Ajijic/Chapala Area and No Fuel

Fuel Shortage

The fuel shortage in Mexico put a bit of a kink in our travel plans this winter. The President of Mexico decided to close the pipelines because of massive thefts and corruption. The shortage was the worst in the area we were in - the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, and Guanajuato. Many stations had no fuel and long lines if there was fuel. It was estimated that 70% of the stations in Jalisco and Michoacan were closed because there weren't enough tanker trucks to supply them with fuel.

Because of the shortage we decided to move the Bus to an RV park in Ajijic on Lake Chapala, where we could walk to most places and stay put until things improved. After almost three weeks in the Ajijic area there wasn't much progress, although on the plus side I had some very good dental work done.We then spoke to a friend in Patzcuaro, where we had hoped to head next, who told us the situation there was even worse. We decided that we would return to San Miguel de Allende, since we were planning to meet friends there for a few weeks in February anyway. For a variety of reasons that I won't go into here, we feel we made the right decision. There's always next year.

Ajijic

The Ajijic/Chapala area is said to have the largest ex-pat community in the world, and I believe it. It's an easy place to hang out, although it doesn't feel much like Mexico. We've been in the area many times, and this time we decided to walk around the town and take some photos of some of the colorful murals and a few interesting signs.

Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque

We're staying at a new RV park that's about a 15 minute drive north of the towns of Chapala and Ajijic called Chapala RV Park. It's still under construction but our hookups are good (50 amp which is unusual). Once the park is done we think it will be very nice. https://trailerparkchapala.webnode.mx/

There is a nice common area, and bathrooms with showers and laundry are being built.

The park overlooks the city of Guadalajara and Lake Cajititlan, and is across the highway from the town Ixlahuacan. The views are great.

Chis and Juan joined us for a few days and the four of us took a day trip into Tlaquepaque, which is sort of a suburb of Guadalajara. I always enjoy going there - lots of galleries, museums, shops and restaurants. A pictorial tour of our day....

Christmas in Valle de Juarez

It's been a while since we spent the holidays in Valle de Juarez so we were happy to receive an invitation from Barb and Sal to a Christmas party there. Barb and Sal used to own the RV park in Valle de Juarez where we stayed on previous visits. We have some great memories of previous holidays there making tamales, taking great hikes, eating lots of good food, making new friends, and generally enjoying ourselves. Sal and Barb sold the RV park but have a beautiful house in town where they spend part of the winter.

It was great to see some of our RV friends that we haven't connected with in a while. There were four couples who stayed in RVs at another park near town, and quite a few former RVers made it to the party as well. The RV park we stayed at this year worked out well for us. It's called Victoria RV Park and now has a website with information about the park and surrounding area  https://www.victoriarvp.com/Home

Lots of fun, some pictures from the party...

Sal and Barb

Our group from the four RVs at the park this year - Paula and Jerry from Nova Scotia

Gail and Bill from Nova Scotia

 Chris and Juan from Monterrey, Mexico

and Sue and Brian 

Quite a few people at the party, here's a group shot 

It was a great way to spend the holiday, our thanks to Sal and Barb for getting all of us together for a mini reunion!

Arizona, San Miguel de Allende

Arizona

It's been a long time since I've blogged so I'll do a quick catch up. We spent our time in Arizona this fall getting caught up with doctors appointments and working on a remodel of our Arizona room, which is kind of a screened in sunroom.  We painted the walls and put in a new beadboard ceiling.

Last year when we were in Dolores Hidalgo I bought a star light. Brian was able to wire it to the new ceiling fan and it turned out really well. I love the colors and light that shines through them.

San Miguel de Allende

We left for Mexico in early December, first parking spot San Miguel de Allende. We were there for almost two weeks. We did the usual walks around town, went to a great Christmas Jazz concert, and just generally enjoyed ourselves.

We happened to be there on the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a popular Catholic day that celebrates the belief that a man encountered the Virgin Mary, Mexico's patron saint, in Mexico City on December 9 and 12, 1531. We went to the parade in town which ended at the San Antonio Parroquia (church). All were looking to be blessed at the church on this day.

The parade began with some floats, mohigangas (giant paper-mache people) and clowns.

Next came a line of taxis to be blessed at the San Antonio church.

Following that was a large group of marchers from San Miguel, many carrying items with the Virgin of Guadalupe. Then came the horses of all sizes, quite a long line of them.

When the horses made the turn to go into the square we wondered how they would all fit. I guess they've done this before because they managed to line up around the square, took a while but it worked out.

The long line of marchers went through the church. Many of them left their items featuring the Virgin on the steps of the church to be blessed.

As we were leaving we passed a group of decorated tow trucks going to the church. I guess there wasn't any more room because they all ended up backing out of street leading to the church.

It was an interesting day, just one of many we seem to have in San Miguel.