When my husband and I lived in Toronto we did a lot of entertaining at home. Almost every Friday and Saturday for years, we entertained friends and clients in our home. We did all of the cooking ourselves and quite enjoyed it. This in the days we had a nanny looking after the children and doing most of the every day cooking. So cooking was fun and not something we had to do every day. Another reason, of course, was that in Toronto, it was extremely expensive to take 8 or 10 people out for dinner to the wonderful restaurants.

Since we moved here we find that, for us, dining out is a much better choice for entertaining friends and clients. I had forgotten everything that goes into a dinner for 8 in your home.

First you have to plan the menu, then shop for the menu and unlike Toronto you are very fortunate if you manage to procure everything on your list.

Then there is the buying of flowers, candles, wine, pre-dinner drinks, after dinner drinks, specialty coffee, cream and (more…)

This year the annual Chili Cook Off is on Friday, February 26th, Saturday, February 27th and Sunday, February 28th in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Again this year it is being held at Tobolandia (water park) at the carretera and libramiento and will commence when the gates open at 11:00 am on Friday.

The official opening of this traditional Ajijic event begins around noon on Saturday, February 27th with the arrival of the annual parade. This will be led by an honor guard formed by members of the Lake Chapala Shrine Club. Among the honored guests at the opening ceremonies will be United States Consul General Daniel F Keller, Chapala Mayor Jesus Cabrera, Chapala Chief of Police Raynol Contreras and Traffic Commander Juan Carlos Borrayo. Cook off Chairperson, Loren Reynolds, will open the event with a tribute to Tom Johnson, an enthusiastic (more…)

I must admit that my expectations for the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics were not very high considering the Beijing opening and closing ceremonies.

However, I was soon filled with pride as I watched all the aboriginal groups of Canada walk into the stadium. Every aboriginal group was represented from coast to coast to coast and proceeded to do ceremonial dances for over an hour in full native dress as they welcomed the athletes from 82 countries parade in front of over 60,000 cheering fans.

My family and my excitement was further heightened by the stunning visual (more…)

Many newcomers or potential newcomers ask me “What is there to do in Ajijic, Lake Chapala?

I can honestly tell them that in over 15 years I have never been bored and there is indeed plenty to do.

You can be as busy or as idle as you would like,

In Ajijic, Lake Chapala there are two garden clubs, The Garden Guild and The Garden Club. There are cooking competitions and lessons available. There are bridge clubs and cribbage clubs.

There are all types of cultural events such as symphonies, plays both local and imported and I can honestly say my children have been more exposed to culture than they ever were in Toronto.

We have the Auditorium in La Floresta which stages many events and also the Little Theatre in San Antonio Tlayacapan and they are always looking for people who wish to get involved in theatre.

There are local golf clubs and tennis clubs in Ajijic, Lake Chapala as well as many more in Guadalajara. Lessons in both sports are available and tournaments to participate in.

There are many very worthwhile charities to get involved in and churches for all (more…)

Weather is seldom talked about in Ajijic, Lake Chapala as we have arguably the best climate in the world and, therefore, is not a topic of conversation.

99% of the time our weather is 75 degrees and sunny. Even the during the rainy season (June 15-October 15) it usually only rains at night and is still warm and sunny during the day.

Now, it would appear, people are talking about nothing else and with good reason. December 2009 was unseasonably warm but January 2010 was cool and gray and February, so far, is worse.

The fact that it has rained three days straight without letup is unheard of in our 15 years in Ajijic, Lake Chapala. There is even talk of snow which strikes fear into the hearts of many.

Many businesses are suffering from the prolonged rain as people are hunkering down in their homes trying to (more…)

Federal agents went in to the Crown Casino Ajijic in Plaza Ajijic on Friday, January 22nd to carry out a court-ordered raid which lasted more than six hours

A press release from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) said the investigators confiscated equipment and materials from the betting parlor and also took 16 employees and 9 clients to the PGR headquarters in Guadalajara for questioning in regards to probable violations of the General Law on Games and Raffles.

Allegedly the business was opened without proper permits from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Gobernacion).

The detainees were held in custody for about 17 hours before being released on bonds posted by the casino’s operators.

Evidently, agents allowed a number of foreign clients to freely leave the casino to avoid the possibility of violating their individual rights.

Included in the evidence collected by authorities were 65 electronic betting machines, 23 packages containing 3,298 magnetic cards used for playing the machines and 57,533 pesos in cash found in the till, as well as an (more…)

When we first arrived in Ajijic, Lake Chapala paying bills could sometimes be a challenge as I have mentioned before. First you had t find the bill in question and then began the process of finding out where to pay said bill.

Our property tax bill in Canada for our house in Toronto was going up to $6,000.00 Cdn. when we left in 1994.

You can imagine our very pleasant surprise to find that here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala property taxes were substantially lower.

For the first few years of owning a home here our property tax bill was paid by someone else who paid several tax bills at the same time saving us the possible frustration of finding out how to pay it ourselves.

Last year we paid it ourselves for the first time and we delighted at how easy it really was.

The place where you pay it is relatively new as opposed to the hole in the (more…)

Remember when you were young how much fun it was to go to the movies, usually with your friends on Saturday afternoon or later perhaps on a date in the evening.

It was always a special treat and the prices in those days did not require a bank loan.

When we first moved to Ajijic, Lake Chapala we did not have a movie theater and if you wanted to go to the movies you had to brave the traffic into Guadalajara where there are now two or more movie complexes.

The main ones are Cinepolis (www.cinepolis.com.mx) and Multicinemas and they both have many locations. So a visit to their websites would tell you what location would suit you. Also they have listings available weekly in the Guadalajara Reporter.

The listings for our own theaters are also available in the Guadalajara Reporter. Our theater complex is in Plaza Bugumbilias, Carr. Chapala –Ajijic # 54-C. Tel (376) 766-3729 Ext. l04, 106. www.cinemasdellago.com Matinees Saturdays and Sundays only.

There is also a coupon in the Guadalajara Reporter with which you pay only (more…)

For over 30 years the Eager Family and La Nueva Posada (originally just The Posada) have been institutions in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Originally started by Morley Eager and his wife, Judy, these experienced innkeeps have provided Ajijic with a consistently superb Hotel, Bar and Restaurant.

Their son, Michael and his wife, Maria Elena, took over management and now Michael’s three out of five children are also in the business. Michael Jr., Wendy and Kristina also work at La Nueva Posada. Michael Jr. has a degree in hotel service management and is now bringing some of his innovative ideas to the table, as it were.

When they were first here they were virtually the only place in town and over the years many new restaurants have come and gone but La Nueva Posada is still going strong with bookings well into the spring and offering facilities for specials dinners, catering and meetings of all kinds.

The Eager family is truly the treasure of Ajijic and some say that Morley Eager put Ajijic on the map. One of his many claims to fame was staging a full production of “Phantom of the Opera” in the bar.

To this day La Nueva Posada is integrally involved in the community and Michael Eager (more…)

Kim Everest, the owner of Number FOUR Restaurant on Donato Guerra, has done it again!

We were lucky enough to be invited to the opening of her new bar “Chili Bang Bar” on Hidalgo #15 in downtown Ajijic a few doors west of the Plaza. Tel. (376) 766-1919.

Chili Bang Bar is an upscale bar with great prices and music. They have a great wine list and fabulous martinis plus many other mixed drinks and all makes of tequilas and beer.

The Fusion Food Menu is brought to Chili Bang Bar by Chefs at Number FOUR Greg Couillard and Ismat Jivani. They are currently working on perfecting the menu but such delights as Tequila Shrimp (more…)