Culture
Chapala is a fairly authentic mid-sized Mexican town with a great market, cultural and recreational facilities. It borders the large Chapala lake. The lake is pretty, but not suitable for swimming or boating.
Our location is in the hills above Chapala. Its just 4 miles to Ajijic (15-25 min with traffic) and 5-10 minutes to Chapala. Ajijic is a famous expat retirement destination, with a lot of people interested in spirituality and human transformational technologies, “refugees from Western culture” and the like. Ajijic also has a high density of other intentional communities, most of them sourced from ACIM (A Course in Miracles). Ours would be the first AR intentional community in the area, maybe in the world.
Climate & Environment
We are in the so-called “Western highlands” area of Mexico, with pleasant climate year round. Winter is perfect weather, but all seasons are okay.
The winter season (popular or tourist season) goes from December to April or May. During the winter, the population increases significantly from Canadian and American winter refugees. Winter is cool at night, comfortable during the day, dry and usually sunny. It starts to get hot in May or June, which continues through July and sometimes August until the rains start. Houses here usually do not have either air-conditioning or heating. It’s cool at night in all seasons.
The expats in Ajijic are an odd mix of retirees, spiritual seekers, “consciousness geeks”, saints and weirdos. There is a high density of spiritual communities here and a large expat social club called the Lake Chapala Society.
Nearby Guadalajara is a modern town with medical facilities rivaling the US, but less than half the price. “Medical tourism” is popular here, such as for dental work.
Shopping
Ajijic has a large number of vendors catering to the expats and tourists, making it possible to find and buy health-foods and other specialty items that Mexicans don’t use. There is a good supermarket in Chapala and a Walmart in Ajijic, but its nothing like Walmarts in the US. Expect to pay a 20-30% premium for most consumer goods, and more for specialty food items.
Things to do
Non-social recreational opportunities (i.e outdoor adventures, sports etc.) are somewhat limited here, and the lake is not swimmable. Chapala does have tennis courts, I am very involved in the tennis community here. There is a softball league in Ajijic. There is hiking in the hills above town. The ocean (Puerto Vallarta and adjoining towns which include surfer-village Sayulita), is about 5 hours drive west. A 3-4-day excursion to the ocean might be fun for us to do together. The route passes by a 13,000 foot extinct volcano that might be fun to climb.
We may have group excursions into town which may include visits to the other communities and to their events, to the nearby volcanic pools, movie nights, etc. The other communities include Namaste Village and the Villa Del Angel.
If you are a musician (even beginner) please bring your instrument(s). There is a drum circle in town and free yoga on Ajijic plaza.