Day 4 Sunday

After breakfast we went to the artist fair.  We met the artist (Antonio Cornelio Rendon) who had made the large straw pieces (estrellas) in our house.  Bo had a nice chat with him and in appreciation he spent 3 minutes creating a small pretty straw hummingbird holding a star in its beak for us.  We went to a lecture concerning the indigenous artists in Chiapas making a ceremonial gown (huipil) for the virgin Mary for the annual procession. The lecturer described the entire process of preparing the wool, dying it and weaving and then the embroidery, which is quite complex.  For the 2019 huipil in this village of Magdalenas, it took a year to make the piece for 2 embroiderers. We walked around and took pictures with some other artists we liked, including weavers from the mountains of Veracruz and a weaver from Chiapas who had the most magnificent silk (and also cotton) rebozo (traditional Mexican shawl), which took a year of weaving. We had a break for lunch in a restaurant on Malecon (not great), then walked the extremely crowded Malecon to the center of town for ice cream, and back to the fair for one last look.  At 4 pm we took a taxi to the airport for our flight back to LAX. The check-in and security was a breeze.

However, LAX is terrible.  It took us 3 minutes to clear immigration and customs. But outside Bradley terminal was a  nightmare.  It took our driver 30 minutes to get from  terminal 2 to us.

Day 3

Breakfast at our hotel and we walked to the bus terminal. Interesting walk in a part of town we have not been.  Lots of shops, lots of people and no Americans. The bus terminal was nice and efficient.  The tickets to Guadalajara were $3 each.  The bus was a big beautiful coach, air-conditioned with wifi.  One hour ride to Guadalajara then a taxi to the centro historico.  Guadalajara is not as pretty on the ground as it was from the plane.  The historical center is breathtaking -- big buildings (built by the Spaniards), large plazas, and wide pedestrian malls.  The cathedral is especially impressive. Most of the historic center is now a pedestrian zone with some limited areas for car traffic. Even though the plazas are huge and the walking areas are wide, it’s sometimes hard to get through because of the number of people there. We walked till our feet hurt, and visited a museum called Instituto Cabanas , which has a large number of amazing murals by Jose Clemente Orozco, one of the most famous Mexican muralists (we also saw his murals in the impressive Palacio de Gobierno). At Instituto Cabanas we also saw an amazing exhibition of indigenous artists from the Nayarit region who call themselves Wixarica. Their art was totally amazing.   The tourist information gave us a recommendation for a great restaurant (La Chata).  Unfortunately it was a 15 minute walk and when we got there, there was a line out the door (about 12 people). The receptionist said it was a 15 minute wait so we waited.  The meal was great and the service was even better.  When we left, the line outside was about 30 people.  We walked to the park, rested and took a taxi to the bus terminal.  Traffic was terrible – at one red light we had to wait for 4 cycles before we progressed.  The bus terminal had hundreds of people and busses going everywhere.  Very efficient.  We were glad to get back to Chapala and walked to the American Legion bar for a glass of wine. After a quick rest we went to the lakefront.  It was jumping with people kids and musicians.  The largest restaurant said they closed at 7.  The next one said 8.  We walked for 15 and then went there.  We hade one ceviche and it was great and enough.  We walked the boardwalk.  Tons of people and vendor stalls but the restaurants close at 8.  Strange.

Day 2

Day 2 11/8

We started the day by going to the folk art fair (Feria Maestros del Arte) in the Chapala Yacht Club.  Many vendors/artesanias from all over Mexico with a lot of diverse stuff. Bo shopped.  Then she went to a lecture about the indigenous weavers from Veracruz.  We had lunch at the fair (not great).  After a rest we took a taxi to Ajijik.  The 10 km drive took 30 minutes as the road was jammed. It is a town also on the lake. It is quite a contrast from Chapala (the weather is the same).  You hear very little Spanish spoken since there are thousands of American retirees living there. (about 40 % of the population is expats). We had noticed a Polish flag on a restaurant named “Gosha’s” so we stopped there and chatted with the owner who was from Yucatan, but he told us that his wife Gosia was from Poland. He encouraged us to come for dinner and meet Gosia so we did. The food was very good, and we had a nice chat with Gosia and her husband.  The taxi ride back to Chapala was 10 minutes. We walked back to our hotel via the Malecon. What a difference from last night – lots of people, families with children, music, a very lively place ,,,, and we didn’t hear a word of English. Such contrast with Ajijic.

Day 1

 

Day 1 11/7

Nice flight from LAX Guadalajara.  From the air  Guadalajara  appears to be a beautiful big city.  Immigration and customs were very efficient.  Our driver met us and drove us the 30 minutes to our hotel (Hotel boutique San Angel) in Chapala. Nice hotel.  We set out to explore.  The lake is OK.  Lake Chapala one of the best weather in the world.  Year round daytime highs range from 72 to 84.  Lows range from 45 to 60.  The lake is 50 miles long and an area of 420 sq. miles.

We saw lots of restaurants and bars and lots of musicians with instruments.  We found a bank and got money and then an ice cream.  We sampled street tacos which were not great. Back to the hotel and researched the best restaurant in Chapala.  Two lists agreed on the best.  It did not look too far on the map so we started walking.  It was a long walk on unpaved streets.  After we got there it filled up with Americans.  The food was excellent. We took a taxi back to the hotel and set out to find night life.  The city was dead at 8 o’clock. No music, only a couple of bars and restaurants open.  We bought a bottle and went back to our room.