Sweetie got a new camera for her birthday (a really cool Nikon L1 digital camera. A tiny cute thing with 5 times optical zoom and 6.2 megapixel resolution).

One of her first outings with it was at the Ajijic annual Fat Tuesday parade, - our version of Mardi Gras or Carnival.

Easter is as important here as Christmas and the town goes all out putting on it's celebration of the beginning of Lent.

We get to watch the parade twice. It goes up one street about 5 blocks and then back down another. We watched the first pass in the streets with the crowds of families and kids. The second pass wends it's way through the main town square and we were able to get a table at Tapalo (a local restaurant on the square) to watch the second pass.

So Sweetie took lots of photos and I've posted them in our photo gallery.
You can see them here.....


Drop her a note and let her know what you think...

Photos of last year's Fat Tuesday parade (taken by me) are here....

From Delta Sky Magazine...

http://www.delta-sky.com/2006_02/Evidence/index.html

If the cherished ideals of human unity and harmony between cultures remain hard to achieve, maybe we would best look to a basic biological concept for a solution. Symbiosis, the dictionary says, is the life association of two dissimilar organisms for mutual benefit.

I thought of this on a recent visit to Ajijic (pronounced “ah-HEE-heek”), the prettiest of several towns laced together by a two-lane highway running along the northwest shore of Mexico’s largest lake, Chapala, 45 minutes south of Guadalajara. It is midsummer, the rainy season, when the air is soft and the surrounding mountains turn an exuberant tropical green. The setting is bucolic, Old World, with a rustic church and peaceful plaza, and a gazebo waiting for a band to arrive. Cobblestone streets slow traffic to a genteel crawl, and people come and go, murmuring a polite “buenos dias” as they amble by.

Some of the artists from Mata Ortiz came to visit Ajijic for a show and demonstation of their craft.

Marianne Carlsen of Maestros del Arte arranged the show and many people passed through the two day event which was held at the Nueva Posada.

During the show one of the artists threw several pots and fired them demonstrating their techniques and skills.

I was able to take a series of photos showing most of this process.

You'll find the photos here in our GALLERY.

CBS filmed a couple of pieces recently on the "Midlife Mavericks" in Ajijic - women of power who have settled here.

You can view the short videos here.
http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=14251@kcbs.dayport.com

http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=14300@kcbs.dayport.com

Karen Blue, a local author, wrote a book by the same title (Midlife Mavericks: Women reinventing their lives in Mexico) some years ago.

"Careers, corporate ladders, glass ceilings, stock options - heart attacks, ulcers, cancer and divorce. As young as forty, women are taking a second look at their choices and are asking, "Is this all there is?" Burned out, used up, or trapped in unfulfilling careers, an attorney swaps law for painting, a corporate executive gives up prestige in search of purpose, and a manager of a temporary employment agency sheds her trappings for a simpler life."

So Karen begins her delightful tale of life in the slow lane.

We are often asked "Where is Ajijic anyways"?
I've used Mapquest to locate the town.
Here are some links that will show you.

Where it is in relation to Guadalajara

Where it is on Lake Chapala

From Delta Sky Magazine...
Article by Roger Toll

If the cherished ideals of human unity and harmony between cultures remain hard to achieve, maybe we’d best look to a basic biological concept for a solution. Symbiosis, the dictionary says, is the life association of two dissimilar organisms for mutual benefit.

I thought of this on a recent visit to Ajijic (pronounced “ah-HEE-heek”), the prettiest of several towns laced together by a two-lane highway running along the northwest shore of Mexico’s largest lake, Chapala, 45 minutes south of Guadalajara. It is midsummer, the rainy season, when the air is soft and the surrounding mountains turn an exuberant tropical green. The setting is bucolic, Old World, with a rustic church and peaceful plaza, and a gazebo waiting for a band to arrive. Cobblestone streets slow traffic to a genteel crawl, and people come and go, murmuring a polite “buenos dias” as they amble by.

For the rest of this article please visit http://www.delta-sky.com/2006_02/Evidence/index.html

Every year our good friend Marianne Carlson assembles together a group of indigenous Mexican artists who practice traditional arts and crafts for a grand sale in Ajijic. She was originally inspired by the book "Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art" which you can purchase from Amazon right here. She has made it her goal to produce an arts fair with as many of the artists included in the book as possible.

This year the feria was held November 11, 12 and 13th at La Huerta, a local public space. The 2005 show has it's own website at http://www.mexicoetc.com/maestros.html. This year she has managed to bring eight of the artists in the book to Ajijic as well as many many more.

Marianne's focus for years has been to promote the art of the Mexican culture. She is a co-owner of a shop in Ajijic, Mexico called Galeria Maestros del Arte (formerly Papagayo and Avant Gourd) where she sells traditional hand made arts and crafts throughout the year.

The few photos I took can't convey the beauty of much of the work on display. You can see them here. If any of my friends post their photos online I'll link to them here.

New Years Eve was our first opportunity to host a party for most of the wonderful people we have met.

We invited all of our friends in Ajijic and most of them were able to come. A couple of them were out with the virus that's been floating around town these past few weeks and we were grateful that they chose not to share it with the rest of us.

Several came later after dinner and dancing elsewhere and they were able to join us for the karaoke portion of our evening.

Dinner was pot-luck and everyone brought their favourite food preparations.

Click here for the photos...

It's been the most wonderful Christmas season here in Ajijic.

Friends, parties, fiestas, perfect weather - all have combined to make this one of our most memorable holiday seasons ever. Not to mention great food and drink. And did I mention the perfect weather? The holidays were proceeded by a patch of cold weather but it warmed up just in time so the evening parties could overflow into the gorgeous terraces and gardens.

Sweetie looked fabulous as did Lynne.

I didn't take a lot of photos but those I took are posted here.

We attended five Christmas parties in all.

Every couple of weeks Ren Ellis and the boys get together for a night of blues jamming at Bruno's Hideaway, AKA Vicky's Place, out on the Ajijic-Joco Carretrera. A night of dinner and blues with Ren Ellis and his backup band makes for a very enjoyable time for all. You can click on the photo for some more photos of the evening. Look for a couple of Ren crooning a tune with his granddaughter!! Rumor has it that Ren and Rebecca are moving to San Miguel soon. We'll miss them both.

The Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation sponsored a Purim Party for the community which was held at the congregation's facility in La Floresta. Many attended and enjoyed the Purim treats. It was very strange to find ourselves participating in a function we would never have attended in Toronto. In Ajijic, however, it seems that it fulfills a larger purpose in supporting the community so we do so.

The day before Ash Wednesday is a time for a Carnival style parade in the streets of Ajijic. Marchers wear costumes and throw flour and water at the bystanders who line the streets.

We found a great spot on the street to watch the parade. Afterwards we wandered over to the Plaza where we were able to find ourselves a table right at the front of Tapalo Restaurant and enjoyed our lunch as the parade passed us a second time.

Our friend Marianne who writes the 'Ajijic Chronicles' See our 'ajijic' category on the right menu) operates a gallery in Ajijic, Mexico (one of our favourite places) where she sells her artwork, - sculptured and painted gourd art.

Much of it is exceptionally beautiful. We just learned that she now has a page on the net showing off some of her work and that of other artists in the Lake Chapala area.

You can see her work (and even buy some if you like) here.

It's well worth a visit.

Life in Mexico continues to be wonderful but I miss hearing from many of you. I really enjoy hearing what you are up to and knowing you still remember you have a long-time friend south of the border.

We had 3 months of intense heat (March, April and May) – hotter than normal and I hated it. I swam almost every day, which has been great for the waistline.

Lake Chapala is located a few miles southeast of Guadalajara, - Mexico's second largest city. It is surrounded by many small Mexican towns.

Some are interesting to visit, - others aren't.

Some are good for shopping, - others aren't.

To try to help people understand what the Lakeside community is about, I built this website, But What do You Do All Day? to help explain.