Guadalajara – September 4th, 2017
Our last day on this short getaway and we are spending the day with our friend Cheryl who retired to the area about a year ago and ❤️’s it.
The drive should take us about an hour, all the traffic was coming into Guadalajara as we drive away from the city into the countryside.
Lake Chapala (Spanish: Lago de Chapala is Mexico’s largest freshwater lake at 1,524 meters (5000 feet) above sea level. Its approximate dimensions are 80 km (50 mi) from east to west and averages 12.5 km (7.8 miles) from north to south and cover an approximate area of 1,100 km2 (420 sq mi).
It is a shallow lake, with a mean depth of 4.5 meters (15 ft) and a maximum of 10.5 m (34 ft). It is fed by the Río Lerma, Río Zula, Río Huaracha, and Río Duero rivers, and drained by the Rio Grande de Santiago The water then flows northwest into the Pacific Ocean. The lake also contains three small islands, Isla de Los Alacranes (the larger of the three), Isla Mezcala, and a third very small island next to Isla Mezcala called La Isla Menor.
The lake is also a critical habitat for several species of migratory birds, such as the American white pelican, and home to thousands of indigenous plants and animals. The Audubonistas de Laguna de Chapala holds an annual Audubon Society sponsored Christmas Bird Count.
We turn off the road to Chapala into a subdivision of cobblestones street covered in fine grassy green like a carpet a left turn end of the street and we are there, the first thing you see is these amazing beautiful yards in a blaze of colores and humming birds.
The house is what I will call a ranch single level, excellent floor plan 3 bedrooms 2 baths and a kitchen with a view to the front garden, I can cook in this kitchen, the rest of the house living and dining flow together out to the sunroom, with the murmur of the creek below. There are additional patios on two levels and room for a vegetable garden, there is also an avocado tree on the premises.
There are numerous towns and cities along the coast of Lake Chapala, including Chapala, Jalisco, Ajijic, San Antonio Tlayacapan, Jocotepec, San Juan Cosala, Mezcala de la Asunción, Tizapan El Alto, La Palma, Michoacán and Ocotlán.
After a few hours of catching up on life and the sound rain in the background and me asking her 1001 and questions about her move….we left for a tour of the town.
Ajijic (Spanish pronunciation: [axiˈxik]) situated on the north shore of Lake Chapala, surrounded by mountains, Ajijic enjoys a moderate climate year-round.
The Chapala Lake basin has a year-round average temperature of about 72 °F (22 °C). Due to Ajijic’s tropical latitude, the sun is warm year-round; due to its relatively high elevation, it is seldom unpleasantly hot or humid. The rainy season begins in June and lasts until October with an average rainfall of approximately 34 inches (860 mm). Even during the rainy season, precipitation generally occurs during the evening or at night.
December and January are the coolest months and May is the hottest, just before the onset of the rainy season. Overall, there is very little temperature variation year-round: daytime highs in January are around 75 °F (24 °C); daytime highs in May are around 80 °F (27 °C) to 90 °F (32 °C).
The town of Ajijic is your typical provincial Mexican town, with narrow cobblestones streets flanked by buildings painted in vivid colors and beautiful murals.
We walked down Colon the main drag filled with shops and restaurants its plaza and church. Cheryl pointing out her favorites, and as she drove telling us about the vegetable market, the butcher, the bakery hardware stores, and Walmart.
She confessed that she does not cook much, there is a very social life and there is always a very good reasonable lunch out, or as today lunch cheap and good.
Up until the arrival of the Spanish, the region was occupied by nomadic Indian tribes, probably the Cocas tribe that settled the northern shore and now Ajijic’s population of 10,509 (2010 census) excludes the hundreds of visitors from Guadalajara (35 miles (56 km) north) who spend weekends and vacations there. Many retired Americans and Canadians now live in Ajijic, full-time and part-time during the winter months. As a result of these foreign residents and visitors, Ajijic has numerous art galleries, fashion and curio shops, as well as restaurants and bed and breakfast inns. The Lake Chapala Society on the grounds of the former estate of Neill James in central Ajijic has about 3,000 mostly foreign members. It serves as a focus of over 50 ex-pat activities and services for the foreign residents who live around Lake Chapala. Mexico’s National Chili Cook-Off has been held in Ajijic since 1978 and currently attracts thousands of Mexican and International visitors each February. Ajijic has attracted foreign artists and writers since the 1890s.
We drove to Chapala for a late lunch and met her friend Bev another ex-pat and her partner in crime. Lunch consisted of a variety of tasty seafood dishes, queso fundido, and killer guacamole……..dessert excellent gelato.
Returning home for further chats and sadly the time passed too fast before Manuel collected us for the trip back to the airport.
In four days we experience another side of Mexico, that only adds to the enchantment of this land.
As I write this on the flight home, already planning a return…..little did we know than less than a year later will be retiring in the area.
