If you are wondering what people living in lakeside spend their time doing, and if you are wondering if you will get bored or have nothing to do all day, that's something you shouldn’t worry about at all! Time and time again, our Focus alumni come here and vanish! We never see them because they settle down, make friends, volunteer... and just generally get on with living at Lake Chapala. A typical answer they will give is, “I don’t know what I do all day, but it takes me all day to do it!" There certainly is no shortage of things to do. In fact, within a very short time, you will need to keep a calendar of events to avoid double booking.
Outdoor Lake Chapala activities
Having a wonderful climate promotes a lot of outdoor Lake Chapala activities all year round. This is obviously beneficial to sports and fitness enthusiasts with golf, tennis, cycling, walking, hiking in the mountains, volley ball, softball, horseback riding, swimming – in fact, just about any outdoor activity.
If you like gardening, Lake Chapala will be your personal paradise. Plants, flowers, trees, (basically anything you want to grow), develop at an incredible rate and the variety is unbelievable: bananas, pomegranates, avocados, limes and more...citrus, quinces, apples, guavas, papayas, dates, you name it...it grows here! At Christmas you will see 4 – 6 foot poinsetta trees in full bloom and during the whole year, you can find bouganvillea, bromeliads, daisies, dahlias, geraniums, agapanthus, roses, birds of paradise, and much more.
Lake Chapala activities - Sightseeing and Traveling Mexico
If you like to travel, Lake Chapala is a good base for traveling all over Mexico. From the Guadalajara airport (only 25 minutes from Lake Chapala) you have easy access to virtually any destination in the world. However, you might not want or need to go that far because there are so many places to visit less than two hours away.
Lake Chapala activities quote:
| Clay & Jutta McAdam, Feb 23-March 1, 2008 Program |
| "Well, the biggest thing is trying to decide what we wish to see or do; there is so much to choose from. Boring? - Only if you don’t look for something to do. There just seems to be so much all the time, it is difficult to decide what you want to see or do most. The local English language magazines give listings of what is what is happening in the coming month and the newspaper for the following week. We have kept busy Lakeside without going into Guadalajara for entertainment." |
Here are some examples of sites close to the Lake Chapala area:
- Mazamitla: Designated as a Pueblo Magico (or magical village) up in the mountains, surrounded with pine trees, a waterfall, beautiful white houses with tile roofs and wood-framed windows.
- Tapalpa: Also designated as a Pueblo Magico, Tapalpa is the eternal adventure for those interested in ecoturism, also boasting several waterfalls. Cabins are available.
- Tequila: with its flavor, tradition and magic all over amazing haciendas, museums and astonishing landscapes covered with the blue agaves and old haciendas. Tour the Tequila plantations and learn how it is made.
- Chapala: with a renewed spirit of the magic of the largest lake in Mexico, the arts and crafts market, boat rides, the amazing view from the malecón, its fiestas and festivals and delicious food.
- Guadalajara: where you can find wonderful squares, historical buildings, museums, theaters, the zoo, Cathedrals and Churches, universities, malls, galleries, restaurants, monuments, fountains and much more.
- Tlaquepaque: with its colorful handicrafts, old haciendas turned into galleries, famed restaurants where you will have the chance to try the real flavor of Mexican food, pedestrian malls and musicians abound.
- Tonala: the heart of affordable pottery, artisans, furniture, weaving, etc. with its wonderful stores and street market around a beautiful plaza, sanctuaries, museums and its festivals and fairs.
Day to Day Lake Chapala activities
Also, for the day to day village life, there are many associations and societies to belong to and if you like to volunteer, you will be in big demand. A number of people try new things such as:
Amateur theater at the Lakeside Little Theatre
Joining a choir
Becoming a part-time English Teacher
Sharing your hobby – teaching it to others
Painting
Writing (Join the Writers Club)
Karen Blue left corporate America and became a lakeside writer (Book: Midlife Mavericks). You can do it too!
Now you can do that special thing you always wanted to do ‘some day’ – now is that someday!
If by chance there is something you want to do that isn’t being offered, start it up and others will join in. That’s how all the current activities got started.
Lake Chapala Entertainment and Events
There is a lot of entertainment and cultural events:
The Auditorio, arranged by such organizations as MAS (Music Appreciation Society)
The Little Theatre
Local restaurants
Movie Theaters
Local charities arrange numerous events at a variety of venues, quite often with big name artists
Social events are popular with arts and crafts shows, garden parties, card games, home entertaining and of course there are lots and lots of fiestas. Did you know that Mexico has over 5,000 registered fiestas a year.
Don't worry...you'll have plenty of Lake Chapala activities to select from. That's why we have siestas in Mexico!