Here we are in October already. Summer and the rainy seasons are behind us and now we are preparing for Canadian Thanksgiving (October 12th), Halloween (October 31st), The Day of the Dead (November 2nd) and US Thanksgiving (November 27th).

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 (more…)

One of the many wonderful benefits in living in Ajijic, Lake Chapala is the year round golf at the many wonderful courses in the area.

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 (more…)

The British Open Golf Tournament (as it is more familiarly called) is underway in Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland.

There are 2 interesting stories this year. First is Tom Watson, who is 59 years old, is at the top of the leaderboard. Tom has won this event 5 times in the past and is very much an adopted son in the old sod.

Secondly, and perhaps even more surprising is that Tiger Woods missed the cut on Friday by one shot finishing 5 over par. Tiger who has also won the British Open in the past has only missed one other major cut in his career and that was the 2006 U.S. Open.

Phil Michelson did not attend this year’s Open Championship as both his wife and mother are battling breast cancer.

Retief Goosen is the only other usual suspect in the mix.

The first day the conditions were marvelous with very good weather but today the conditions are cold and windy not at all unusual for Scotland. The course at Turnberry is very beautiful and the (more…)

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 (more…)

The Wimbledon Grand Slam tennis tournament for 2009 is underway in London, England. Unfortunately, we will not be watching it on TV due to the last round of the U.S. Open Golf which is being played today.

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 (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…)

Well, as I wrote about on Monday, the rainy season would indeed appear to be upon us.

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 (more…)

April in Ajijic, Lake Chapala was very pleasant. Most of May was lovely too. However, it did start to get a little warm towards the end of May and June brought the heat with a vengeance.

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 (more…)

Okay, so the title of this blog is misleading.
In a format like this you would expect it to be about the decision to move here or not.
Sorry but that’s really up to you.
What I want to talk about was my son’s decision to go into Guadalajara and catch some
professional wrestling action.

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 (more…)

What I’ve always loved most about Mexico is how warm and friendly the people are. The Mexican culture is very family oriented. In the United States and Canada children can’t wait until their 18th birthday, making them legally able to flee their homes and become independent. While there is nothing wrong with wanting some independence, I believe that children leaving home at such a young age lose some of their family values.

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 (more…)