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First Time Reader? ......here is the background to this series of blogs
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/9/1233502800/tpod.html
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Click on SLIDESHOW and the rectangle in the right corner to see photos in full screen format
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Mexico: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months
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Ajijic
No. 7 of 23 Destinations (this is not a ranking)
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Ajijic - Ringing In the New Year
Part 4 of 5

We didn't know it but in Ajijic we were about to become very familiar with the expression "ringing in the New Year". I will get back to that later.

As I mentioned two blogs ago we were very glad upon our arrival to find the Hotel Ajijic located on the main square . The price of 500 pesos also seemed reasonable considering it was the Christmas/New Year Holiday Season. That was the good news; the bad news was that the next day the price was going up to 800 pesos for the same room.

That was not good and the last time we experienced this was in beautiful Key West, Florida. It was New Year's Eve 2003 and the price of our hotel room was about to go from $120 a night to $300 U.S. The ridiculous price and the inability to find something reasonable elsewhere left us with plan B. At that point Plan B was still stored in a bag behind the driver's seat. After some scouting around we did find a campground in Key West close to downtown and that is where we pitched Plan B - our little tent. Unfortunately the price for pitching a tent was $50 per night - a huge improvement, but $50 for pitching a 2-person tent with the pegs from the next tent being six inches away was equally ridiculous as $300 per night.

Well, there was to be no Plan B in the form of a tent in Ajijic since uncharacteristically I did not bring one . The plan B here consisted of walking across the square and down the street to the large Hotel Italo. It is a white, four-story hotel that had seen better days and that was in the process of being renovated. One of the renovations was the installation of an elevator. The rooms were large and airy and our room even had a two-person non-working Jacuzzi.

This hotel seems to have been the "grandee dame" of local hotels in its glory days. Pointedly, here it was December 31 and the large ballroom, perfect for a New Year's Eve ball, was in a sad state of disrepair. The only thing sadder was the demeanour of the owner who was all dressed up ready to go somewhere but he never did. The financial burden of the hotel seemed to be weighing heavily on his shoulders. Even in the holiday season the hotel was far from being full. Furthermore, the few paying guests like us were paying 350 pesos for a room. That was a great price, at least for the guests. Adding to the sad state of affairs was a pizzeria located in the hotel's ground floor that had everything except customers .
 
Our room was located on the third floor just across from the entrance to the elevator shaft that was under construction. This is another example of the great divide that exists in safety standards between Mexico and its northern neighbours. It would be hard to imagine an elevator under construction with free access to the elevator shaft by anyone including curious children. There was no barrier, no warning sign - nothing, just a gaping hole that extended through the four floors of the hotel. But examples of a devil-may-care attitude towards safety are everywhere in Mexico from not wearing seat belts, to not wearing safety goggles or ear protection on construction sites to my own personal favourite - riding in the back of a pick-up truck while seated on the narrow sides of the truck - how risky is that?

At some point I ventured higher to the fourth floor to discover that there was an eclectic collection of 3 male expats living in separate efficiency apartments. Each one was a character out of a novel - hard living and full of stories . They were there taking advantage of the great monthly rates, location and view.

Yes, did I mention the view? There was unrestricted access to the roof/terrace of the hotel that was littered with construction materials and had large area for hanging the hotel's laundry.

As disorganized as it was, it did offer superb views of the surrounding area from the majestic mountains to the north to Lago Chapala to the south and the surrounding town of Ajijic. The roof of the Hotel Italo has to be the best viewpoint in the town.

Not only is there a superb view of the surrounding area, the Hotel Italo is also built cheek to jowl to San Andrés Church. Amazingly from the roof-top terrace of the hotel we could see the roof-top of the church with its numerous bulbous copulas. That was a view we had surely never seen before, not to mention the bell tower that seemed so close we could reach out and touch it.

And that brings me back to ringing in the New Year .

Not inclined to celebrate at the best of times, this passage into the New Year was further dampened by Barbara's brush with Montezuma's Revenge. Nevertheless we went out to eat which in this case meant the Restaurant de la Plaza that is located on the charming village square of Ajijic. What attracted us was a four-course New Year's Eve Dinner Special for 190 pesos ($19 Can.). Barbara had the Beef Filet Slices and I had the Beef Shank. I made the wrong choice.

After dinner we took a short walk but I could not persuade Barbara to partake in anything more than that so we headed back to our room at the Hotel Italo.

It was here that we experienced the "ringing in of the New Year" which meant a full ten minutes of bell ringing at close range. In our room we could not have been more than 30 meters removed from the bells in the bell tower of San Andrés Church. I never knew that bells could be so loud and it had me scrambling for some toilet paper that I rolled up into a little ball to stuff in my ears . It did not help much, but short of leaving, what were we to do? Having said that, we had to laugh because over the years we had heard the expression "to ring in the New Year" but we had never really reflected on what that meant. Our experience at the Italo Hotel shall always be remembered for "ringing in the New Year of 2009".

I have outlined the aspects that make the Hotel Italo an interesting place so if you are not adverse to a bit of inconvenience, do not rule out the Hotel Italo as a place to stay until you find something more permanent in Ajijic. At 350 pesos per day and even cheaper on a weekly and monthly basis, it is a bargain. Hopefully the elevator will have been fully installed and the possibility of going for a big drop while you are walking in your sleep will have been removed.

For further information about real estate in Ajijic there is quite a bit of information in my photos.

A Google search for: Ajijic AND Rentals will bring up a several sites with information regarding renting accommodation . Renting before buying would be a logical way to go about it.

There is some relevant information at the following website:

http://www.insidemex.com/real-estate/market-meter/lakeside-in-ajijic-a-wealth-of-options-within-walking-distance

Some practical information:

http://www.lakechapalasociety.org/LL.htm

Of course Ajijic is not the only town/village along the shores of Lake Chapala and they are of interest to visit or even live there. However, we did not have the time to explore or enjoy the warm thermal baths but we did visit the nearby town of Chapala that is the subject of the next blog.

Pros of Ajijic:

-    temperate year-round climate
-    lovely village-type setting with Adobe houses, tiled roofs, abundance of trees and cobblestone streets
-    great suburbs nearby
-    large expats community
-    unsurpassed opportunity to mix with expats at Lake Chapala Society
-    30 minutes from Guadalajara International Airport
-    access to rich cultural experience of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city that is only a 50 minute bus ride away
-    small enough to not need a car
-    access to a beautiful lake
-    many other beautiful communities along the lake
-    four hours to the coast
-    village setting with cobblestone streets
-    easy and affordable access to medical care
-    relatively safe place
-    within driving range of the Pacific Coast (4 hours)
-     abundance of shops and art galleries

Cons of Ajijic

-    too many expats
-    relatively expensive
-    not near the coast

Conclusion:

My four blogs speak for themselves, there is not much about Ajijic that would indicate anything other than this would be a great place to spend the winter months . Furthermore this advice would be even more relevant if the stay would be longer and would extend into the "hot" months as this area has a temperate climate in the summer time as well while it would be brutal in live in the heat of the summer on the Pacific or Caribbean Coast.
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Comments/Questions:   travelswithlobo@yahoo.com
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Coming Soon:

Chapala - the Town - Ersatz "Bellagio on Lake Como"