Lunch in Mazamitla

Saturday, February 28
Today is our last opportunity to go out and explore together, because we will have visitors on Sunday and Monday and start preparing for our departure on Tuesday.
We ask our fellow RVers what places they have visited south of the lake and they all agree, that Mazamitla is the place we should see. Jerome warns us, that this 45 kilometer road has been under construction for quite some time and he does not recommend taking it. Louise on the other hands insists: “The buses drive it, why couldn’t they”? Jerome points at our car, “That’s not a bus Louise”.
Jerome may not know that we are adventurous people and have been on all sorts of roads with this car.
We decide to give it a try. On our way we drive in and out of some of the small villages along the shore of Lake Chapala. There is always something new to see.
We turn south at Tuxcueca in anticipation of what the road will be like.
It does not seem to be all that bad, there is plenty of traffic and mostly cars like ours who follow each other on one of the lanes made available, while the other, double lane is almost ready to be paved. Then there is a detour and we drive on dirt and dust for a few kilometers as we climb up the mountain. A nicely paved road follows and we think we’re over the worst. A red earth sand road is next, then just rocks, and dirt again. As we continue to climb the temperature rises to 26 Celsius, the water temperature of the car is also climbing. Ramiro turns off the Airconditioning, hoping to solve the problem. With all the dust flying around there is no way we can roll down the windows. Ah, another stretch of paved road.....followed by more dirt and gravel. This continues the entire 45 km stretch. The alpine view is our reward, but boy, is it ever hot inside. Every time we hit a stretch of pavement we roll down the windows and let the air flow through.
That lunch in Mazamitla better be real good.
This road widening project is a major job. I am happy that it keeps so many people employed. Maybe when it is all finished we’ll come back.







Mazamitla is very similar to Tapalpa, which we visited on Wednesday. There is no need to take any pictures of the white houses and the wooden posts of the portales, similar souvenir shops and restaurants. Even the square almosts looks the same. The only thing that is different is the church. We can not leave a village we visit without taking a picture of the church.
Right below the city is a huge valley, with numerous cabins, we walk around one of the areas a bit and are offered to view one of the cabins. It’s not just a cabin, it is a huge house with three bedrooms, each with two double beds, two bathrooms and lovely balcony with a nice view of the valley. On the main floor is also outdoor area with BBQ. They are nicely furnished with the typical Mexican colours. They sleep as many as twelve people. Let’s bring the entire family.
We notice that it is quite windy here and are told that the temperatures at night are a bit cooler than around Lake Chapala. Hence the fireplace in the cabins.
In the little clothing store we see knitted toques and winter coats. There are also less outdoor restaurants here, for the same reason.
After seeing the Chicharones that is being prepared on the street, we are starting to get hungry, we need to wait until 2:00 pm, before we consider choosing a restaurant. Most do not open before that time.
We find a place on the second floor of one of the many places around the square. All this time I wanted to have rabbit and this is my chance. It tastes pretty good. There is not all that much to see in town, so we decide to head back via a different road, with a loop further east via Jiquilpan and then west again along the lake.
By now it is 33 degrees and we continue to drive with our windows rolled down, which is possible since this road is nicely paved. It’s only two lanes and there are a lot of speeders on this curvy road. So paying attention is important.







We can see the lake again and enjoy the view, which never seems to bore us. We enter Petatan, a small fishing village, where we see thousands, and thousands of pelicans. This place is definitely worth stopping for.
It is situated in a inlet, which seems to be ideal for fishing. Where there is fish, there are birds, I only never seen this many. We decide to leave the car and start walking. On every corner is a fish processing plant. Pilapa seems to be the fish caught the most. They are being cleaned and bagged. The waste is loaded on a big truck. We follow the truck to the water, where it dumps its content. More and more pelicans arrive and even the herons are waiting their turn. What a sight. They’re all hungry for fish, as if they know when it is suppose to arrive.

While we are watching the birds, a small group of little children are calling silly things to us. Ramiro makes them laugh by answering back in Spanish.

As we walk back to the car, we see the same children playing with their pet goats. They may be poor, but they seem to be happy.
As we leave the town, we see yet more fish processing plants, at the last one an enormous amount of Charales is laying to dry in the sun.

With this experience we are being reminded, that it is not always the destination that is important, but the journey to and from is just as important. Get off the beaten path every now and then and you’ll be surprised what you find.













As we drive further west, direction home. I see an old ruin sticking out from the town of Tuxcueca. We haven’t stopped here yet. We drive up the hill on a narrow one way street, with tiny houses on each side and end up right at the foot of the large staircase leading up to the church. “Is this the end of the world?” I ask one of the women who sits outside. She smiles. It’s quite a clim up, but we have a beautiful view over the town. Below the edge of the church we see the lake. There is a model of the original church, which shows another wing on the lake side. That part of the church is completely missing. We ask if the church is still being used. “Only once a year”. we are told, for a special occasion. We assume that this would be for the day of the Virgin of Guadeloupe. Is there any other, more important day in Mexico?
I am so glad we made this trip. The next few days we will be closer to home. Patricio and his girlfriend are coming to visit for two days, and then we need to start preparing for our departure north again. Perhaps everyone back home can start sending those angels again, which have guided us on the way down here?

Searching for our dream home

February 27





During the past few weeks, we have seen many areas of Lake Chapala in search for the area we may ever want to live or the kind of house we like to live in. We have seen homes that need a total renovation job and homes that are ready to move in, with furniture and all. The homes we have seen range from $1000,000Pesos to $8000,000Pesos.
Some with pool, others with beautiful garden. Some with view of the lake, others without.
We even attended a wine and cheese reception, with the purpose of drawing people to view the new homes at a new development. There are as many as 800 homes available in the area and we see the prices being reduced. This is a good time to buy, but not for us. Not yet.
At least we know what we want. When it will happen is a totally other story.







As far as I’m concerned, I have found my dream home. (picture 6,7 and 8) Reasonably priced, not too old, private, not too far from town, and in such shape that with a little effort it can be personalized to our own taste. The best part is the fantastic view of the lake. In the morning you can see the sun come up from the left of the veranda and in the evening you will have a fantastic view of the sunset. There is even a place downstairs for a little casita, with private entrance, which with a little reno work, could be rented out or for when company is coming. A nice project for Ramiro.






Ramiro on the other hand, loves anything that’s old. The older the better. His dream is a ruin in Roca Azul, that reminds him of the Alamo. Perhaps he likes to stay in Mexico and I’ll fly home. He can call me when he is all done with the project. I will send pictures of how I would like the house to look.
His other dream is to buy Roca Azul Entertainment and RV park. In that case, he better find another spouse, because there is no way I will enter into any other business adventure. It’s time to enjoy life and leave all headaches behind.

An adventurous day

Wednesday, February 25


At the suggestion from several people we decide to make a day trip to Tepalpa.
With map in hand we leave early so wee can see as much as possible and still be home before dark.
After heading north towards Guadalajara we need to turn south direction Guzman. We decide to take the back road into the mountains.
We climb higher and higher through some pretty nice country.
There aren’t very many villages and after an hour driving, we are delighted to see a sign that directs us to Atemajac de Brizuela. We have no idea what to expect and continue to climb up the tiny cobblestone road and stop to take in the fantastic view. We park the car and walk, or rather climb our way up even higher. We pass some very old buildings and neat little stores. This town has a lot of character. It is ancient with it’s old adobe houses and some colonial style structures. As we continue to walk, we smell freshly baked bread and Ramiro follows his nose to buy some pastry at the little bakery. The living quarters are in the back, as in many of these places. Often, the men go to work in the field or in the city and the women run a little business in which their children or mothers often get involved in as well.
Once we reach the square the market is already in full swing. Fresh orange juice is made while you wait. Other items offered are bread and fresh cheese.
As on most squares there are always a few men sitting around. I like to know how Ramiro fits in that picture and ask permission to take a picture with Ramiro in it. The three men do not hesitate to make room for him and soon an interesting conversation starts. Because not many visitors come to this town at an altitude of 2,600 meters. The men are just as curious about us as we are about them. We learn a lot from each other. The older of the three men is obviously retired and wants to learn English. We teach him a few words, but he forgets quickly. His young looking nephew, tells us that he is the judge and should be at work at this time. But he rather takes part in the conversation. For the third man it is no issue to sit here all day, most of his work on the ranch has already been done.
They are not all that surprised when we tell them how cold it is in Alberta. “Up here in the mountains, it is not unusual for the temperature to drop to 10 below zero in December. In June the rains start and the entire town is one big mud slide. Other than farming, there is not much else a person can do to make a living up here. So many man go to Guadalajara during the week to work and come home for the weekend only. That’s when it gets busy in this town of 1500 inhabitants. The town also draws from the surrounding ranches and on the weekend it can get pretty busy here, especially in the bar.

As much as we enjoy the conversation, it is time to move on. After a warm handshake from all man we continue our adventure south direction Tapalpa and are surprised by the chance of scenery. It almost looks like British Columbia with all these evergreen trees. Later we learn that this area, which has many recreation areas where cabins can be rented, is called the Mexican Alps.
Wherever there is a flat spot with no trees, there is a ranch with lots of cattle.
It is very dry here at this time of year and the only green we see is that of the evergreens.
tappaah is another surprise. The lumber from this are is put to good use and almost all commercial buildings have the portales in front with beautiful wooden posts. The balconies on the top have a certain Swiss look to them. The roofs are all covered with red shingles. and most of the houses are painted white.
Tourism is obvious with the many souvenir shops and restaurants.
Where ever there is an open door we want to snoop around. sometimes realizing we enter a private residence. There is a cute, very colourful hotel in town. We sneak into one of the rooms, when we see the door open. Old, but cute. The lady tells us that after this week the price of a room will be 25% less.

We buy a few small pots we plan to hang in our new entrance at home. We give in on our long time anti-souvenir policy and buy a small framed plaque with the Mayan horoscope for each of us.
Lunch is not served until two o’clock, but we are hungry. We order a drink and watch the activities on the square. Time goes by quickly and before we know it lunch sits in front of our nose.
We want to see more and rather than turning east to catch the road back home we decided to take one of the smaller roads further south. We have no idea where we will end up and there are no directional signs anywhere. When we ask for directions to Punta de Aqua, which we only know from the dot on the map, we are told, that this is not a town, but a ranch. Well, we want to go there anyway.
Dust is flying around as we swerve to avoid the many rocks and holes in the road. We wonder if the bottom of the car will fall out now or later. But we’re having a great time.
We have to ask for direction several times and usual hear, straight ahead. But what does than mean if there is a T in the road. We use our instinct and after half an hour on the road through hell we are surprised by a beautiful lake right in the middle of desert.
We understand now why the man said “it’s only a ranch”. At one time this area was a very prosperous farming community. There is little left of the adobe homes, they are ruins. In time these will fade away. This place should be a heritage site. There is no write up about it anywhere. It will disappear in history with little or no record.
The bull ring is the most primitive I have ever seen. The church is the only building which looks half decent. It must have some Government money in it, like all other churches. An old women carrying a large key, approaches the church. We ask her all kinds of questions, but she does not know much, other than that there are still about 50 families living here, and they all come together on Sunday, like one big family. I want to ask her if we can see the church, but our conversation turns another direction and I forget. We really like to stay longer and walk around, but we are afraid of the dark and after continuing south for another 10 km, which takes us almost an hour we turn back north again.

As we arrive home, Louise and Jerome welcome us. “We need to celebrate our new rental home here in Jocotepec with Champagne. Please join us”. We are very happy for them. They will now live here full time. While Jerome finishes cooking his chicken on the BBQ, we suggest they join us with their chicken and I cook upthe artichokes we bought the other day. It will be dinner inside though, because as soon as it gets dark the mosquitos come out and they are nasty.
We have a wonderful evening together. There is only a tiny bit of the Dutch Advokaat left and Louise really wanted to taste it. Later Jerome, who is a computer buff, makes an attempt to improve the internet connection. We are succesful for two minutes and it goes down again.