Finally a post from Mexico!!!

We had a rough start and continued for a while, but now (I think) we are on the right path.

Our travel day was supposed to be long -- arrive in Dallas at 1:58 and leave for Guadalajara at 6:40. Our flight from Dallas was delayed and we left at 8:42. Everything was closed when we arrived at our hotel, so after a day of airport food, we could only go to the Parian, which has numerous bars and bad food. No matter, we were hungry and thirsty so we went, and enjoyed the open air and sounds of the street.

Greg acquired Montezuma's revenge in Guadalajara -- Pepto Bismol here we come. It was very hot and the food salty, so my body was complaining with swollen ankles and feet, a first time for me even when pregnant. Painful! Everything is getting better body-wise, except for Barbara who is allergic to the flowering trees or has the beginning of a cold. Other than ironing a hole in her hiking shorts, with the Mexican HOT iron, she's good.

The house we are staying in is beautiful, comfortable, has everything one could need except for a dishwasher. The doors to the courtyard are huge, folding glass doors that require extra care to open and close. The landlady's instructions are impossible to follow (Greg wants to give her a technical writing course) and we can't figure out how to close the doors.

Tomorrow is Good Friday and I will go see the Passion Play. Greg and Barbara are going on a hike with the hiking group to a chapel on the mountain.

3 Days to Go

It's Wednesday, March 21st, yesterday was the first day of Spring and it's 32 degrees in Fayetteville, AR (morning). Can't wait to get out of this crazy weather and get to Mexico. Most people think of Mexico as beach, sand and hot temperatures. We are going to the Central (Colonial) Highlands, where the altitude is around 5,000 feet, depending on where you are in the area. This makes for much cooler, drier weather.

Guadalajara is at 5,138 feet. Ajijic is at 5,046 feet, a little lower, but the lake (Lake Chapala -- the largest in Mexico) changes the climate to almost always spring-like weather. The only hot, humid weather is just before the rainy season.
We are going this time during the dry season so not so many flowers, flowering trees, but also no rain everyday.

3 days to go and getting more excited and worried that the packing won't get done or I will forget something.

Where are we staying on Lake Chapala?

As I said in the previous post, we are arriving in Guadalajara on March 24th, and we stay 3 nights at the Rosa Morada B&B. We've hired a driver to take us to Ajijic (recommended by our Airbnb host) on March 27th.

We've rented a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath house right in the center of Ajijic. It is 2 1/2 blocks from the main square and close to lots of activities and restaurants.

Here are some pics of the place (Casa Rosa):

Streetside

Entry 

Living Space Overview

One living room

The other living room with part of kitchen

Let's Try This Again

We are going to Mexico again and bringing a friend along. It's Barbara's first time in Mexico, although she is a veteran traveler.

We are leaving on March 24th, meeting B in DFW and flying on together to Guadalajara, We arrive late and will taxi to our hotel, Rosa Morada, in Tlaquepaque. For those of you not familiar with this area in the highlands in central Mexico, Tlaquepaque is its own city surrounded by the growing metropolis of Guadalajara. See photo below.

Here is a picture of our hotel in Tlaquepaque, which I think was a home at one time, very small for a hotel (7 rooms). Rooms are arranged alongside a garden and have enormous old keys for entry. See photos...

Exterior

Gardens with rooms along the left side

The key -- impossible to lose

After three days in Guadalajara/Tlaquepaque, we head to the Lake Chapala area. Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico -- a shallow lake about 50 miles long and 8 miles wide. The Ajijic area is at 5,000 or so feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains. We will be in this area for 2 weeks, exploring and getting dental work completed (Greg).

The lake and mountains 

Well, I guess I Wasn't So Excited

I guess I wasn't as excited as I thought or it was so exciting I forgot to post anything about the 2015 trip. Too late to reconstruct it now, although I may go back and post pictures.....Oh, well.....

Getting Excited!

I AM getting really excited about going on our trip. If you haven't been to the central part of Mexico in a smaller town, perhaps you don't know what it is like.

I will post something I wrote in Mexico a few years ago in Ajijic.

8/2008

Lying on the couch in the living room of the Jewel House, reading ,y book after a long day of walking in the sun and humidity....ambient noises of Mexico interrupting my concentrtion -- rooster crowing, kids laughing, music. clip-clop of horses hooves on the stones, squeaky, bouncing truck, a man bursting into song, church bells...

This morning there was the gas truck -- the man shouting, gassssss!, church bells, garbage men, the gardeners...one could skip the reading and just listen.

It's beautiful, cacophonous and welcoming.

Going to Mexico finally after 4 years absence

Well...after 4 years absence, we are returning to Mexico for a 2 1/2 week vacation. We will be in Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque and Ajijic area.

We leave on October 22nd. Can't wait!! Stay tuned for more........

This is where we'll be most of the time -- on the largest lake in Mexico