Lake Chapala Not for Every Retiree
 Theresa Storm - Calgary Herald
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| | Retire in Style South of the Border - Some assisted living facilities in Mexico cater to aging American baby boomers. (ABC News) | |
For three decades, my father dreamed of visiting or, ideally, wintering in the southern place coined "snowbird utopia" by flocks of contented North American retirees.
That place is Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest natural lake located in eastern Jalisco state, 50 kilometres south of Guadalajara, the country's second-largest city. Ajijic (pronounced aah-hee-HEEK), the village where I was joining my father, nestles at 1,535 metres on the narrow strip of land between the central highland mountains and the lake's north shore.
Once a quaint fishing village, Ajijic and 14 other north shore villages strung from Chapala in the east to Jocotepec in the west - collectively referred to as Lakeside or the Chapala Riviera - have, since the 1980s, become increasingly popular with retired Canadians and Americans and are now home to 6,000 expatriates, the largest number anywhere.
In addition to the homeowners, scores more vacation or spend the winter.
They are drawn here by one of the world's best climates. With a semi-tropical average temperature of 20 C and a year-round variation of just 8 C, plus low humidity, tourists have been visiting for 139 years.
"Mexico is home to 700,000 U.S. and Canadian citizens, who have decided to exchange the cold weather for Mexico, either for retirement or long stays," says Daniel Gutierrez, director of the Mexico Tourism Board office in Vancouver.
Chapala is No. 1 for North American expats, he confirms. In addition to climate, he attributes its popularity to its proximity to Guadalajara - with its big-city facilities including hospitals, stores like Costco and Wal-Mart, and renowned Mexican handicraft markets - and the beach resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo. And, of course, "the cost of living in Mexico is much less."
Entering Ajijic, Mexican vendors selling succulent produce and woolly embroidered blankets line the narrowing highway. In thickening traffic, I nervously clench the wheel as I follow directions provided by Michael Eager of the family-owned, 35-year-old La Nueva Posada, the only Ajijic hotel on the lakeshore.
Turning onto a tight cobblestone lane lined with peeling painted plaster buildings that seem to be abandoned, I wonder if I've made the right turn.
As I slowly bump downhill four blocks, I notice the street's name changes, for no discernible reason, after the third block. This, I soon learn, is commonplace, making navigating the narrow, one-way streets even more challenging.
At 10 a.m., I join my father for breakfast on the Posada's tranquil outdoor patio. He's astounded that I arrive on time, certain I would get lost in the colonial street maze.
Sitting under the patio's signature giant rubber tree, I gaze past the deep lawn and tropical gardens abloom with lush flowers and plump greens to the wide gravely shore side, the swampy marshlands and lake beyond, settling on the low rise of Mount Garcia, an extinct volcano on Chapala's southern shore. The scene reminds me of B.C.'s Okanagan Valley.
Sipping coffee, I eagerly ask Dad, who arrived by taxi three days earlier, what he thinks of his dream destination.
Walking to the Posada's fence, he points to the shallow, weed-choked lake, about 75 kilometres long by 20 wide. There is no movement, not even a ripple.
"It looks like you could walk right across it," he says, clearly disappointed.
Infested with water hyacinth, state officials claim treatments are significantly reducing the weed. Nevertheless, Lake Chapala is not inviting for swimming or water sports.
Pointing to the village, which is best navigated on foot, he reports the high curbs and uneven, hazard-laden sidewalks make walking perilous, especially for folks his age.
Visiting during the summer rainy season didn't help. While picture pleasing, the already difficult-to-walk-on cobblestones were slick when wet and jarring to drive over.
Dating back at least 450 years, Ajijic - and its infrastructure - is old. "It is not designed to be a planned retirement community," Gutierrez explains.
"It is not a place where everyone can live happily," the website Mexico Connect warns.
But scores do.
Ted and Gail Ruddy from Toronto have wintered here several years, currently renting a home with a pool for six months at $900 monthly, plus about $200 for utilities and weekly house cleaning.
Ted cites the weather, "the real Mexico" flavour of the town, numerous events, the Canadian Club and its activities, lots of affordable quality restaurants, inexpensive alcohol, the availability of some familiar products (like President's Choice), and satellite television as reasons they choose Ajijic. Like Gutierrez, he mentions its proximity to Guadalajara as an asset and says the Mexicans are helpful and pleasant.
Judging from the bevy of newspaper ads, affordable dental and medical services are big business here, not surprisingly, as is real estate.
"We flirt with buying all the time," he says, so far finding three houses "of my dreams," ranging from $229,000 to $425,000. "The whole town seems to be on offer."
That is what we, too, discover exploring over the next five days. On most every street "for sale" signs hang.
Regardless, when departure day dawns, Dad says he does not want to return.
Lake Chapala is not the Eden he anticipated.
"Twenty or 30 years ago, it likely was a paradise," he ruminates, wishing he had visited then.
Fortunately, several other Mexican destinations are popular Canadian snowbird havens.
Rachel Davison of CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) Travel reports long stays in Merida, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan are very affordable because they are older destinations, with Mazatlan being the most economical.
San Miguel de Allende ranks No. 2 with expats, adds Gutierrez. Also popular are Acapulco, Colima, Cuernavaca, Guanajuato, La Paz, Manzanillo, Morelia, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Queretaro.
Like everything, snowbird utopia is in the eye of the beholder.
If You Go
- Getting there: CARP Travel carptravel.com; American, Continental, Delta, Mexicana and Aeromexico fly into Guadalajara.
- Taxi: the airport taxi booth is in the foyer outside international arrivals. The trip to Lake Chapala is 25 minutes and costs $22 to $25 US.
- Renting a car: It's a 35-kilometre drive from the airport to Ajijic Most major car rental agencies are at the airport or your hotel can arrange a car. There are three car rental agencies in Ajijic.
- Self-drive: Driving from the U.S. border at Laredo, Texas, takes 12 hours, mainly on toll roads.
- Where to stay: La Nueva Posada mexconnect.com/MEX/rest/nueva/posada.html. A 19-room boutique hotel with colonial charm and modern amenities. Double rates $72 to $85 US including taxes and breakfast. Four one- and two-bedroom garden villas with kitchenettes are $82 to 92 US.
- Weather: Rain June through August.
- Language: Many working with tourists are bilingual; however, some Spanish is helpful.
- A touch of home: Canadian Club meets monthly on the second Wednesday at Nueva Posada.
www.canadianclubmx.com/.
- For more information: www.visitmexico.com
- Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic: The Insider's Guide, second edition, by Teresa A. Kendrick; Hyperlink chapalaguide.com. |
Vallarta Weddings
Health & Beauty | March 2009 
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