Expat Living

On April 12, 2000, as Lake Chapala was plunging towards its lowest level in half a century, mariachi musician Juan Santos Enciso and his family set out for an outing on the vast beach near their home in Santa Cruz de la Soledad.  As they scrounged around for stones to improvise a fire pit for cooking their midday picnic fare, Santos picked up an odd-shaped object. It turned out to be a small bone from a prehistoric beast, later identified as an ancient ancestor of the elephant.

Lakeside songstress Lupita Jimenez pulled a black mermaid gown from the hanger and holding it up, she checked the mirror and did a dance step to flip out the flounces at the bottom.

The Easter season in lakeside’s predominantly Roman Catholic communities will be framed by solemn rites and age-old customs that will be observed from this weekend through Sunday, April 20.

When the Lake Chapala Birders recently compiled the members’ statistics from their February bird watching expeditions, the tally revealed that the group had collectively spotted and recorded 153 species. 

The normal range for the Mexican Parrotlet is near the Pacific coast, but Don Bell reported four flying along the shoreline in West Ajijic. Birders are now 

wondering if they have escaped from their lakeside home. There could be a small feral colony of earlier escapees now breeding here. Members of the group have seen them in the wild in the 1,000-foot-deep canyons near Guadalajara.

When local birders hiked at Las Trojes, they saw the red-faced warblers in the same area that they had been seen during two previous winters. The painted restart which has been previously recorded above Las Trojes during the spring and fall migrations was also seen on that excursion. 

John and Rosemary Keeling, hosts of the Chapala birders, spotted both American Bittern and Least Bittern at the marsh at Lake Cajititlan. The reed beds there are now extensive and are providing good nesting for marsh birds. 

For more information about Lake Chapala Birders and their frequent birding walks, contact John and Rosemary Keeling by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">.

Chapala area traffic police warn local motorists to be on the alert and exercise extra precautions while driving during the hectic Easter vacation period.

Eduardo Miranda Moreno, recently assigned to take charge at lakeside headquarters of the Secretaria de Movilidad, announced that traffic police will beef up patrols over the next two weeks to help keep holiday season travelers from speeding and engaging in reckless driving that may cause highway accidents. 

The Chapala office will suspend regular administrative services from April 2 through 13. 

Congratulations to Graciela Estrada Mudejano, who received a warm embrace from Chapala First Lady Marisela Navarro Rodriguez after capturing the crown as Chapala’s 2015 Reina de la Tercera Edad at the senior ladies pageant held Wednesday, March 18 at DIF headquarters. 

Each of the competitors, representing a different town within the municipality, presented herself in long dress and heels on the DIF stage to speak for three minutes about the role of senior woman in Mexican society, as well as a pivotal experience that changed their lives for the better.

An accomplished athlete who has trained to become an award-winning long distance runner during the 15 years she has lived at lakeside, Estrada impressed the judges’ panel with her glowing poise and eloquence in speaking on the role of older women. “We have to remain active and show our inner strength ... We should be guiding lights for future generations who lack the experience we have,“ she remarked in the question-and-answer segment of the event.

Estrada will be competing again, this time representing Chapala for the regional crown in the next competition. The date and location of that event has not yet been announced.