Gettin’ Carried Away

Chapala is actually not one of the first places I visited in Mexico. However, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I left my camera cord at home, so I want to hold off on posting about some cities until I get my pictures uploaded on my computer. After a few days, I finally remembered that my iPhone takes pretty good photos, so I snapped this amazing shot of Lake Chapala earlier this afternoon.

While there are a lot of Mexican residents in Chapala, the city is also home to many American and Canadian retirees. Some of the B&B’s and hotels are even owned by foreigners. And speaking of hotels, Lake Chapala Inn, which overlooks the beautiful lake pictured above, costs about $45 a night. What. A. Steal.

I have to admit, the cobble-stoned streets of Chapala lose their charm after awhile, once you’ve been driving over the bumps for about 10 minutes or so. Walking is the way to go in this town; you’ll find quaint shops and affordable restaurants, but I think the lake is really the place to be.

In 1956 and 2003, due to a lack of rain, the people of Chapala feared the loss of this gorgeous body of water. Today, it stands about eight meters close to the shore and about 17-20 meters near the two islands out in the middle of the lake. City workers are renovating the beachfront, adding boardwalks and patching up old stonework. All the renovations are expected to be finished by December 2009. They have already come a long way, so I highly recommend visiting Chapala any time you like!