Lake Chapala

I got a late start leaving the San Miguel camp due to working on this blog. Around 2 PM I started driving west again and I found myself west of Ocotlan at dusk and looking for a place to park for the night. I read somewhere that some of the Pemex stations that have large parking areas allow parking at night. So I saw one with a large parking area that had a few semi trucks parked in the back and I pulled the rig to the end of the lot and parked for the night. When I awoke the next morning there were large semis parked in front of me and in back of me. I was able to get the rig out without trouble but in the future if I park in a Pemex lot I will park with the nose of the rig pointed out.

I arrived at Lake Chapala around 9 AM and took a road to Ajijic which bypasses Chapala which is the largest town on the lake. The Lake Chapala area has one of Mexico’s largest populations of foreigners, mainly US citizens and Canadians. The lake is about 5,000 feet in elevation and the area is reputed to have the best climate in the world except for somewhere in Africa. I’ll tell you a bit that I have learned but if you are interested in the area use Google and search on Ajijic or Lake Chapala to find out more about the area.

I drove west through Ajijic and then turned back east and stopped at a nice looking restaurant named Salvador which had some outside tables. I sat at one and had breakfast, a waffle, 2 bacon, 2 sausages, scrambled eggs and coffee for about 35 pesos. While eating I noticed a couple of middle aged gringos having coffee at another outside table. After I finished eating, I walked over, introduced myself and ask if I could ask some questions about the area. One of the fellows, named Brian is a retired school principal from Ontario, Canada. He has turned out to be a fountain of information and has helped me a lot. Brian lives 8 months out of the year in San Juan Cosala, a village about 6 miles west of Ajijic. He seems to know all the gringos in the area and has introduced me to his many friends who have walked by his “Office”, an outside table at Salvador. I have met several Americans and Canadians and three people from Poland.

Tonight will be my third night in this area. Brian introduced me to a woman from New Jersey who has a home in Jocotepec which is further west on the northwest corner of Lake Chapala. She kindly allowed me park the rig in front of her house on the first night in the area. Being of Italian heritage, she even fixed me a nice meal of Raviolis and in the evening we talked and I learned more about her and the area.

Near her house is a large recreational place called Roca Azul which is on the lake and has houses for rent, tennis courts, two swimming pools, a soccer field, barbeques, and a recreational hall with pool tables, camping area and RV parking with full hookups. I wanted to check it out so the next morning I drove there. It was too upscale for my liking and the price was $360 a month.

I drove back to Ajijic and ran into Brian once again at Salvador. I guess he goes there every day. I found out about another RV park to the east towards the town of Chapala called La Garza. Brian took me for a ride in his Thing. After having lunch at a fried chicken place, Brian showed me some of the fancier homes in the area called Chula Vista. The homes had grand views of the lake and they looked like places you might see in Beverly Hills. Then we went to San Juan Cosala where his home is located. He introduced me to a Mexican friend, “Jose” who owns several pieces of property in the area. Brian thought that I might be able to make a deal with Jose to park the rig on one of his vacant lots. We drove over to the lot to check it out. It is right off of the main road which goes around the north side of the lake. At one time, Jose started to build a warehouse on the lot but never finished the structure. One of his friends, a long haired gringo from Colorado about my age, has his trailer parked in the warehouse structure which has no roof. The lot is mostly over grown with weeds but it looked like I could find a level spot to park and the lot is fenced and has a locked gate. Jose said he would clear some of the weeds later in the afternoon and to come back later.

Brian took me to see his house right in the village of San Juan Cosala. He bought it 6 years ago and he and his wife are still working on finishing the remodel. When finished, he will have a very beautiful house that would probably sell for around a million dollars if it were in California. Brian then dropped me off back in Ajijic were I had parked the rig in front of Salvador.

I drove to see the other RV Park, “La Garza”. It was nice but the electricity was not working and they wanted 150 pesos a night. So I drove back to Jose’s lot east of San Juan Cosala. Due to a brief rainstorm in the afternoon, Jose had not yet cleared the weeds. While trying to park the rig in the level spot that looked best, I couldn’t see a large rock for the weeds and knocked off my new grey water tank valve. It doesn’t look damaged and I will be able to clean it up and glue it to the tank again. Shortly afterwards, Jose showed up with a machete and cleared the area around my truck. Earlier in the day we talked about me paying 50 pesos a night to park the rig on his lot. I like this area. The weather is great. The locals are friendly and willing to help me learn about the area and Mexican culture. So I decided to offer Jose 1,000 pesos to park on his lot for a month which works out to about a little over $3.30 a night. He accepted the deal so my plans have changed. I will stay in this area for about a month (maybe more) and check it out.

Brian had told me that his wife and friends were going to go to a restaurant called the old “Pasada” down by the lake on the main street in Ajijic, Colon, and to meet them there if I could make it. So I cleaned up, changed my clothes, walked across the street and caught the bus to Ajijic for 7 pesos. The buses run from Chapala to Jocotepec about every 15 minutes. I walked down Colon to the restaurant/night club. Brian and friends were not yet there when I arrived so I got a table and a Margarita. The entertainment on a Tuesday night was a fellow who sang along to a recorded sound track. He did a lot of Elvis Priestly songs but was quite a good singer. Brian, his wife and friends showed up later and we had a good time. I ordered Sea Bass covered with garlic and rice and mixed vegetables. It was very good. The Pasada started to close down around 10 PM and Brian and friends dropped me off back at my San Juan Cosala camp site.

One of the things I forgot to do before entering Mexico was to fill up my water tank. Now I was almost out of water. My new neighbor, Ron, it turns out has his trailer fully hooked up. He has a connection to a septic tank, electricity and a water connection and water filtration system. He kindly allowed me to fill up the rig’s water tank with filtered water and has allowed me to hook up the rig to electricity. So I now have a level parking spot with a locked gate, water and electricity for around $100 a month. I may just stay here longer than a month.

This morning, I set up the dish and am now back on line to update the blog. I got a ride with Ron who needed to go to Chapala to a pharmacy. We stopped at Salvador and had breakfast there. I tried Horseback steak on the menu. It was two eggs sunny side up on a small steak with frijoles and toast and it was quite tasty. I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon, chatting with and meeting locals. Then I took the bus back to the camp were I am writing this post.