# Lake Chapal Region And Retirement Seminars



## rbp (May 7, 2010)

My wife and I are looking at the Chapala region to retire. We are interested in attending a Retirement Seminar. We noticed on the inrenet a Earl French at retiringlakesideinmexico. He lives in Ajijic and we were wondering if anyone has experience with this gentleman and his seminars? Is this legit? Are they informative?
Also we live in Manitoba and flying to Puerto Vallarta is easier than getting in to Guadalajara. How is the road to Chapala from PV? There are two options and I was wondering which would be better for someone who hasn't driven there before.
Any advice is appreciated.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The two guys are out of town right now & friends are using their home. So, I don't know what the earliest schedule might be. However, I'm sure that their site will allow you to contact them.

Either route from PV to Chapala will involve mountains. However, the longer route through Tepic will involve an autopista (cuota) toll road. The time differential will depend upon traffic, especially on the two lane sections through the sierra.


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## rbp (May 7, 2010)

Thank you. Which road thru the mountains is better.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

That's almost an unanswerable question, which depends upon your driving habits, patience, etc.
The route toward Tepic & Guadalajara will require that you use 200 north of PV to get to it, through a lot of mountains and two lane roads. Even parts of the 'cuota' are two lanes, steep and winding. Then, you end up at the 'periferico' around Guadalajara and have to drop back south to Chapala.
The other route is more direct, also mountainous, but with towns of interest along the way and no tolls.
Personally, I enjoy mountain driving and avoiding tolls. The more direct route also requires less gasoline. So, it is the one we use on the rare instances when we are headed directly for PV. If going to the coast in Nayarit, an hour or so north of PV, or to Manzanillo, we tend to use the other route.
So, to find the answer, you might have to use one route coming and the other going.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

The nice things about highway 70, which starts just north of HomeDepot, are the scenery, lack of traffic and you can bypass Guadalajara totally. It is a good climb with lots of curves but I enjoyed it. That highway has a history of rockslides with heavy rains so you might want to avoid it during or just after heavy weather.

And no tolls

About 20km past the Talpa turn off there is a road to highway 80 ... and highway 80 brings you over to the west end of Lake Chapala thru Jocotepec. Pre-check it on a map


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## rbp (May 7, 2010)

Thanks again


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