ajijic, Anita's Animals had a big spaghetti fund raiser for her shelter out in San Juan Cosala. On Sunday, there was another fun raiser near Santa Cruz at the new Lucky Dog shelter. It was their grand opening and they had free hot dogs and cold drinks. Unfortunately, I am only one person and I had already...

The Mardi Gras parade was held in Chapala along the main road on Sunday, February 10th. It was scheduled to start at ten a.m. Since I am always early to things, I arrived at nine thirty. It didn't get started until eleven thirty. In my article about the Carnival, I had promised take photos after the parade of the car show in the Carnival. Plus photos of the beautiful young women in the car show and...

The Chapala 2013 Carnival season kicked off  on Friday evening, February 1st, with a samba parade along Avenida Madero. It was followed by Entierro del Mal Humor (Burial of bad humor). On Sunday, February 10th at 11 a.m. there will be another huge Mardi gras style parade with floats, music, dance troupes, horses and much more. Something not to be missed if you are anywhere near Chapala that week end. I...

The open markets are called Tianguis in Spanish. They are not to be missed. The best word I can think of to describe the market is ABUNDANCE.  There is an abundance of everything, including people. The Chapala market is not hard to find. It is at the top of the main street in Chapala, across the street from the Pemex gas station. Entrance to the Market You can easily catch a bus, either the large...

The American Legion is the central meeting place for expats in Chapala, just as the Lake Chapala Society is the center for the expats in Ajijic.  Everyone is welcome at the Legion. You don’t have to be a member to participate in the events, to eat in the restaurant or to have drinks in the bar. Entrance to the American Legion Their address is: American Legion Post 7, Calle Morelos 144, Chapala,...

Mirasol (in Riberas del Pilar) is on the lakeside of the Carretera between Chapala (also San Antonio Tlayacapan)  and Ajijic.  Chula Vista is a little west of Mirasol and on the mountainside of the Carretera. Mirasol is a conglomeration of a pristine planned community and older homes next to empty lots. Mirasol Entrance I had never ventured to this part of the lakeside area before now. Every area...