Relocating from the U.S. to Ecuador, and then to Mexico. This will chronicle our adventures (and misadventures) as we learn to live in another foreign country. "The worst day at Lake Chapala is better than the best day at work."
Here is a video of our new home in the Raquet Club:
We will be moving from Cuenca, Ecuador to Lake Chapala, Mexico in 2017! Below are pictures of the home that we will be renting in the village of San Juan Cosala in the Raquet Club. We plan on taking residency sometime in March, 2017.
During the month that we spent in the Lake Chapala area, we went to Guadalajara two times. The first time was with our group from Focus on Mexico (the seminar we attended in November, 2016). We went to several places, one of them being an upscale open-air shopping district called Tlaquepaque. Tlaquepaque is one of those places that shoppers dream of. This
Guadalajara suburb is a “must-see” on any vacationers agenda. The main shopping area has been closed off to traffic so that you can stroll and shop at a
leisurely pace. Specialty shops are everywhere you look. Over three
hundred quaint shops will make your shopping experience a real pleasure. This
seemingly small town offers some great bargains and an incredible
variety of items in just about anything in the way of quality handmade
goods, from fine crystal to furniture, and almost everything in between. Plan on at least one full day for your visit to Tlaquepaque. Take your time and explore the shops that really interest you.
Make time to enjoy a fabulous lunch at one of the sidewalk or patio
cafes (we had a delicious lunch at the Casa Fuerte restaurant -- I highly recommend it!). A few of the shops have their own restaurants so that if you are so inclined, you may shop during your meal.
We also visited the town ofTonalá.A few minutes from Tlaquepaque and a bit smaller, Tonalá offers another shopping experience that you
are sure to remember fondly. Tonalá is a village of craftsmen, it is
where many of the artists make and sell their goods. Tonalá is not as
glitzy as Tlaquepaque,
this is more a city of factories than stores but most are open and
willing to sell to the public. Much of the ceramics, pottery and some
of the finest dinnerware sold all over México, is made by the estimated
six thousand artisans living in Tonalá.
We went to the main plaza in Tonalá where we toured the gallery of the famous ceramist, Candelario Medrano.
Our second trip to Guadalajara was to Costco, Home Depot, and a store called Mega. This was a bus trip with the Lake Chapala Society, which is the way to do it if you are not familiar with the area.
We spent the month of November, 2016 in the Lake Chapala area, specifically in Ajijic. We stayed at the Ajijic Suites and highly recommend it. It is right in the center of the village but far enough away from the central plaza to avoid the noise from the weekend celebrations.
Ajijic is the most popular town in "Lakeside" (what the area is known as on the north shore of Lake Chapala) because of the many dining options, along with art galleries, musical entertainment, etc. Also, the Lake Chapala Society is found here, which is a good starting point if you're new to the area. And you can walk along the malecon in Ajijic (another one is in Chapala). Here are pictures of the village of Ajijic:
Chapel of the Virgin of Rosario, built in 1643 (in the Ajijic plaza)
Outdoor cafe in the Ajijic plaza
Ajijic plaza
A favorite restaurant of ours: David's Cafe
Here is the owner Chuy, waving to us
Where we stayed (Ajijic Suites)
Outdoor courtyard at the Ajijic Suites
Indoor courtyard at the Ajijic Suites
Mike having coffee at David's Cafe
David's Cafe
Walking on the cobblestone streets to David's Cafe (be careful!)
Here are pictures of the lake and the malecon in Ajijic:
This is a huge lake. We've only seen about 20% of it!
Here are pictures of the Chapala malecon (larger than the one in Ajijic):