Whew, it's been another busy day here in Chapala. Deborah was up at 6:30 this morning prepping the appies for our pontoon boat ride on Lake Chapala. Then it was down to the Wednesday market to see Taylor, my software guy. As I mentioned earlier, I purchased Rosetta Stone's complete Spanish version for $30.00US and I've had just a little problem with the licensing protocol. All is good now.

Then it was off to the Ajijic Yacht Club to board Eloy and Ginger's new pontoon boat. There were nine of us on this little tour under bright sunny skies and a glassy lake. This is a very, very shallow lake that runs about 70 miles long and 8 miles wide but the deepest part of the lake is just over 21'. Several times on our tour, out in the middle of the lake the depth finder showed 4' and on occasion we ended up hitting the prop on the lake bed.

We moved around the lake on a pre-determined route, heading initially to one of the islands called Scorpion Island. It's a small island that apparently has no electricity but has a few restaurants - restaurants that you apparently don't want to visit. So we cruised by but never docked. It seems the local custom is that when one of the locals has a baby, it's customary to have them brought out to the island christened or the like.

All the while, we had our drinks and appies while Eloy and John captained the boat through some very shallow water. This is a lake that is really not active with too much boat traffic. We were likely the only boat on the lake with the exception of a few fishing boats. The lake level is down very dramatically at this time of year, but tends to get replenished during the upcoming rainy season. A few years ago, the lake had some very serious problems with water hyacinth or lirio which was introduced to the lake in the late 19th century. Vincent Fox, who was the previous President of Mexico from Jalisco - so he spent thousands of dollars with the local Jalisco government to clear up this lirio and it's much much better that it's been for years.

Back at the dock, we all headed home, only to be reminded that Wednesday was HAPPPY HOUR and fourteen people were scheduled to be at the Italian restaurant on the Caraterra for dinner, also being celebrated was Martin's 81 birthday. It's really tough to plan here, things change at a moment's notice. At dinner, we were asked to join Dale and Don for a road trip to go pick up a Virgin Mary statue from some little town near Guadalajara, departing at 9:15 tomorrow morning.

Before I close, I wanted to speak to one of my Top 10's yesterday where I listed the Number 2 reason for coming to Ajijic was "the friendliness and welcoming attitudes from both locals and expats alike". This was a mistake, it should have been rated as Number 1. Close to a month ago Deborah and I boarded a United flight for this little town in Mexico, just the two us - we knew no one. Three weeks later what has happened here is truly amazing. As I've said earlier everyone has a story to tell and they're so willing to help the "newbies" because they went through exactly the same stuff when they arrived here. We hear stories of 88 year old ladies moving to Ajijic, by themselve that take alot of guts. The locals have said one year living in Lakeside adds one additional year to one's life.

Four days left to go - Way to Go Philip Phillips - Stay Tuned !