The Guadalajara Reporter
Guadalajara's Largest English Newspaper
The Lake Chapala region is widely recognized for its amazingly benign year-round climate. Never mind that bogus claim that National Geographic once rated the area as boasting the world’s second-best climate. It is just an often-repeated myth that was probably invented by some hungry real estate agent.
Anybody else getting the impression that Mother Nature is getting cranky about all the abuse and indignities modern mankind has inflicted on Planet Earth?
Records show 11 earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.0 or greater in 2026, on top of 14 such events last year. Most have occurred in the Eastern Hemisphere along the Ring of Fire, which encircles the Pacific Ocean.
• February 22, 2026: Magnitude 7.1 near Kota Belud, Malaysia
• March 24, 2026: Magnitude 7.5 near Vava’u / Neiafu, Tonga
• March 30, 2026: Magnitude 7.3 near Sanma, Vanuatu
• April 1, 2026: Magnitude 7.4 near North Maluku, Indonesia
• April 20, 2026: Magnitude 7.4 near Iwate/Sanriku, Japan
• June 7–8, 2026: Magnitude 7.8 near Soccsksargen/Kablalan, Philippines
• July 28, 2026: Magnitude 7.1 near Japan
• August 14, 2026: Magnitude 7.7 in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
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Many people, including a lot of local real estate hustlers, like to tell expat newcomers they can get along just fine without understanding or speaking Spanish. In my book, that is lousy advice in a practical sense, and an insult to the native folks who graciously accept our presence here at lakeside.
A sign hanging on the outside of the former Black Coffee site confirms what has been rumored for weeks. The building is being remodeled to become a lakeside branch of Starbucks.
¡Muy Pronto! Vivirás la experiencia Starbucks. (Coming Soon! You will live the Starbucks experience.)
I was about seven years old when I made my first trip to Mexico. It was a family trip to visit my grandparents in the little town of Montemorelos, Nuevo León, where they had settled after a couple of years living in Chapala. They left here because the altitude didn’t agree with grandad’s heart condition.
I was quite stunned when some friends recently commented that local expats don’t rely on newspapers or Facebook to get information.
This week, hundreds of Canadian and U.S. citizens residing in the lakeside area are celebrating national holidays: Canada Day on July 1 and U.S. Independence Day on July 4.