A GPS trip to Tonala

Glen and I just got back from an enjoyable Melaque - Tonala - Tequila - Melaque trip and were accompanied by his Tom Tom GPS. First time experience for me and generally it was a pretty good guide but it did have it's issues. It talks to you if you didn't know.

Coming up highway 80 Mrs Tom did not know there was an Autlan bypass and wanted to take us thru town. After many "turn around" requests and distracted we ended up in El Grullo which is not close to highway 80.

Further on 'the voice' wanted us to turn left a few miles before Lopez Mateos but the intersection was vague so we continued. On Mateos it wanted us to turn to Jocotepec so Glen obediently drove along the lake to Chapala. Any clues on that one?

Tonala has redone some exits so we couldn't follow directions and ended up paying an exit and entrance toll at the next underpass. It did find the hotel after we got off the freeway.

Our guide did take us to Tequila on the free road and then back towards Ameca and the cross over road to Cocula and highway 80 but we had to ignore a few instructions on the way. Glen says many areas in the country and smaller towns are unmapped and the GPS gets confused.

Part of the problem is he hadn't updated his maps for 3 years. I drive less and less in Mexico but still interesting experience.

Highway 80 with a little rian

Trip to Scorpion Island

La Isla de los Alacranes

Bill bought a "speed boat" a few months ago and has been working on the steering and controls. He actually just bought the boat and trailer and had to match it up with a motor he had. He launched it a few days ago and it's moored in the Chapala public boat harbor. So because I'm heading for the coast soon he wanted to give me a ride.

Pretty bumpy ride for a light boat over the waves. Most everything else on the lake are heavy pangas that plow thru the waves. Smoother coming back with the wind.

Every little restaurant of about 8 has their own moorage/dock. Someone comes out to help you tie up. They know you want to look around the island so they offer to take your meal order and have it ready when you get back. The island is not very long and is narrow but because of the lake level we couldn't make it to the east end. Meal was just OK but a nice setting.

A few of these signs around the island

Boat docks

Restaurant

A few of these around the island too

The ride back with sailboat and island in the distance

Simple is beautiful

Well many times it is. Went looking for Bills new place in Chapala, he wasn't home so I continued on east to Mescala and beyond to San Pedro Itzicán. This is a foto of Mescala Island over the top of Mescala town

Mescala, Lake Chapala, Mexico

San Cristóbal Zapotitlán Fiesta

Well not quite a fiesta but good food, beer and people. Rene's place is big enough for a fiesta and there's even talk of making a restaurant out of it - we'll see. Trouble is not many in that small town could afford it, they have one beach restaurant, it's a 25 minute drive from Jocotepec and a long way from Ajijic/Chapala.

San Cristóbal is on the south side of Lake Chapala but not far from the west end and Jocotepec. This was a 2 pm party which is perfect to be back before sundown. We ran into an 87 year old gringa who had lived there for 10+/- years (she wasn't sure) and invited her. She moved after living in Ajijic for 10+/- years (she wasn't sure) to get away from Gringolandia.

Mom was out back by the squash patch cooking Tilapia in a wok. Surprisingly only one young person. She was sitting out back by herself next to the tramoline (brincolin) and I told her she should use it and she spent the rest of the day there. She wanted to be serious for the foto but opened up when I said 'dice queso'. Fun day and good conversations.

Charales Fabrica in Chapala

I went down to my old landlord's today in Chapala to get a note about the date I moved from Melaque. I needed it for my upcoming FM3 renewal and we moved the date around to fit the 30 day requirement. 3-4 visits to Immigration to record a move and 2 months later do it again to renew did not make much sense.

His wife was home but he was around the corner doing the books for a business that cooked and sold Charales. He's an accountant known here as a Contador (Accountant/CPA). I was unsure if I'd had Charales before and certainly had not had fresh ones. His wife suggested we go meet him, look at the store and try some. It turned out they bought me a 1/2 kilo which the owner would not accept money for (from his accountant).

Charales are common in most of Mexico's highland lakes.

So anyway, they have spiced, plain and small pieces of a larger fish that looks like Chicharron when cooked. Buy in a fancy basket or by the kilo in a plastic bag. I asked if I could check out the processing plant so took the pictures below. I don't know how they fish these things in Lake Chapala but assume with a fine net similar to the bottom foto from Patzcuaro - but I've never seen anything similar here. Supposedly the fishing is done near Mezcala where the water is cleaner.

What ever you think about eating fish from the polluted lakes of Mexico ... I just thought they were the pure grease they were cooked in. Was suggested to place absorbant napkins at the bottom of a container and let them sit.

The Fancy Plate


Sorting the fish


The kitchen


What they might fish them with

What's with the Rain

It's rained all day today and hard at times. The Chapala weather station say a little over a 1/4 inch but we've had more in Jocotepec. It's been overcast for almost a week with occasional showers ... and now it's January.

It's been raining more on the coast and friends are telling me my property in Melaque is becoming overgrown again and needs mowing. Mexicans there say this means a very wet coming summer. What do the weather gurus have to say?

Jocotepec Raspberries

There's something very soothing about Raspberries. Not only when they melt in your mouth but we almost always had them in our yard up north. These fields are just a short walk from my house up a peaceful dirt road.

Driscoll’s and Berrymex both have large farms in this area but I hear these are not organic like other farms on the south shore of Lake Chapala and Zamora. That may have been older information and they are finding a better market for the organic. Both companies employ lots of workers in the area and I hear it's hard not to have a job if you want one. My neighbor who works there brought me a small box the other day.

Yogurt, banana and raspberries make a good breakfast - that is soothing

Chapala waterfront construction

Ron dropped by for a few days on his way from San Miguel to Melaque and Bill and I had to show him around. We spent a couple of hours in both Ajijic and Chapala.

The first foto is of an island they are building just off the Chapala Malecon. The process is amazing. Trucks dump rocks on the beach and one by one they are loaded onto a small barge that is then pulled out to the island by rope. The rumor is they will place a large statue of Jesus looking one way or the other ... but just a rumor.

The second is of the new skate board park which is quite large an fits in well with the malecon and park. Nicely done

Chapala Malecon, Jalisco Mexico

Moving - not my favorite thing

But some moves easier than others. Finished my second trip to the Chapala area a few days ago and will head back for the third in a few days more. Silvia, my helper, wants to be back in her hometown for Independence Day on the 16th and I should have another load ready to go. Sounds exciting as I've only experienced the fiesta and Grito in the small town of Melaque and Seattle.

Got very lucky to locate a nice house on the first trip with the help of Trailrunner my new neighbor. Second trip was to sign a contract, pay rent, buy some furniture (unfurnished) and clean the place up.

Place has a great yard for the cats (out at night), fruit trees (from avocado to pomegranite), covered fiesta area, four bedrooms and I can almost see the lake from the second floor.

Quite a different feeling to use a sheet or even a blanket this time of year. The house has no fans.

So when you buy a bed-frame and mattress ... why would the price be the same for a double or a single. Mexico only!

Melaque landlord will be here this weekend to figure out what he wants to exchange for rent or just buy ...... because I installed an air-conditioner, replaced the stove and fridge, replaced the hot water heater, painted the place, added a security gate on the front door and fixed the older cyclone fences. I want my washing machine but the new place has no fridge so we'll see what happens there.

And I just rebuilt the well (I wasn't going without water for a few weeks or even a few days in this weather).

Got back from Chapala and noticed the pump was running but tinaco not overflowing. I had water so just turned the pump off over night. Next morning the toilets would not fill. Seems a combination of the water level dropping and the well filling with sand clogged the intake and ate the pump. Had to sink a new 6" casing inside the well, extend draw pipe a meter, new intake valve and rebuild the pump. Worked perfectly 'till the tinaco filled and we found the shutoff float was stuck.

No lessons here ... just stuff that happens