# Day Trips from Ajijic



## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

We will be visiting Ajijic the first week in April to look for a place to live starting in January. That should not take the entire seven days. Aside from exploring and relaxing, we are interested in some ideas for day trips. We will have a car and wouldn't mind scenic drives with interesting stop offs, or destinations.

If you've got any first hand ideas, or can point me to a website, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You'll be surprised to learn that planning more than one thing per day may be asking for scheduling difficulties in Mexico, where 'schedules' don't really exist. "Mexican Time" is very, very different. 
You might drive around the lake or spend a day in either Tlaquepaque or Guadalajara Centro Historico. Either of those three options will take an entire day, or three, just for a quick look.
Then, there are some more 'rural drives' and good eating spots that would require 'local knowledge,' that 'newbies' take years and years to discover. 
It isn't like ..... 'Drive there and buy a ticket'. That's a different world.
So, relax when you get here. Que sera, sera, en su proprio tiempo.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> You'll be surprised to learn that planning more than one thing per day may be asking for scheduling difficulties in Mexico, where 'schedules' don't really exist. "Mexican Time" is very, very different.
> You might drive around the lake or spend a day in either Tlaquepaque or Guadalajara Centro Historico. Either of those three options will take an entire day, or three, just for a quick look.
> Then, there are some more 'rural drives' and good eating spots that would require 'local knowledge,' that 'newbies' take years and years to discover.
> It isn't like ..... 'Drive there and buy a ticket'. That's a different world.
> So, relax when you get here. Que sera, sera, en su proprio tiempo.


You hit it, RV, a day or two to explore Guad, maybe a trip to find on of those good eatin' spots known only to locals - that is our idea of exploring. We are not coming down to exhaust ourselves, but to relax - we'll have the rest of our lives to explore our adopted country, we just want to see what's around. One of the sights we must see is your hacienda on the hill and meet El Jefe!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You must have discovered that Google Earth thinks our house is over on Chapala's hill. Like a GPS, it is wrong & we're a few blocks away, on the flat. Nevertheless, we'll look forward to your PM when you get here.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

I would take the bus to Guad rather than drive. Chapala bus drops you off downtown. 

A simple drive is along the lake to Jocotepec and maybe along the south side from there


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

sparks said:


> I would take the bus to Guad rather than drive. Chapala bus drops you off downtown.
> 
> A simple drive is along the lake to Jocotepec and maybe along the south side from there


Yep. we have got to take a bus - change is good. Great idea!

Definitely want to see Jocotepec - heard there are even some rentals out there - is is considered "really far away" from Ajijic?

Would the ceramic works a Tlaq be a whole other trip? (I think I heard about that.)


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

FHBOY said:


> Yep. we have got to take a bus - change is good. Great idea!
> 
> Definitely want to see Jocotepec - heard there are even some rentals out there - is is considered "really far away" from Ajijic?
> 
> Would the ceramic works a Tlaq be a whole other trip? (I think I heard about that.)


Tonalá, not Tlaquepaque, is better for ceramics and furniture. Tlaquepaque is upscale art works mostly. Starting from Ajijic, either would be a day trip by itself.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

TundraGreen said:


> Tonalá, not Tlaquepaque, is better for ceramics and furniture. Tlaquepaque is upscale art works mostly. Starting from Ajijic, either would be a day trip by itself.


Thanks Will.


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## Detailman (Aug 27, 2011)

FHBOY said:


> Yep. we have got to take a bus - change is good. Great idea!
> 
> Definitely want to see Jocotepec - heard there are even some rentals out there - is is considered "really far away" from Ajijic?
> 
> Would the ceramic works a Tlaq be a whole other trip? (I think I heard about that.)


Jocotepec is approximately 20 minutes away from the west side of Ajijic.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

>>>> Definitely want to see Jocotepec - heard there are even some rentals out there - is is considered "really far away" from Ajijic?

I had a beautiful house in Joco for 4k peso a month ... so yes they are there but you have to be lucky to find them. You don't need to go to Ajijic except to socialize and to restaurants. My trips were usually to Guad or Chapala

>>>> Would the ceramic works a Tlaq be a whole other trip? (I think I heard about that.) 

You can taxi around quickly in Guad cheaply but yes Tonala is the place for selection and price


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## Grizzy (Nov 8, 2010)

Head east past Vista del Lago along the lake, stop for a meal, stop in Mezcal and perhaps visit the Island. Drive West as far as you like including Joco, stop at anything looking interesting or fun. Tonala, Tlaquepaque, the Abastos in Guad, the drive along the new Tlajamulco (sp?) road stopping to see roadside vendors and Cajititlan, there are so many wonderful adventures close to Lake Chapala. 

I never know where I will end up for how long when I set out for a day trip but I love the adventures and the people and the scenery.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Surprise! Ajijic is not the center of the universe. It is a 'suburban' part of the Municipality of Chapala and rather incomplete for shopping, etc. However, it attracts expats and restaurants catering to them. Some things cost more, up to 40% more, in Ajijic. Some refer to that as 'the ****** tax'. Jocotopec and Chapala are normal towns but both are weekend destinations for Tapatios, because of the lake and the malecons.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> Surprise! Ajijic is not the center of the universe. It is a 'suburban' part of the Municipality of Chapala and rather incomplete for shopping, etc. However, it attracts expats and restaurants catering to them. Some things cost more, up to 40% more, in Ajijic. Some refer to that as 'the ****** tax'. Jocotopec and Chapala are normal towns but both are weekend destinations for Tapatios, because of the lake and the malecons.


Sort of figured that out, RV. I do not think of it as any more than a geographic center should one happen to live/be staying there, a starting and end point. We are looking at the whole area Ajijic-Chapala as that - a place to start and end from. As a New Yorker exiled to Baltimore for 20 years, I know what you are saying - there is a lot more to Mexico than the world of Lakeside (even if some there do not take advantage of it) - and we will have years to explore it!

Define tapatios please - if that means something interesting - something or someone that will make our lives different we are all for being there, if they allow it. This sounds like a dumb sentence, and if it is, please tell me.


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## Grizzy (Nov 8, 2010)

A Tapatio is a native of Guadalajara. Or that is my understanding of the term. I will stand corrected if there is a more definitive explanation.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You got it, Grizzy. To a Tapatio, we are a country town with a lakeshore, parks, malecon, food and drink and a great place for 'people watching'.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> You got it, Grizzy. To a Tapatio, we are a country town with a lakeshore, parks, malecon, food and drink and a great place for 'people watching'.


Thanks, sounds like something that is a definite positive for being there. To spend more time with people like us, however pleasant the company leaves a whole portion of the experience not touched. One day I hope to be able to speak enough Spanish to even understand what is going on.

An anecdote: We were staying in PV and wandered down one evening to the Malecon there, trying to avoid the time share and "genuine Cuban shops", and the bars. There is a performance "pit" near the end, which serves as an improvised little theater. There we stood for over 45 minutes, watching a magician, a clown, and some singers. Didn't understand a word of it, but the hundreds of people there did, we loved the experience - now, I want to be able to understand it also.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Grizzy said:


> A Tapatio is a native of Guadalajara. Or that is my understanding of the term. I will stand corrected if there is a more definitive explanation.


I am not sure you have to be a native, but it is definitely someone from Guadalajara. I frequently refer to myself as a Tapatio. It usually results in a smile or laugh. The name comes from the central plaza in Guadalajara, Tapatio Plaza. The word originates in Náhuatl, the principal language in Aztec times. In Náhuatl, a Tapatiotl was a bag of cacao berries which was used as a monetary unit in the area that became Guadalajara according to Wikipedia.

There are nicknames for people from most every state or city in Mexico. Most notable probably is Chilango for residents of Mexico City. Like all nicknames, they can be a slur or not depending on the tone of voice and relation between those conversing.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

FHBOY said:


> .............
> An anecdote: We were staying in PV and...... There is a performance "pit" near the end, which serves as an improvised little theater. There we stood for over 45 minutes, watching a magician, a clown, and some singers. Didn't understand a word of it, but the hundreds of people there did, we loved the experience - now, I want to be able to understand it also.


We know that spot well, as it is just a few steps beyond 'the end' where you'll find Hotel Los Arcos, where we occasionally stay for a quick winter 'warm-up'. That said, it really is much too 'touristy' and very expensive. A couple of days & we are ready to go home. It is a 1/2 day trip from Chapala, but the drive is tiring on very winding mountain roads.


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