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Making a Difference at Lake Chapala Expats who have made the choice to retire here can easily find themselves very busy with new friends and a full social life.  There are great places to eat. Guadalajara is a 45 minute drive and holds a treasure trove of culture and history.  A good life is very…

PITAYA AN EXOTIC FRUIT FROM SOUTHERN JALISCO Spring is coming and with it La Pitaya! Considered an exotic fruit for its freshness, bright colors and unique flavor. The Pitaya blooms in spring and those of us who have tried this fruit are looking forward to the month of May and part of June. Jalisco receives…

By Kristina Morgan Imagine a world without art. If it weren’t for artists, music would not be played. Songs would not be sung. Food would be bland and uninteresting. Our homes, offices, cars, shopping centers, theaters, museums, and such would be dull and colorless. Performance art would not exist. Life would be grey, difficult, and…

TORTILLAS, TORTILLAS, TORTILLAS… Tortillas are a main staple in the Mexican diet, just like bread is North of the Border. You will see a tortilla stand on almost every corner or in every block in the Chapala area, the staff inside busy mixing, flattening and baking these handheld edible plates to fill with your favorite…

The State of Lake Chapala 2020 by Kristina Morgan Despite widespread and persistent myths and misconceptions, Lake Chapala is healthier than most people realize. So says expat and civil engineer, Todd Stong, PhD, in a recent interview. Dr Stong is well-known in our area for 17 years of involvement in studies and projects related to…

Papel Picado I remember when we were young, we would take colored construction paper and fold it in half as many times as we could, then we would cut out triangular, circular or square pieces on the folds. I’d carefully unfold the sheet to find spectacular designs, all different depending on the cuts. Mom would…

Mexico’s Underground Railroad By Kristina Morgan   Mexico doesn’t usually come up when speaking of slavery, but the truth is that the underground railroad ran north and south. There were many slaves in Mexico who dreamed of freedom but Canada seemed a lifetime away. Fortunately for them, slavery was also illegal in Mexico. Mexico became…

MEXICAN OPALS One cannot deny the beauty of the Mexican Fire Opal also known as the Mexican Diamond. The Aztec’s called them Vitzitziltecpa which means hummingbird stone and rightly so, the bright iridescent colors of the bird’s plumage mimicked the colors of the brilliant fire opal. According to historians, Aztec’s as early as in the…

MEXICAN AMBER Amber´s beautiful hue is eye candy for any amber connoisseur; just knowing how these gemstones are formed brings a new appreciation to the wonder of nature. Imagine, resin being produced from the core of a tree and expelled through the bark to a broken branch, a surge of insects or a threatening fungus….

Obsidian’s Edge In the Sierra de las Navajas (Razor or Knife mountains), about two hours outside of Lake Chapala, is a modern mine that recently crossed paths with pre-Hispanic tunnels used to quarry obsidian by the Aztecs. Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed into a kind of rock by the rapid cooling of…