Street Market, Malecon, Schools and Costco

We woke up and got busy right away.  The local street market in Ajijic was underway and we wanted to get there and take a look.  They had everything from clothes, DVDs, Music CDs, fish, meat, veggies, fresh fruit, hats, toys, small appliances.  You name it you can find it here.  There was even a gentleman who had a very friendly guinea pig in an open cage set on top of another very small cage with a white rabbit and 2 chickens in it together.  The boys were really rallying for taking them all home.  They do this market every Wednesday of the week all year long.  Then it moves to Jocotepec and Chapala two other days per week.  We decided to get our fruit here at the advice of our local friends, Fred and Rita.  It was amazing.  The fruit was so fresh, ripe and sweet and the very best part was we paid only $100 Pesos for all of it and boy did we get a lot.  You will see in one of the photos that a small bucket of berries is only about $1.50 US.  The kids stopped at every toy and art booth to look at things.  They really loved the beaded art, glass artist and of course anything with knives and toys.  The dead fish and meat vendors were incredibly busy, but we are not feeling brave enough yet to buy our protein at the market yet.  We have been told that on many ocassions, Mexcians do not throw anything away and sometimes, not a lot, you will find things that have expired. So we have decided for now until we know more about the people at the market we will stick with local stores.  Even though they too need to be watched.  The best advice we have gotten is to use caution when shopping anywhere. 

We returned to the house and unloaded our booty.  Down here, it is suggested that you rinse your fruits and veggies in a cleaning solution made from colloidal silver.  We found a big bottle of it at the local market “El Torito” and soaked the berries for about 10-15 minutes.  They were fantastic tasting.  We all devoured them in less then 10 minutes and I tell you there were a lot of berries in that bowl. 

Next we headed to the Malecon down at the Lakefront so the kids could get their "Yah-Yahs" out.  They played on the swings, slides, jungle gym and that thing that you spin around on and that makes you puke.  We walked the Malecon and watched a group of kids fishing.  They actually caught a few good size fish.    I read that the Lake is super clean and all heavy metals are very low if any.  The bottom feeding catfish are the ones to be most concerned with.  The toxicity of the lake and its fish inhabitants have been tested by the University and they tend to have a lower mercury content than a can of tuna from the USA.  The fish here that are caught and eaten on a regular basis are Tilapia, Catfish, Carp and a few others I don’t know how to translate.  

Moving on… we head toward Jocotepec for some more exploring and stumble upon one of the schools we are considering for the kids.  We pull in and I jump out to see about getting some information.  I am introduced to the director and he offers to give us a tour of the campus.  Terranova is the name of the school and the facility is really nice.  The students are from grade K-12 and it is a bilingual school.  They teach from 8-11 in Spanish and 11:30-2:30 in English.  The principal is incredibly friendly and answered all of our questions.  We just need to look at the other 2 and make a decision.  School for the boys will start again in mid August.

Back in the car now and we keep heading towards Jocotepec, about another 10 minutes down the road.  It is only 15 minutes from or house.  We decide at the last moment to keep going through town and go the back route to Guadalajara and try to find Costco.  We come up on a bit of roadwork and it is crazy.  These huge machines on the side of the mountain, excavating it away to make 2 more lanes for traffic.  We wait 15 minutes as we watch huge boulders pushed down the hill close to the road and then they stop for a few minutes to allow cars to pass.  Driving a bit further, we see the berry farms and a roadside fire.  After about 45 minutes of driving we are entering the heart of Guadalajara (now I hope most of you read about our trip to the Lake through Guad.).  We find the Costco without a hitch.  There are parking attendants and one that speaks very good English approaches me and he asks if we need any yard/Landscape work. I get his number and head on in to the store.  It looks just like any other Costco I have ever been to.  The prices for things American and Kirkland are priced higher then they are back in the US.  You can find meat, eggs, and items from Mexico and other parts of the world at a cheaper price.  All in all it’s pretty nice.   We stop and have our traditional hotdogs, Shrimp Bake, Pina Colda Smoothie and of course Churros.  We walk out with some really great juices, lunchmeats, bread products, and maple syrup…

Heading home, we are cruising along on the Hwy and somehow miss our turn of for Lago Chapala.  We get lost in Guadalajara again, but this time we manage to easily find our way back to the proper road and are back on track.  It’s a bit scary when you do get off track, because you typically have to drive for a few miles to find any kind of turn around.  Not being familiar with the area and still not reading Spanish well, the nerves get a little irritated and flustered.  So, back on track, we find our road back to Lago Chapala and Jocotepec.  We pass the big Jesus in the road and wander into town.  The photo of the truck with all the sacks of rice was taken on our way back through Jocotepec.  I can’t believe anyone can get that much in one small pickup.  Thanks again for keeping up with our adventure and more to come soon…

Love Brian and the gang