Turn on a Mexican television news program nowadays and the chances are you won’t see a man telling us that it’s going to rain tomorrow.

Is sending merchandise to Mexico a disaster? Hard experience has led some to think so.

Plugged as “Ajijic’s most unique and romantic boutique hotel,” La Nueva Posada is recognized by international travelers, Tapatio tourists and local residents alike as a delightful place to nest, wine and dine, and experience lakeside living at its best.

Guadalajara’s decade-old, car-free Via RecreActiva allows city residents to reclaim their streets at their own pace for a heavenly six hours once a week.  The activity is also a great way for newcomers – and visitors from the Lake Chapala area – to get to know a metropolis that for the rest of the week is mostly snarled with traffic, noise and stress. 

Glorious holiday décor and reruns of “Rudolph,” Charlie Brown, and the Grinch aren’t the triggers signaling visions of chile-dusted sugarplums, peanuts and tangerines in the Christmas party bolas (treat bags). 

Visitors in Mexico’s street markets and tourist stalls are drawn to the mountains of goods imprinted with the image of the country’s patron, the Virgin of Guadalupe.