One of the first sights that greet you as you get to the center of the town of Chapala is this decorated path which it soon becomes apparent, is the path that the parade will follow.
The decorations are quite beautiful and many of the panels are quite intricate. They appear to be made from colored wood chips or some other organic matter.
The parade begins with a number of marching bands, all quite loud and a lot of fun.
It is a religious parade, though scene's like this were in the minority.
I am not sure what all of the flag bearers were representing, but it is obviously a big deal to be in this parade.
Lots of indigenous people from the area around Zapopan which is on the outskirts of Guadalajara.
Aztec dancers were a big attraction, with VERY loud pounding drums.
The priest riding on the float carrying the small statue of the virgin.
There is the small statue of the Virgin of Zapopan, who In 1734, was proclaimed Patroness against storms and lightning and visits Lake Chapala each year to keep the area safe from such storms that occur during the rainy season.
All dancers were in colorful and sometimes mysterious costumes.
All of the colored wood chips and sawdust was all cleared away as the parade made it's way to the lakefront.
As you can see, large crowd for this special event.
OK just one more dancer and her feathered headdress.
The film Coco, must have ramped up the desire for white guitars!
We made another trip to our favorite goat farm, Gallo de Allende.
The owners and a reluctant baby!
I made a few outings with fellow photographers and you can always find ferocious guard dogs down any street.
Old boats, and....
Herons.
We were invited to Lori's, in red, birthday party which was a very special event.
We attended a dinner at the opening of a new French restaurant, aptly scheduled for Bastille Day.
We signed a long term lease on a two bed, two bath condo, which is just around the corner you can see from this photo of the entry driveway.
The condo does not come with it's own garden, but we are looking forward to enjoying the common space with the other 4 dwellings in this little gated community in a lovely mixed neighborhood.
We have an excellent restaurant just a few yards, or should I say metres from our entry gate, serving dishes with an Argentinian twist.
On July 31 we flew back to the US with a stop in Seattle to visit family and then drove back to Ashland.
This was the first view of the smoke from one of the fires that surround the Rouge Valley.
It looks like fog, but it certainly does not smell like it.
We are now in a "down sizing" mode again and are busy with the very difficult task of deciding what to keep and what to relinquish, the hardest part is trying to decide which of the many mementos to keep.
Hopefully by the time I am able to post again, we will be looking back on all of those efforts.
¡Hasta luego!
Just one other note, my son David and his family began their on year trip around the world in mid July. This is the culmination of much planning and saving that will provide the twins with an unbeatable year of school.
David has a blog of their travels and if you have any interest and you can check it out at The Lea's RTW 2018
At this moment they are in a camper van on the south island of New Zealand.
Dylan also has a vlog going, so if you want to see a 12 year old's take on travel, you can check it out here, Dylan's VLOG Enjoy.
