Lake Chapala

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Finally getting around to writing about our stay in Ajijic and Chapala.  The lake is beautiful, the locals kind but there are just way too many gringos and the culture has been affected.  I can understand though, why foreigners want to live there.   Home prices are a bit high but the cost of living is very low.   Everything is in English, with many shops and stores that cater to the foreign element.   It's a good thing for the economy but I feel like it is all about shopping and eating out.  

I'll post pictures and give some descriptions of what we saw and what we think.   As you know, anywhere in Mexico is beautiful but we are more the outdoors type and prefer walking, hiking, and being boondockers.   This trip we were pretty much hooked up most of the time and it was okay but more like being at home and not out and about on vacation, if that makes any sense.

In the main plaza of Chapala, there are several art exhibitions as well as theater options all of which are in English. 

Very beautiful sculptures located around the plaza along with a handsome tourist!

This is the malecon at Chapala.  The lake is beautiful and there are many places along the way to stop and enjoy the view including restaurants.   I have done some research and there are 12 monitoring stations around the lake that track the quality of water.   Mercury is non-existent and all other levels of chemicals are below acceptable levels.   There are areas where E-coli is a bit high but those are areas where there is a high concentration of older homes.   Water Quality Analysis - Lake Chapala  This report is in Spanish but the graphs and charts are easy to read and there is also a glossary of abbreviations needed to understand the charts.   

A heron basking in the sun.  This is a great spot for bird watching.  Lots of water foul, finches, hummingbirds, and believe it or not, pelicans.   I just can't find the picture right now.

We came across this restaurant and as we passed we heard someone on a microphone, "B5, and then we have G18".  It was bingo day and the place was packed.  Too funny!

There is a Walmart in town just before heading up the hill to Ixtlahuacán.   It's a bit on the small side but it appears you can find all kinds of foreign foods along with the Super Laker market in Ajijic.   We did go to Walmart to pick up a few things and ran into Heinz and Ulli who were stocking up on some items.   I stood in one place with the shopping basket and watched people walk around in circles looking for items because they didn't know how to ask.  It's a two-way street though.   People should learn some Spanish, use their cellphones for translation and at the same time, Walmart could recruit younger people who have knowledge of English.  

I let one gringa pass in front of me.  I said, "pasale, adelante".   She replied, "you must be German, you're speaking German".   I had to chuckle.

We enjoyed our day, please don't get me wrong but it is a bit too much for us.   Not the gringo part but too much shopping and restaurants and people with a lot of time to do nothing but walk around.  Too much concentration on the touristic part and not on the culture or nature.  Reminds me of why we don't like Yellowstone or Grand Canyon, everyone is rushing around and not smelling the roses.