What’s happening

Upstairs is the future location of Bad Bob's
Bad Bob in the Old Aztec
60's in Paradise

It has been about a month since my last post and I returned to the north shore of Lake Chapala. For some reason, I have not been too interested in keeping this blog up to date. Maybe it’s because not much of interest has been happening or more likely it’s because I have become a lazy old fart retiree who is enjoying the laid back slow life style of Mexico.

Every day since I have returned the weather at “Lakeside” has been perfect, cool at night for a good sleep and warm for wearing shorts and a light shirt during the day. We did have a little rain one evening but since I was already home for the night, it didn’t bother me.

Here is what a typical day has been lately. I wake up around 8 AM, get dressed and turn on the satellite modem and check my email. Then I usually catch a bus about a block away into Ajijic for 7 pesos. Sometimes my neighbor, Ron offers me a ride to town and one day a taxicab driver offered me a ride for 20 pesos.

There are three possible types of buses I can catch, the “Directo” which bypasses Chapala and goes to Guadalajara, the “Secunda” which goes to Chapala and the “Local” which leaves the carretera and takes side streets and ends up in Chapala.

I usually get off at the “El Torito” stop in front of Salvador’s restaurant. There I have several cups of coffee, maybe breakfast and talk with friends at an outside table. After an hour or two, I usually walk to the plaza in El Centro. There I sit on a bench and people watch. Usually friends stop by and we talk. Some days after noon we buy Modelo beer in cans from a tienda on the square for 10 pesos and sit on the benches, read, talk, watch the people, smoke cigarettes and drink beer. Sometimes you can strike up a conversation with someone new. When I get hungry, I usually get something to eat at nearby restaurants.

There is a new to me bar on the square called “El Viejo Azteca” that I sometimes go in especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they have “2 for 1” beer days when beers cost 9 pesos. The police have shut down the Azteca though because they failed to repair a broken window before the Easter processions and fiesta.

One new to me restaurant that I enjoy is “60s in Paradise” about a half block from the square. This place serves one of the best burgers I have ever had. They also make excellent fries and milkshakes. I usually only go when I am real hungry because they serve a big burger. One problem eating here is the price is pretty high, around 85 pesos for a burger, fries and a milkshake but when you’re in the mood for a good burger, you can’t beat this place.

I have prepared a meal for myself on only two occasions since I have returned. I have eaten only about eight Mexican meals, half of those have been tacos from street vendors. So I have mainly been eating gringo style restaurant food. There are a lot of restaurants in and around Ajijic; someone estimated there are over 400. I recently made friends with a fellow from Seattle, “Bob” who is planning on opening a BBQ place on the square which will probably be called “Beto Malo’s BBQ & Bar”. Bob has experience running several restaurants and I hope he can make a success of his new venture but he will have a lot of competition and will open during the slow season sometime in May.

The night life in Ajijic is not usually exciting. Sometimes after a fiesta, the Mexicans party at “The Music Box” until early hours in the morning but usually the restaurants close at around 10 PM and the bars close shortly afterwards. The last bus running is about 10 PM and the taxis quit about then too. So most nights that I’m in town I catch a bus to my San Juan Cosala camp at about 9:15. Sometimes I stay out a little later if a friend has offered to drive me home. Several days I have felt like a siesta and returned to my rig before dark.

I cannot pick up any TV channels here because the stations are over the mountains in Guadalajara. I sometimes listen to music streamed over the internet and watch the light show in Windows Media Player. I usually listen to KFOG from San Francisco (old Rock and Roll) or archived shows from KFAT out of Gilroy (rare and unusual stuff, Rock, Country, Blues, Blue Grass, etc.). Sometimes I listen to a Guadalajara station or watch a DVD movie.

I have decided that I am not going bust my butt learning Spanish. I will continue to pick up what I can and I carry a Spanish/English pocket dictionary with me but I do not intend to take classes. I know enough now to find my way around, order food, find the bathroom or bank, say I’m sorry and thank you. The Mexicans are very good at reading sign language and figuring out what stupid gringos are trying to say.

Right now my life is in a kind of holding pattern with no definite plans. I am waiting to find out if my house at Lake Tahoe is sold or not. It sounds good that it will be sold but until I have the money in the bank I will wait to see if I have to return to California to once again to prepare the house for sale. If the sale can be handled remotely from Mexico, I will do that. Then I will look for a place to rent here or maybe buy. After that then I may put the motor home up for sale. I will probably have to return to the US to deliver the motor home.

So at this point, I am pretty sure that I will be living the life of an Ex-Pat in Mexico. For my next post to this blog I think I will list the pros and cons of living “Lakeside” in Mexico.