Horseback riding in Chapala

Last week we decided to rent some horses.  There are two places to rent in the Lakeside area.  One is Chapala and the other is Ajijic.  We decided on Chapala.  We rode for two hours.  The cost was 8 dollars U. S. per hour per person.  This ride was well worth the money with scenic views of the mountains and the lake.

My buddy Joe, who informed me that this horse was the closest he was going to get to any horse.

Juan owns the horses.  These are his kids and grandkids.  Juan has rented horses here in Chapala for 35 years.

Debbie could tell one of the grandaughters liked horses, so she invited Alondra to ride with her.  Alondra smiled the whole way.             

Riding near the Malecon.  Just about every town along the lake has a walkway (Malecon) close to the shore. 

You can ride along these trails to the lake and never see another person.  That is Lake Chapala in the background. 

Debbi, J. C., Juan Jr. and Vickie 

Ken, Debbi, J. C. and Vicki with Lake Chapala, the largest freshwater lake in Mexico, in the background.  Lake Chapala is 55 miles long and 15 miles across. 

We rode the horses along one of the backstreets of Chapala on the way home.  

These horses are very well fed and they are in excellent shape.

Regata de Globos.

Every year, The Saturday before Mexican Independence Day, (Sept. 16) there is a balloon festival at the soccer field in Ajijic.  The locals spend many hours preparing for this event.  Sometimes the Balloons spend hours in the sky, and, sometimes only minutes.

There were approximately 4,000 people who attended this year.

One of the more colorful entries.

If you look close you can see a water bottle that is used for ballast. 

Can you tell this team had one of the more successful launches?

Okay, so it's not quite like the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, but one of these years.!!!

Houston, we have a problem! 

About 1/3 of the balloons burn and fall to the ground.  Nobody got hurt this year.

I think Kermit the Frog was the best in show.

Lots of local balloon teams and lots of locals in attendance.

This was a nice entry also.  Some of these teams spent a lot of time making these balloons.

You would think these two were launching balloons all day long!

Hiking the local trails

We think we have found the Skyline trail.  This trail is 18 miles long and goes from Chapala to Jocotepec.  I think we have found it, but we need to make several more hikes to know for sure.

Turn north at  the street next to Donas Donuts in Ajijic.  At the end of the road turn left and go 100 meters to the trailhead.

As usual, we had many shrines to look at on the way up.

Looks like J. C. is lost in the forest.  What a beautiful time of year.

The views on this hike were dramatic.

More of the same. 

We ran into this friendly guy.  His owner wasn't far behind.

Looking south to Ajijic and San Antonio.

The top of the trail opens to a beautiful meadow.

The clouds forming over Lake Chapala occur daily during the rainy season.

Lots of flowers in the meadow at the top.

The Skyline trail at the top of the mountain  I'm really looking forward to the many hikes we will have along this 18 mile stretch.