Chapala

So, last weekend I went to Chapala with Jorge (a co-worker).  It's a very gorgeous area.

We first stopped by Ajijic (pronounced Ah - hee - heek).  A small town on the northwest-ish side of the lake.  It has the largest population of ex-patriates (people living in a foreign country) in Mexico.  After visiting, I have to agree, there were a lot of Americans there and a lot of the signs were in English.  It felt kind of like Houston (Mexican-American ratio), but more exotic.  The town was quaint and very tranquil.  I loved the following picture because it just showed the beauty of the small town of Ajijic.  Cute (but hard to walk on) stone roads, sweet little houses that were elegant in their simplicity.

The board walk was beautiful and relaxing to stroll along on.  Though, the beach was fairly rocky and the water didn't look all that inviting... though that's probably because of how windy it was that day.

The Boardwalk from the beach.

A cool crane that let me get pretty close for a close - up.

Um. Yes. I'm definitely returning for a horse-back ride.

 After strolling through Ajijic, we went to Chapala.  For those who are interested, here is a map of the area by Lake Chapala. 
 
As you can see the lake is very large lengthwise, but in width it is very short.  Which is why in my pictures, it really doesn't look all that big (cause they're all shot across the way).

If you go on that little outcropping of rock on the left apparently you can see the horizon and it's just lake and more lake.  We didn't go, but that's where you can realize how large the lake really is.

Chapala is a much bigger tourist destination, so it's much busier with a bigger market with things to buy and such.  We went on a Saturday, so it really wasn't all that busy.  Sundays are the days in which people go out to enjoy themselves after doing all their "to-do's" on Saturday.  So, it actually turned out to be a very nice day to enjoy Chapala.

This was a very long mural of the history of Mexico. 
Very beautifully painted, I might add.

In Chapala, you could go out in a boat to experience the lake in its entirety.  It was a little late to go out in a boat at that point as the sun was setting, but either way, I doubt I'll experience it.  You had to go down from the pier to the docks by climbing down very small stone inlaid steps on the side of the pier.  Most of them had no hand rails.  Yeah... not happening.

The moon was obviously much larger, but I thought it was still beautiful

The Catholic Church in the center of town.  Clearly it's behind this other brick building,
but I thought it was a good pic nonetheless.

After Sunset on the boardwalk in Chapala.

Anyway, it was a really pretty area.  My first experience outside of Guadalajara and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Though, I do have to mention that I'm surprised so many Americans live in Ajijic.  I can barely say the name and I have quite a bit of Spanish experience.  How do Americans who have little Spanish ability even tell people where they live?  Also, I find it awkward to run into other ex-patriates.  What do I say? Hola or Hello?  Maybe they're not even English speaking... we did see some German signs there... what if I say Hello and they're German?  My decision ended up being that I ignored them and acted like I was Mexican... which didn't work out so well, but it did avoid awkward greetings.  Now I just gotta find someone to go horse-back riding on the beach with me. :-)