Jocotepec - an overbuilt weekend getaway?

There's been lots of concern and controversy over the thousand plus houses and apartments being built just beyond Jocotepec in El Chante. Most of the concern has been about how the permits were issued and can the treatment plant handle that much sewage and keep the lake safe. Who knows?

They have thought of the traffic this will produce and have a nearly completed Jocotepec bypass road on the hillside north of town. They are also widening highway 15 from Joco out to highway 54 and the entrance to Guadalajara. This new road may end up being better than the existing road into Chapala and therefore adding even more traffic.

Since there is no major shopping in the Joco area I can't imagine what Bodega Aurrera and the centro market will be like weekends or vacations let alone in town driving. This is a large part of why I'll probably be moving back to the beach towards the end of the year. A tourist escape so close to a city the size of Guadalajara is not what I came here for.

Hill side of the highway some of the 1000

Lake side of the highway some of the 1000

A little further towards El Chante building more

And here is an apartment complex that could number another 1000

Back road bike ride

Spring is here and I felt like a bike ride. Sun felt good, I needed the exercise and I wanted to see how the new Jocotepec bypass road is coming. My back road heads almost west from Joco to highway 15 and intersects where the new bypass road will begin. The new road has been cut thru all the way but still very rough for construction use only. I was hoping the road would be fairly flat to avoid the "jake brake" trucks from echoing across the valley ... but it looks like there will be a pretty good grade on either end.

So my back road is a nice ride. Gentle up slope away from town and a coast on the way back. Scenery and crops will change with the seasons and I'm sure it turns to mud in the rains. Just wish there was a little less garbage dumping which seems common for back roads in Mexico.

Cowboy on the road with cows


Cowboy in the field with cows


Old tree that looked better with no color


A new crop of corn next to the rasberry sheds

Jocotepec and Lake Chapala

They are building a bypass highway around Jocotepec on the side of the mountain. It looks like there will be a lot of stop and go as there is no sign of recent work right above town. In the meantime it's a great little hike with access in a few places. In fact a number of locals have adopted it as their jogging path.

Marilyn and I walked up the other day to see progress and the view ... and it's worth the effort (not that much really). I caught this foto as the sun was going down across Jocotepec with the lake and Mt Garcia in the background

Jocotepec with lake Chapala and Mt Garcia behind

Jocotepec, Jalisco Mexico