I believe that one of the many reasons we moved to Ajijic, Lake Chapala over 15 years ago was that it was getting very difficult to find a place that one could smoke in Toronto.

On arrival to Ajijic, Lake Chapala there were no such restrictions in place and one could smoke freely anywhere as it were. Of course, you might run into the odd rabid anti-smoker but that was to be expected.

Now it would seem that last week-end federal officials closed several restaurants and bars in Guadalajara for not adhering to the General Law for Tobacco Control.

Many of these establishments in Jalisco still allow their patrons to smoke ever though the law states they must have separate smoking areas.

Although the details are still sketchy, a team from the Federal Sanitation Protection Commission ( Cofepris) is thought to have visited approximately 40 restaurants in the city.

To reopen, owners of the closed restaurants need to make their establishments 80% smoke-free with outdoor or (more…)

This morning I was enjoying a leisurely morning at Yoly’s Beauty Parlor (manicure, pedicure and hair) when I overhead a man talking about wanting to move to Mexico from Durango, Colorado but was having difficulties in convincing his wife to make the move.

I totally related to this as it took 10 years for my husband to talk me into making the move from Toronto 15 years ago.

As I have often said, I wish he had found the right words sooner as I have enjoyed every minute of every day since arriving in 1994.

This is not uncommon as many couples are not always on the same page as one party or the other is dragging their feet.

There are many reasons for this. Fear of the unknown is at the top of the list along with fear of language challenges.

Also leaving family, children and grandchildren, aging parents, homes lived in for many years and familiar surroundings give many pause.

I understand and have experienced all of these doubts along with the worry of raising our children (then 10 and 12) here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Two things finally pushed me into agreeing with my husband to make the move. First was the coldest winter in Canada for over 50 years and second, the huge increase in our real estate taxes we were about to face.

It was my husband’s mother who put to rest of my fears about my children by telling me (more…)

Most of us, when we first move to Ajijic, Lake Chapala, go back to Canada often to visit friends and family. During these visits we are able to get our Canadian Passports renewed.

After a few years however, we find that some friends and family have also scattered or moved down here and, in some cases of family, in with us and our visits get less frequent.

Also we can not always schedule our visits north to coincide with our Canadian Passports expiring.

This was the case with me and I found out from a Canadian friend living here for many years that we were able to renew our passports right here in Mexico

It is a very simple and efficient process and I will tell you exactly how to proceed with your Canadian Passport renewal should the need arise.

The first thing to do is send an email to: ana-lilia.bara@international.gc.ca in Guadalajara and she will tell you how to download the Adult Passport Application online complete with all the instructions or she will mail the application and instructions to you here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

There are 2 Photo Studios in Chapala that know exactly what photos you will need for your Canadian Passport application. They are: Foto Estudio del Lago on Av. Madero #238-C, Tel. (376) 765-3548 and email: malvagarmx@yahoo.com.mx and Estudio Zaragoza on Lopez Cotilla # (more…)

Yesterday and today President Obama had a North American Summit with Filipe Calderone, President of Mexico, and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada.

Many things were on the agenda for the summit including money, drugs, H1N1, climate change and the new mandatory visas for Mexicans visiting Canada.

There has been a spike in violence and over 11,000 have been killed in Mexico due to drug related activities. The US has been more than willing to share the blame for this drug violence as the US provides the necessary market for these drugs and also has supplied approximately 95% of the guns used by the Mexican Drug Cartels. President Obama is reluctant to supply more support until he is assured (more…)

One of the many wonderful reasons to live in Ajiic, Lake Chapala is the many quaint day or overnight trips one can take to explore further the magic that is Mexico.

One of our favorites is Tapalpa which is about 2 hours from Ajijic on the road to Manzanillo.

It is high up in the mountains and has many good things to commend it. First, and most important to some, is a golf course.

There is a wonderful place to stay called Casa de la Mati which is a renovated original hacienda. The rooms have stone floors, and fireplaces and wood is delivered to your door. There are very comfortable king sized beds with fluffy duvets and are very quaintly appointed. If you think it would not be cold enough for an open fire you would be wrong. As the altitude is higher it is cooler, especially at night, and there are very aromatic pine trees everywhere reminding some of their northern roots.. When we were (more…)

There is a new ad campaign that is running in many parts of the world encouraging people to come home to Mexico.

The reason for this aggressive campaign is threefold:  the global economic crisis, the US/Mexico border drug wars and the H1N1 flu scare out of Mexico City.

These three factors have dramatically affected tourism in Mexico over the last few months.

Although the economic crisis was and is real the other two factors are not as bad as once reported.

President Filipe Calderon has partnered with the US in sharing the responsibility for the border drug wars and is actively working both with President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to get the situation if not eradicated then certainly under control.

H1N1, although, affecting over 30,000 worldwide is much less serious than the seasonal flu (more…)

There are many benefits to living in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico. One of my favorites is becoming more familiar with the internet and all it has to offer.

It was not too long ago that all I could do was send and receive emails and do a letter. I very much wanted to learn more and I am happy to say I accomplished that goal.

Facebook.com is one of my favorite sites and I have reconnected with many friends and get in touch with them and family through shared pictures and updates. Everyday I log in to find out who is doing what to whom. It was a particularly useful site when my daughter was in London, England in 2007 and again earlier this year. She could send me pictures and videos which I loved.

Skype.com is another wonderful site which offers messaging much like aol.com or Windows Live Messenger but it also offers an extremely inexpensive long distance application which has saved me thousands of pesos every month. If you have a video cam on your computer you are (more…)

I come from a long line of crossword puzzle solvers. My grandfather, my mother, my sister and I all do multiple puzzles every day.

When I was in Canada finding lots of puzzles in the newspapers was not an issue. (Crossword Puzzle books are never the same as daily puzzles – they will do in a pinch but that is it).

I would happily do The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Sun and just before I left The Post.

Week-ends were a special treat with lots of large week-end puzzles to solve.

When I first arrived in Ajijic, Lake Chapala we had access to one English newspaper out of Mexico City with one small crossword puzzle. Jumbles and Sudoku were, of course, out of the question.

When I would return to visit my sister and her family in Toronto I would be green with envy of her daily plethora of daily newspaper puzzle opportunities and watch despondently as she was up to her ears happily in week-end crosswords.

Then when my father would come to visit to get away from the frozen north I would carefully copy our one crossword every day and it was not long before we had our very own Jumble too. We would both do our puzzles with a spirit of competition as who could successfully solve them first. (more…)

We brought our children to Ajijic when they were 10 and 12. They went to a biligual school called Oak Hill and then Ifimac right here in Ajijic. When our daughter graduated from Ifimac her education was recognized and she was accepted into several A List universities in Canada. Our son attended an excellent college in the US and later attended Queens University in Kingston,Ontario. In other words the education facilities here are world class. There are also Mexican schools in Ajijic/Lake Chapala which are accredited. The schools in Guadalajara are also excellent and if you Google “schools in Guadalajara” you can access a complete list of educational institutions where your children or grandchildren will be welcomed and will receive high quality learning. (more…)