Endlessly Eating - Ajijic JAL, Mexico

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦

We understand why so many people retire to Ajijic! It’s the food! There are so many restaurants, mostly small, probably individually or family owned. A lot of places look like just a door along the sidewalk, and you don’t have any idea what’s inside. You might find just a couple of tables, or it could open up to a garden courtyard, with fountains or even peacocks. No restaurant chains or fast food at all.

We immediately found ourselves eating out at least once a day. Our favorite breakfast place was Gosha’s, two blocks from our apartment. They also had a yummy dinner special on the weekends, Polish stuffed cabbage rolls with mashed potatoes. So good!

We walked down hill into town for all restaurants except for Min Wah, which is a Chinese place a couple of blocks up hill. Their menu of Chinese food was printed in both Spanish and English. That seemed funny to us at first, but we soon got used to that sort of thing. We could find pretty much any type food we wanted in Ajijic.

Our hosts, Ramon and Sue, introduced us to a few of their favorite places in Ajijic as well as in other lakeside towns. Everyone eats out often, so the best restaurants are well known. Most places are within walking distance, so it’s easy to meet up with friends.

Did I mention that prices are reasonable? We never spent more than $30 ($550 pesos) for both of us to have dinner with a couple of drinks each plus tip. We only spent that much once or twice. A typical dinner for both of us, with drinks and tip, would cost around $25. Breakfast or lunch would be much less, $15-$20 for both of us.

Irresistible Shopping - Ajijic JAL, Mexico

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦

Shopping in Mexico is fun because everything is so colorful and different, and prices are low. The village of Ajijic has many unique shops, most of them very tiny by American standards. It was easy to pop into a shop just off the sidewalk, look around for a few short minutes, then continue on your way. Plus, there were usually street vendors set up along the roads or carrying their goods as they walked through the village, especially on the weekends.

Usually one day a week, every small town along the lake has a tianguis, or open-air street market. Wednesday was the day for Ajijic’s tianguis, which seemed to be the favorite market of the lake area. One of the main side streets was closed to vehicle traffic, and the vendors would line the street with their goods, including clothes, jewelry, art, housewares, toys, produce and other food items, everything imaginable. It was always crowded and noisy, interesting and fun. Within a few weeks, we had our favorite places to stop every week.

It was nearly impossible to go out to eat or for a walk in the village without being drawn to look at things to buy. Sometimes I (almost) wished I had a larger home to come back to in the states. I could have stocked up on so many cool Mexican things!

Kidding Around at the Goat Farm - Mezcala JAL, Mexico

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦

Just outside the village of Mezcala, about 30 minutes from Ajijic, a young couple has started a self-sustaining goat farm, Galo de Allende. We were looking for something special to do at the end of our summer in Mexico, and this looked fun.

We mentioned it to Sue and Ramon, and they were familiar with the yogurt and cheese that the farm produces, but they had not been up there, so we decided to go together.

The farm is on the side of a mountain with an amazing view of Lake Chapala. The owners, Juan Diego and Laura,  provide a tour of the property every Sunday afternoon, reservations only. There were 16 of us on this particular day.

When we arrived, we were shown to tables and chairs set up outside under shade trees, where we were served fruit, cereal, coffee, and their goat yogurt. They told us the history of the farm and about their plans for expanding. Then we headed over to the goat pens to meet and feed the animals.

There were maybe 15 goats, all adults except for their one little kid, “Bobby”. It was a blast feeding the goats and taking turns holding Bobby. But the best was yet to come. Juan Diego opened the pen, and lead the goats up the hill where he continued to talk about his plans for the farm.

The tour ended back at the tables, with wine, yummy crackers and bread, and their wonderful goat cheese.