By Roy KastnerEditor’s Note: During our July program, Roy & Sue Kastner joined us. They enjoyed the area so much, they are becoming our neighbors. Roy was so inspired, he wrote a small article about his time here. We hope you enjoy. 
This story starts having just spent the last eleven days in a mile-high city with connections to San Antonio, which I’ll explain later.
The air here is dry. My sinuses have cleared and I’m breathing clean air. The days are warm and the sun intense when I step out of the shade, but a cool breeze comes over the lakeside here. Night time temps fall into the 50s but neither heat nor air conditioning is required.
The full name of the San Antonio connection I spoke of earlier is San Antonio Tlayapan. The Libramiento (by-pass) breaks off from the highway leading from Guadalajara to Chapala. In a few miles I’m led to El Dorado, a resort-style community of 68 villas and two five-story condominium buildings beginning to rise from the area of the club house, fitness center and infinity pool. There’s more, but I travel down the carreterra past a new mall going in with theaters, casino and upscale boutiques planned. Across the street is a Walmart Supercenter already complete. The two lane blacktop leads around the north shore of Lake Chapala to Ajijic.
Branching off the road are cobblestone streets leading into more established subdivisions. The homes here are a bit older but their design and landscaping are truly pleasing and unique in most cases. The flora grows year round (no freezes) and is well kept by experienced and talented gardeners. Further down I enter the business district, specialty stores one right after the other. Restaurants, tortillarias, peluquerias (haircuts less than $4.00), tire, battery and muffler shops, bars and more bars lining both sides of the road all the way off to the street where I turn left and make my way slowly down the narrow corridor to the Centro or town square. Today artists and craftspeople line the multiple walkways around the bandstand. There’s plenty of shade and benches to sit, relax and people watch or catch the cool breeze. Jewelry, paintings, pet photography are just a few of the many excellent offerings—even a few t-shirts here and there for those so inclined.
A couple of blocks either side of Ajijic Centro provide many more restaurants and boutiques. I stop in a store looking for a cool t-shirt and come out with a handmade collared shirt that feels as though it were made just for me. The owner/seamstress tells me it will last for many years and I believe her. The tailoring is great.
There is a tianguis (open market) once a week with everything fresh—fish, fowl, fruits and vegetables to name a few. An entire street is cordoned off for the event. The area is ablaze in colors, people moving in all directions making their selections for the week.
Just a few blocks more and I come to the village pier. It runs out a hundred yards or so where an eating establishment and bar anchors the end of the dock. It has great views of the lake and mountains on the opposite shore. A brand new malecon or boardwalk made of concrete and hand-laid stone with seating and street lights leads west along the lakeside. The 2011 Pan-American Games will be held in the area with Guadalajara as the hub. Water sports events are planned to go on here at Lake Chapala. A tremendous upswing is starting in anticipation of the games. The impact will be profound and felt here for many years to come.
On our sojourn through this village we have come to love, we also pass Lloyd’s Real Estate Ajijic, the company through which my lovely wife and I are buying our new villa at El Dorado. It will take about ten months to finish once the financing goes through (fingers crossed). The decision to live here became clear after attending a Focus On Mexico (www.focusonmexico.com) seminar, hence eight of the eleven days. My wife and I have made many friends here among the Focus staff and the attendees, so we won’t be alone when we move here next year. Their caring, thoughtfulness and camaraderie are well above anything we could have expected. They shared their personal stories with us as though we were family and now we feel as though we are. We can’t thank any of them enough for the life changing experiences we’ve had together.
I hope when we get back to the states and start our journey back to Lake Chapala, we will be able to adequately draw a picture and tell a story to our families and friends about our great times in the state of Jalisco.
To all those who have stayed through to the end of this article—
hasta la vista and hope to see you soon lakeside.