Guadalajara's Top 20, Number 1: Lake Chapala

Started working at the Consulate this week. It's great because now I get to escape the house for several hours a day, have lunch with TJ, interact more with the people that we will be living among for the next two years, and make a little bit of fun money. Oh! And I get to avoid paying third party pirates for my health insurance! Standard EFM (Eligible Family Member) position, but so far I'm enjoying myself.

Yesterday I had a bit of downtime and found myself reading through the CLO (Community Liason Office) section of OpenNet. I found a link to something called "Out and About in Guadalajara." It's a list of the twenty must-see places in and around the city. What a great idea for a blog series, I thought.

In fact, I was so eager to get started that I apparently went to one of the places on the list two days before I even found the list.

Lake Chapala is located approximately 25 miles (45 kilometers) southeast of Guadalajara, and is the largest freshwater lake in Mexico. The lake sits on the border between the states of Jalisco (where we live) and Michoacán (where we don't). The town of Chapala and her neighbor Ajijic have become home to a large number of American and Canadian retirees thanks in no small part to the amazing weather and beautiful scenery. Rumor has it that if you visit Ajijic (not yet, on the to-do list), you will find that most signs are in English.

Beyond the novelty of being among Americans, there's not a whole lot to do here, but it's very relaxing. Lots of local restaurants and shops, weekend markets, boat excursions, and pony rides!

Sepia. Because all good cowboy pictures are in Sepia.

This was very exciting for me, as I had never ridden a horse before. Ok, so I sat on Sharon Trojan's horse once in high school. But she didn't know how to fasten a saddle correctly. I basically hopped up on one side and slid off the other. This was different, though. Of course I was the only newbie in the group, so my horse got lead around town by a leash. Or is that a lead? Choke collar? Hell, I don't know. I just told you I've never ridden a horse before.

Although I enjoyed myself thoroughly, I won't lie and pretend I wasn't a little nervous at first. In fact, when we left the safety of the horse pasture and stepped out into the city street, my horse pooped and for a split second I actually thought it had been me.

Other than what you see here, I didn't take many photos. I wasn't aware at the time that Lake Chapala was the pilot episode for a new blog series. Although there's not a lot to do, there's certainly a lot to photograph. I look at this first visit as more of an exploratory mission, and hope to post "Lake Chapala, vol. 2" in the not-too distant future.