Autumn in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico

All of these holidays bring their special joys and traditions.

As Ajijic, Lake Chapala has a large Canadian and American population it only makes sense that both Thanksgiving Days are celebrated. Most restaurants offer Thanksgiving dinner specials for both Canadians and Americans. A listing for these dinners and their locations you might wish to consult the Guadalajara Reporter.

For example the Canadian Club hosts the Canadian Thanksgiving dinner at La Nueva Posada October 12th.

Halloween is a new holiday in Mexico and basically started with the advent of the ex-pats. Mexican children have happily adopted Halloween and go from door to door to extract candy. They start very early in the afternoon and some do, in fact, wear costumes. You will also find, however, some teenagers not in costumes of any kind come to your door more than once to try their luck. There are various house Halloween parties and some restaurants and bars have Halloween celebrations as well.

The Day of the Dead is a very interesting time of the year here in Mexico. This is a wonderful holiday to celebrate dearly departed friends and family members. There is special bread baked for the occasion and there are shrines set up around the village and cemetery to honor the recently deceased. The main celebration is held at the cemetery at the west end of Ajijic and is a must see event. There is music, flowers, food, drinks, dancing and all manner of fun shared with those gone to heaven. All the shops have all sorts of Day of the Dead items to sell to commemorate this day and some are quite macabre but highly in demand nonetheless. Many visitors take these items home as they interchange into Halloween decorations nicely.

On November 27th is US Thanksgiving Day and we like the special dinner at La Nueva Posada because we can spend it with our Mexican relatives. The dinner is delicious, very traditional with all the trimmings. They seem to substitute yams and marshmallows with red cabbage which is fine with us.

This date is also important as it heralds the start of the snow birds coming south. They usual head south after US Thanksgiving and head back north just before Easter.

After all of these wonderful events comes Navidad (Christmas) the most beautiful time of year of all here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, but I will save that for another blog.

We have so much to give thanks for here in Ajijic, LakeChapala. We do, after all, live in paradise.

Golf in Ajijic, Chapala, and Guadalajara

Right in Ajijic there is a beautiful executive 9-hole course called Chula Vista Country Club. This is a very challenging course, well kept, with several holes having exceptional views of Lake Chapala. Tournaments are often held here and there is a very nice lunch facility and also a facility for private parties. This is a very pretty course and caddies are available but no carts.

There is the Chapala Country Club in San Nicolas on the other side of Chapala. This is a full size course with a very nice clubhouse for lunch or dinner. Carts and caddies are available.

Atlas is a golf club between Ajijic and the airport on the way to Guadalajara. This course is the second longest in Mexico and has full, dining and spa facilities with tennis courts.
Carts and caddies are available. The fairways are very wide but if you do hit into the pine straw good luck in hitting out in 1.

In Guadalajara there are many excellent golf clubs to choose from and you can get a full listing of all the golf courses available at www.virtualmex.com/golf.htm This web site will also supply course lengths, green fees etc.

Another golf club that is a favorite of ours is Isla de Navidad in Barre de Navidad on Costa Alegra between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta. This course was built to attract world class golfers and has some magnificent ocean view holes. It is a difficult but fair course. I usually stay away from the inland water portion of the course.

We stay at the Grand Bay Hotel when we go to play Isla de Navidad. It is an excellent hotel across the bay from the golf course. This hotel is a wonderful experience complete with fine dining, all possible activities, a full massage and beauty centre and a very pretty setting with several well kept swimming pools.

Whatever your handicap there is a golf course for you in the area. Men’s and women’s groups can be accessed at most clubs if you do not have a foursome of your own.

Even in the rainy season seldom a day of golf has to be missed as it usually only rains at night.

Lorena Ochoa, the number 1 female golfer in the world, is from Guadalajara and her original home course was the Guadalajara Country Club.

So get out and have fun – all year long.

Ajijic Tianguis (Market)

When I was first here 15 years I used to love going to the tiangis for many reasons.

First to practice my Spanish as very little English is spoken but, surprisingly, everyone seems to make themselves understood as to what they want and how much it costs.

There is a wonderful array of local fruits, vegetables, meats and fish. Many stalls are aromatic with wonderful and unusual smells of herbs and spices.

There is clothing for all ages and bed and bath linens. Notions, tools, kitchenware and hardware abound.

You will not miss the cd stall as the music booms up and down the street.

There is jewelry and local crafts and an excellent watch stall with a man who can fix any watch at a most reasonable price.

The wonderful smells of cooking food are everywhere and this is your opportunity to try some of our local dishes.

There are plants and flowers, appliances (small and large) and bicycles..

Going to the tiangis is a wonderful experience for all of your senses. The colors and bright and the aromas of so many different things are wonderful and tasting the food is a real treat.

You can get almost anything at the tiangis. I once purchased a special chalk which you could draw across your doorways to prevent alacranes (scorpions) from entering your home.

If you are a newcomer it is a great asset to know the word of what is it you are looking for. On the plaza in Ajijic or maybe even at the market you can buy a small handheld device which translates Spanish into English. I found this to be an invaluable asset when shopping anywhere.

This is a very social occasion for the vendors who use this time to catch up on the news. The Mexicans still have time for their customers and as always their warmth, friendliness and willingness to help shines through.

I loved the tiangis when I was first here and I still do. I think you will also enjoy the experience.

Retiring to Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico

I have blogged about the wonderful retirement opportunity in Ajijic, Lake Chapala but I thought it is well worth blogging about again.

There have been three things that lately have, to some, put a damper on travel and retirement in Mexico and I would like to address those three issues.

First, there was the global economic crisis that hit in September 2008. We opened Collins Real Estate in July 2008 and have received lots of comments about our brilliant timing. I am happy to say, however, that we have had a steady stream of clients and sales since opening albeit perhaps not as many as we might have had without the economic crunch.

People are still retiring in droves as the Baby Boomers move through the market. Good deals are available and people are still buying here even though there are some cheap deals in Arizona and Nevada it is still not Mexico and when the economy recovers even slightly as it already has our weather and cost of living will remain very attractive for those seeking ideal retirement locations.

Second, there was a lot of buzz about the “drug wars” on the border of Mexico and the U.S. Both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama have visited our Mexican President Filipe Calderon and have agreed that this problem is a shared responsibility. The fact that 95% of the guns in Mexico are imported from the U.S. and the voracious appetite of the Americans for drug consumption are both fuelling these drug wars. Ajijic, Lake Chapala is largely an expat community and here the only drug of choice is Viagra so we have been largely untouched by the violence reported in the papers. Both Mexico and the U.S. are committed to eradicating this scourge on humanity and as a result instances of violence are markedly reduced. The legalization of Marijuana would go a long way in easing the problem as well.

Thirdly, H1N1 (Swine Flu) caused many to change their plans to come to Mexico as they thought instant death awaited for them as soon as they set foot here. This was not quite the case, as it turned out. Although the number of H1N1 cases did reach 30,000 worldwide the scare was blown completely out of proportion causing unnecessary financial stress to many in Mexico City. H1N1 is not as serious a strain as the normal seasonal flu and can be easily managed with the proper medication – Tamiflu.

The upshot of all this is Ajijic, Lake Chapala is still a wonderful and safe place to retire. Our weather is the best in the world and right now we are enjoying the rainy season which the best season of the year. (Not that any of our seasons are bad.) Lake Chapala is high and the Sierra Madre Mountains are green and the colors of the flowers and flowing trees and shrubs are magnificent. The mangoes are heavy on the trees and the aromas are wonderful.

To get up every morning to have ones coffee (or morning drink of choice) on your terraza while watching the sun sparkle on Lake Chapala is truly great for the soul.

So if you were considering retirement in Ajijic, Lake Chapala but because of the above reasons became reticent worry no more. Retirement in Ajijic, Lake Chapala still is everything you want it to be and so much more.

Wimbledon 2009

The U.S.Open has been fraught with bad weather but they are coming down the finishing stretch now with the favorite, Phil Mikelson 1 back of the leader Lucas Glover.

Roger Federer is looking for his 15th major title at Wimbledon this year and a return to the #1 player in the world status. He is currently #2 behind Rafael Nadal. Nadal had to withdraw from Wimbledon due to his knee tendonitis so Roger has a very good chance to realize both of these dreams.

The birth of Federer and his wife, Mirka’s, first child is imminent but he had refused to say exactly when that will be.

Today Roger was given the honor of playing the first match on Centre Court, an honor which would have gone to Nadal had he been able to compete to defend his title.

Roger defeated Yen-Hsun Lu of China in straight sets. He still has to contend with Lleyton Hewitt and Nicolas Kiefer both of whom have beaten him on grass.

All of Britain is rooting for Scotland’s Andy Murray, of course, to bring the title back to England. Their last hope “our Tim” Henman has retired.

This year the staunchly traditional British tennis authorities have finally succumbed to pressure to have a roof at the tournament so play should be uninterrupted.

Television coverage will begin tomorrow but one an always access current scores online.

There are many avid golf and tennis players and watchers in Ajijic, Lake Chapala and this 3 week period of major golf and major tennis tournaments are sure to bring something for everyone.

Twitter.com

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 able to see the person you are speaking with. I could open Skype first thing in the morning and leave it open all day and if my daughter needed me I could respond to her immediately as if we were in the same room.

My new favorite is twitter.com First you have to learn the language of twitter, such as tweets, twitters etc. I like to know the latest news and so I follow CNN Breaking News and it gives me all the news in point form so I don’t have to spend as much time watching CNN and waiting for what I what to know about being aired. Also you can follow your favorite TV shows and find out what is scheduled for any given day so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not to watch it. You can invite people to follow you or block anybody following that you do not wish to have on your list.

My husband and I love old movies and often we could not remember the name of some person in the movie. This would bug us until one of us did remember or until we could reach our daughter who always seemed to have the answer we were seeking. Now no more sleep is lost as you can google anything at google.com and get an immediate response to any question. In fact google is now a verb in the latest dictionaries.

I think what I love best is learning different ways to use the internet. Ajijic, Lake Chapala is largely a community of ex-pats of retirement age and there is not any better way to stay mentally alert than to use your mind everyday. Mental exercise is just as important as physical exercise is in maintaining a healthy mind and body. As my father used to say “you have to keep moving”. So log in and have fun.

CFE in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico

Last night we had another amazingly dramatic thunder storm which woke my husband, myself and the dogs.

When I woke up I was wrapped in a maze of white gauzy cotton because for some inexplicable reason my husband had lowered the mosquito netting we have suspended above our bed. I thought this was a lovely romantic touch for our bedroom but apparently my husband thought it had a much more useful role.

The electricity went out with a large bang in the middle of this storm and I thought the generator must surely be in pieces and it would be a long time before we had power restored as high winds had also caused electrical problems in Chapala.

The lovely fans we had throughout the house, of course, all went dead making going back to sleep a difficult proposition indeed.

The first thing I do in the morning is get my coffee and plop myself down in front of CNN while I check all my sites on my laptop. I put the milk in the microwave to heat up for my decaf cappuccino and naturally nothing happened.

Laundry was out of the question and this was the day I had earmarked to wash 2 rugs and our duvet cover for the bed as the puppies had been bathed yesterday.

The dishwasher usually humming happily in the morning was eerily silent as was the fridge.

I was crestfallen without all my gadgets that are so much a part of my morning routine. I called my sister in Canada as luckily we still had one phone in the house that was still in working order and complained happily to her about my non electrical plight and then prepared to go for my walk.

First I called the office of Chula Vista to see what was happening with the electricity. I had already, to no avail, tried to get through to the emergency number 071 of CFE. I was assured that the outage had been reported and service would resume as quickly as possible. In the past this has given me no feeling of confidence as it has sometimes been hours before service was restored.

So you can imagine my delight when at 9:45 am I looked up in the kitchen and the lights were on! I was elated and ran to turn on my laptop and commence my morning rituals.

It would appear that CFE now has a much better grasp of identifying and fixing whatever problems might arise during the rainy season. I, for one are delighted with their progress.

The Rainy Season is Upon Us

I don’t know why I bothered to go to the hairdresser during this time as the heat had caused my hair to fall flat before leaving the salon.

In the past the hunt for fans was quite a challenge unless you went to Guadalajara as all the fans lakeside flew off the shelves. Now that we have Wal-mart (albetit still a contentious entity for some) purchasing a fan is as easy as going to the store and making your selection from many models available in all price ranges.

Although we do have overhead fans in most of our rooms which do provide much needed relief I still find free standing fans necessary for other parts of the house.

Fortunately our house is very cool as we have marble floors and a very large overhanging roof over our outdoor terraza.

The rainbirds (not really birds but large insects) have been croaking themselves hoarse for the last few weeks heralding the imminent onset of the rainy season. (June 15 – October 15)

Last Wednesday we experienced a wonderful storm complete with torrents of rain, thunder and lightening which sent our dogs promptly scrambling underneath the bed. This was not that unusual as we live in San Antonio Tlayacapan and we have been “enjoying” their fiestas for the last several days complete with fireworks sounding quite like large cannons in your bedroom which also freak out the dogs. No surprise there.

We all thought after this storm “Aha the rains have come early and they will cool everything down wonderfully”. “Not so fast” said Tlaloc, the God of rain.

It was still hot on Thursday and no more rain seemed to be forthcoming.

Last night some time after midnight we did have another storm. Clearly, the rainy season this year is rigorously adhering to the schedule as today is June l5.

If you look to the mountains you will be able to see the subtle beginning of the greening of the hills and the lake is already starting to rise.

The mountains will now turn from a scruffy brown to a rich green velvet which is beautiful to watch. Also the lake will rise bringing even more varieties of wildlife and birds and week-end visitors from Guadalajara to enjoy our new malcones (lakeshore promenades) in Ajijic and Chapala and the many restaurants along the shores of Lake Chapala.

This is, indeed, our most beautiful season in Ajijic, Lake Chapala and we are sure you will enjoy it as much as our many residents.

Wrestling in Guadalajara, Mexico

I have a friend who’s mother thinks pro wrestling is legit but is convinced they faked the moon landings. I think it needs to be said here that my son has not believed that pro wrestling was “real” since he was 5 years old so it was more of a lark than anything.
He really wasn’t expecting an athletic display of any kind.

He asked me to tag along and what I’m wrestling with is my emphatic decline of his offer. My general rule here is to go to anything and everything. It’s usually either fun or so bloody awful it’s funny. Here are some of the details that he reported back to me.

The neighborhood in witch the “stadium” was located sounded rather seedy. Actually it sounds like it is to” seedy” what “pleasant” is to Buckingham Palace. One doesn’t go to these events stone sober so my son and his girlfriend went to a saloon first.
That’s right, he took a date. Romantic devil.

Braced with liquid refreshment they went and got tickets. There are 5 different price ranges. The cheap seats are in the balcony but you may not want those because the other patrons make fun of you and yell things like “Hey you better hurry your bus is leaving soon”. I assume there is some shame attached to using public transit because this line got great laughs from the other fans. The other four price ranges are a bit mysterious because you can sit anywhere you please. Go figure. However the rows of seats aren’t bolted down so don’t lean back, you’ll collapse the whole row and this is a very unpopular rookie mistake.
You should also know that if you are a sensitive liberal ( I think of myself as a liberal but I have a sense of humor about it) with any regard for women or gays you might be taken aback by the crowds jeers. The general theme of the comments like “ nice speedo…did your husband make that for you?” and other references to the wrestler’s life partners seemed most popular with everyone in attendance. Men, women, teens and children all homophobic and all having a great time. Women walking around the audience were all requested to either spin or jump up and down. If you go, the correct response here is to laugh not actually jump up and down. Throwing cups of beer at the wrestlers or other patrons is quite acceptable. Take an umbrella because gringos are obvious targets. When my son was walking around they chanted “Son of Bush…Son of Bush” …big laughs.

The actual wrestling was of course awful. The men were fat and moved like fat men.
The women wrestlers all had cesarean section scares. Gotta love working moms but they weren’t much into showmanship so the crowd is why you go. Everyone gets in the jovial spirit of the thing and everyone has a blast.
I think I’ll go next time. Hope to see you ringside.

Kevin Collins, Collins Real Estate

The People of Mexico

In Mexico, most children, especially the girls, stay at home well into their 20s. The family bond is very strong, and the children are brought up going to school and then working in the family business. It is a cycle. The children are born, raised, and looked after until a certain age, and then it is the children’s turn to look after their parents. It is a special sight to see.

Aside from the family life here in Mexico, the people are so warm and friendly. The Mexican culture is quite peaceful and harmonious. Everyone works together. Never have I lived in a country where it is impolite to NOT say good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. Walking down the streets hearing “good morning, how are you” from a complete stranger is a refreshing change after living in the United States.

Mexicans unlike many other nationalities encourage foreigners to speak Spanish. Instead of turning up their noses because you are speaking incorrectly, they are patient and helpful in your learning process. You may feel you are being mocked when they smile and laugh, but it is only because they are impressed you are trying. And lets face it, you probably do sound a little funny.

Mexico is a beautiful country with warm, kind people. In the many years I have lived in Ajijic, I have been made to feel like one of their own. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
And remember; don’t forget to say “Good Day”, or “Buen Dia”.