Blogs from Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico, North America

Our drive back to Lake Chapala from Sayulita was made a bit more interesting by not one, but two overturned mango trucks. They pack those little trucks to the gills and they pack them high. Imagine how much ONE milk crate of mangoes must weigh. Multiply that by HUNDREDS. One of the crashes had already cleared except for the thousands of mangoes littering the side of the road. People, especially on easy to stop motorcycles, were helping themselves to the delicious free fruit. We got stuck in the second one, but luckily only for about a half hour, when the police starting one way traffic around the crash site. Again, plenty of free mangoes for the taking. Did Rose stop and let me grab even one? Nope.... read more

Part of the deal to bribe Rose to come down here was that we would do at least one meal a day out. It has not quite worked out that way, but I am doing my best. Today, we were headed out to El Mirador, a restaurant that is east of our location by roughly 12 KM, but on the way down the hill we changed our mind and decided to go to La Letra CH (pronounced CHE). We have heard it might be a bit on the pricey side, but we still wanted to give it a shot. I have to tell you, for the value and quality of the food we got, it was not a bit pricey. Each meal comes with an "entrada" and a new word I can't remember (guarnicion) that means ... read more

Birria - it has nothing to do with beer. But it does have a nice ring to it: BEERRRR ee ya. Trill those R's. Birria is a sort of stewy dish made traditionally from goat. We have a strong suspicion that those gringos who turn up their noses at the very mention of it: (A) have never tried it, AND (B) do so simply because of the idea of eating a trash-consuming goat. Well to that, I say 'baaaaaaaaa." We got an invitation from our friends, the Reids, who we will be replacing at a house sit in Jocotepec. They have their own bolg https://reidsontheroad2018.wordpress.com/. So off we go walking to El Tartamudo Birria Restaurant. Mexicans are fond of nicknames (sobrenombres). If you are fat or skinny, you will be called Flaco or Gordo, and it ... read more

The tianguis is an open air market where you can find just about anything. They have one on Monday in Chapala. They are also in Ajijic and Jocotepec on different days. It is located right across from the Soriana parking lot and you can park there to go to the tianguis. To be honest, I was expecting a lot more gringos than we saw, but there were a few. Rose got herself a couple of pairs of earrings so she does not have to wear her expensive (I know - I bought them) ones everywhere. We also got a 1/2 kilo each of strawberries and blackberries, both of which are grown locally. We picked up one avocado and I got a bunch of glazed nuts in three varieties. You can find pretty much anything here. Clothing, ... read more

I think we both had a case of cabin fever. We have been couped up for a couple of days avoiding the crowds of Tapatios (people from Guadalajara). We like to be out and about, and my plan for this trip was to eat at least one meal out per day. That is mainly to keep Rose happy and to prevent a mutiny. We had invited the cleaning gal and her family to use the pool today, and after they got in and expressed their exuberation, (I think we had like 6 or 7 teenage boys here) we thought it might be a good time to go down the hill and get some food. Man, would I like to have some of those kid's energy! So, we made our third trip to Tony's Campestre. First trip ... read more