Lakeside and Pelicanos

We had decided to return to Lake Chapala for the months of February and March, but my planned  meeting, which I thought was going to happen in April, suddenly got rescheduled for February 28. With that occurrence we had to reevaluate our plans! We had airline tickets to Guadalajara for February 1st,  so decided to take our trip and return in time for my meeting in Portland. I think it was a good decision, as we arrived for the Carnaval events that take place ahead of Lent. My last blog covered some of those happenings.
On this trip we got to travel around the perimeter of Lake Chapala, thanks to a bus tour arranged by our friends Janie and Norman. We saw some of the lakeside attractions, and there are areas we want to explore further in the future.
We were fortunate to have secured the rental of a nice casita in a quiet area of Ajijic, thanks again to Janie checking it out for us.
A special feature of the casita is the garden, which we overlook from the patio.

As you can see, we are fairly close to the hills which surround Lake Chapala, but only a short walk the the village plaza. The location also meant we could walk most places, including the local open air markets and shops.

Bananas in the landscape!

Poinsettias are native to Mexico, but we had not seen such large blooms before.  All happy in this landscape next to our patio.

Another view of the lovely, lush garden.

Our street!

Pancho's Deli Market was new since our last visit and we found it a great place to grocery shop, not too far from the casita. It is a small store, but packed with most things you would need. In addition, there is a small organic market that sets up in the El Bar Co. next door each Friday morning. I was delighted to find a vendor selling fresh made pate, and another selling British-style meat pies, think chicken pot pie, steak and kidney!

There is a coffee shop/restaurant called Pranzo, where we stop occasionally.  I just had to share a photo of the wash basins in the men's bathroom!!

It is always a wonderful sight to see the children happily playing and no squabbling.

Big brothers all happy to take part in the games.

This is the Malecon along the lakefront with a park to the right.  It is usually busy on the weekends with locals picnicking and relaxing.

This maybe gives an idea of the weekend and some evening's activities.

I am always surprised to see how many horses are present.

The first stop on our tour around the lake was at the small town of Mescala, where we took a boat out to the island, La Isla De Mezcala, also known as El Presidio.
From 1812 to 1816, a small band of Mexican rebels established a fort on this island and fought the invading Spanish army. These rebels were attempting to protect the fishermen and farmers from the Spanish. Against overwhelming odds they held out until the frustrated Spanish Army negotiated a peaceful surrender with the insurgents.
Today, there are the remains of the fort and soldier's barracks to wander through.

Landing on the island.

Part of the army barracks.

From the barracks roof.

Looking towards the shore, with the island church in the foreground.

 We passed this tree on the way to the fort.  I have no idea what it is, but it was quite spectacular.

Returning to Mezcala, a town worth further exploration.

One of the key destinations on the trip around the lake, was the fishing village of Petatan.  Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico and is about 50 miles long by 11 miles wide, so the trip took us all day. We had a goal of reaching Petatan by 4pm, because that is when the villagers feed the pelicans with remains of the fish processing that takes place earlier in the day.

These are American White Pelicans that migrate each year from Canada and spend the winter on the lake.

The pelicans are aware of the feeding schedule and wait pretty peacefully.

It is a way for the local children to make money by selling fish to throw. We bought some, but asked this young girl to throw the fish for us!

The pelicans are a lot of fun and a good opportunity for photographs.

Also opportunities to buy deep fried unidentifiable "stuff".

Another photo op before boarding the bus back to the start of our "around the lake" tour.

It is just a wonderful, colorful time to be visiting Ajijic.

And lots of confetti from the Carnaval everywhere!

Sunset on the lake.

Sunset from our patio.
Stay tuned, we are planning to return in May.

Parades

We arrived back in the Lake Chapala region of Mexico in early February, just in time to witness some of the parades occurring in the town of Ajijic prior to Lent.
There is a tradition, apparently unique to Ajijic, of masked zayacas appearing in the parades. During the days of parades in the Carnaval leading to Fat Tuesday, or Marde Gras, the zayacos, mostly men and boys, dress up in women's clothes with greatly exaggerated curves achieved by stuffing balloons in the dresses with faces hidden by masks.
Much to the delight of the young boys in town, they are chased by the zayacos and doused with flour. However, no one is safe from the flour treatment handed out.

Two boys hiding behind Dad in anticipation of the parade of the zayacos.

They look so friendly, but notice the bags which hold the flour!

Dancing in the streets.

This is Dane Strom who, amongst many photo projects in Mexico, has a good description of these events on his blog page.  Dane's blog

Another look at a couple of the actors. The Zayacos, who play a big part in the fiestas, stem from a pre-hispanic tradition that evolved after the arrival of the Spaniards.The men dress up in women's clothes for the purpose of making fun of what the natives considered pretentious Euro style clothing.

This young chap had caught a head full of flour.

This is a chance to pummel a buddy and thoroughly coat with flour.

The parades are followed by the cowboys or charros'

The major parade occurs on Carnaval (Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday) which is a big day for the this and other events, food stalls etc before the quiet 40 days of Lent. This parade is a bit different to the prior ones as now, in addition to the zayacos there is a parade of decorated floats.

A photo-op before the Carnaval starts.

This is one of the floats and will eventually carry the carnaval princess.

On their way to the parade starting point.

This was about the only shot we got of the princess.

Just loved these "cowgirls".

Creative bull-riding set up. This town knows how to have a good time!

We managed to find a spot to watch the parade which turned out to be right where the floats, bands and marchers all got into position. Needless to say it was pretty chaotic, but the transit police sorted it all out.

It was wonderful to see young girls all dressed up and on horseback. It was amazing to see how well all of the horses behaved in all of the hectic and loud goings on.

This dress was really beautiful.

These two brothers maintain the zayacos tradition, with these wooden masks carved by one of the brothers.

The Virgin of Guadalupe always has a special place in Mexican parades.

One of the floats had a large mattress with flour heaped on it. The zayacos riding on this float would leap off and grab an unsuspecting boy and throw him onto this flour heap with the result you can see above.

No bystanders are immune and this flour is quite difficult to remove. However, everyone seemed to be having a blast.

Even gringos are not safe this day, we got slightly dusted, but not to this level.

We also saw several zayacos dousing the local police who are fair game this time of the year and take it all in good humor.
Stay tuned for more fun in the Mexican sun.