Zihuatanejo Part 3: Playa Municipal's statues, fishermen, and hilarious pelican population

El Pescador is one of many statues along the malecon of Playa Municipal. El Pescador ("The Fisherman") acknowledges Zihuatanejo's hard-working fishing community. Fishing has been an important activity along the Costa Grande (the "Great Coast") for thousands of years. Carved stone weights used on prehispanic fishing nets are among the artifacts displayed in the Archaeological Museum near the southern end of the malecon. Playa Municipal is also known by the names Playa Principal and Playa Almeja, but to avoid confusion, I'll just use Playa Municipal. The Playa forms the western, or water side of El Centro, the downtown part of Zihua. Its southern end is at the pedestrian bridge over a deep arroyo that empties into Zihuatanteo Bay. The Playa's northern boundary is another pedestrian bridge over the boat channel into the marina. In between are the fishermen's beach and a long pier used by tourist boats and the patrol boats of the Mexican Navy. For a Google satellite view of this area, click here.

The fishermen's beach is crowded with boats full of the daily catch. Just behind the beach you can see a grove of coconut palms that provide welcome shade. Behind the palms is the malecon, a long concrete walkway lined with restaurants. These range from simple tables set up on the beach sand to more formal affairs with waiters dressed in white. Can you guess the main course on most menus? The fish, caught that same day, are as fresh as you can get. Although the ambiance is generally good, the prices are oriented to the tourist trade, even topping those of the restaurant at Hotel Irma, where we stayed. We discovered that prices for similar meals are much more reasonable as you move back into El Centro, away from the beach. Still, dinner on the beach is nice and we tried it a couple of times.

Fortunately, we didn't run into any of these fellows wandering Playa Municipal. This bronze statue of a full-sized crocodile is one of several lurking in this beautiful little garden along the malecon. The American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) can be found along the shores of Zihuatanejo Bay, as well as many other places along the coast to the north and south. Viewing the statue, I recalled reading about a norteamericano family who visited Mexico's Pacific coast not long ago. The back yard of their vacation cottage ran down to one of the lagoons typically found behind the long beaches. After they unpacked they threw open their back door. Their labrador retriever, joyful at his freedom after the long car trip, bounded down the yard and jumped into the lagoon. He was immediately seized by one of the lagoon's resident crocs, no doubt joyful in his own way for the sudden appearance of this large meal. The family stood by in horror but could do nothing as their pet disappeared under the water. They could only be glad it was not one of their small children. It's always good to use discretion around unfamiliar bodies of water.

A pescador shakes small fish out of his "cast" net. They are probably anchovies for his own use or to sell for bait. We often saw men (never women) fishing with cast nets like this. The pescadores wade out almost chest deep, then cast the net in front of them before gradually pulling it in. That takes a lot of strength in the arms and shoulders and this guy looks pretty fit. None of the pescadores using a cast net ever seemed concerned about the crocs which are occasionally spotted in the area. I don't know whether this indicates some special knowledge, or simple fatalism.

This catch was achieved farther off shore. I haven't been able to determine what the silvery fish are, but the greenish-golden one is a dorado, also known as mahi-mahi. These four were laid out under the palms for the examination of possible purchasers. They are quite sizable, ranging from about .6 m (2 ft) for the small one in the foreground, to about 1.2 m (4 ft) for the dorado.

Statue of a woman near the plaza represents the Region Tierra Caliente. She is one of seven female statues located near the malecon. Each represents a different region of Guerrero. Her elaborately braided hair and traditional clothing identify her as an indigenous woman from the region of Guerrero known as Tierra Caliente (the "Hot Lands"). This area is inland from the Costa Grande and is known for its fruit orchards. The other regions of Guerrero are Norte, Centro, Montaña, Costa Chica, and Acapulco.

With the fishing boats in, Brown Pelicans crowd around looking for a treat.  These large birds are graceful in flight and while cruising the water's surface, but are rather comical on land. The Brown Pelicans bear a faint resemblance to Charlie Chaplin's famous Little Tramp character as they waddle about in their brown tuxedos. The pelicans are remarkably tolerant of people and almost need to be pushed out of the way to get through their massed ranks. This flock was intently focused on a pescador cutting up his catch.

The pescador uses his sharp knife to fillet his catch. Every few minutes he amused himself. and the growing crowd of human spectators, by tossing a chunk of fish to the flock of hungry birds. This immediately set off a flapping, squawking brawl, much as might result if you tossed a handful of hundred dollar bills down on a crowded city sidewalk.

Pelicans fight over a fish in a three-way stand-off. One hilarious episode in this little drama is shown above. The pescador tossed a particularly large and succulent chunk in the air and three pelicans caught it--and each other--in a complicated standoff. The left-hand pelican has caught not only part of the fish, but the middle one's beak, while the right-hand pelican clings on to one end. They swayed back and forth, with nobody willing to give up. Finally, one of them gave a jerk and got away while the others vainly pursued. When he gained a little distance, he tossed back his head and swallowed the chunk of fish whole.

Although the pescador gave the pelicans quite a feast, he had plenty left for himself. The pescadores and the pelicans seem to have a genuinely symbiotic relationship, with each providing something to the other and each gaining something. I could see what the pelicans got but I didn't understand the quid pro quo. Then early one morning I watched from the Hotel Irma balcony as a huge flock of pelicans created a ruckus in the bay just off shore. Soon, the pescadores' boats began closing in from all directions. A waiter at the hotel restaurant explained that the pelicans had cornered a large school of anchovies in the shallows. The pescadores swooped in with their nets to gather the anchovies for bait, and the relationship became clear.

Statue of a young girl with a large pan of fresh fish. She represents the Costa Grande, a region that runs from the northwestern coast of Guerrero down almost to Acapulco. Inland from the beaches are woodlands, orchards, and fertile lands. In prehispanic times, the Costa Grande area was much coveted by both the Tarascan Empire and the Mexica (Aztecs). Behind the statue are some of the small hotels, restaurants, and shops that line the street paralleling the malecon.

Tourists carrying the inevitable bags of knicknacks stroll the malecon. You can buy straw hats, t-shirts with Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo embroidered on the front (I got two), and various other small souvenirs at the little shops along the malecon. There are even more shops in the 3-block by 6 block area that makes up El Centro, just back of the beach. Most of the wares are the usual trashy trinkets one finds at any beach community, but almost anybody can find something they like. The fun is in the looking and the bargaining.

La Sirena Gorda restaurant attracted me with its sign and its reputation. La Sirena Gorda (The Fat Mermaid) sits right on the malecon, so it is a good spot not only to eat but to people-watch. When we were looking for a malecon restaurant to try one day, Carole consulted her Lonely Planet guide and discovered that La Sirena Gorda came highly recommended. We remembered the sign we had seen on a previous stroll this way, so we stopped for lunch. The food and service were good and the prices moderate. We sat just behind the screen of cactus to the left and were able to people-watch to our hearts' desire.

The Navy Headquarters was right across the walkway from La Sirena Gorda. Although there were many handsome young Naval officers and sailors of both sexes bustling about, unfortunately none were there when I was ready to shoot this photo. The Navy has responsibility not only for anti-smuggling campaigns, but the Mexican Marines have played a strong role in the fight against the narcotraficantes. I was impressed by how many uniformed women, both officers and sailors, were in evidence For all its reputation as a macho country, Mexican women have penetrated most of the traditionally male occupations, including the military and the police forces.

A Naval patrol boat swings gently at anchor in the middle of the bay. Shallow draft boats like this are ideal for coastal patrol work. My guess is that this craft could speed right along if necessary. We never saw anything larger than this during our stay. However, the Mexican Navy doesn't have far-flung responsibilities. They have their hands full just patrolling Mexico's lengthy coasts.

The statue representing El Norte stands near the Plaza del Artista. El Norte is part of a Free Trade Zone and is full of plants that assemble parts brought in from elsewhere. It is the manufacturing center of Guerrero. Notice the elaborate embroidery on the girl's dress, as well as the mask she holds in her hands.

At the north end of Playa Municipal is a long pier jutting out into the bay. At the end of the pier on the far left you can see one of the Navy patrol boats tied up. The channel into the marina is just behind the pier seen above. The pier is the point where tourists can take various kinds of boat tours. These include sunset cruises around the bay, ferries across to Playa Las Gatas (see Part 1 of this series), or cruises up to Ixtapa or other locations. Behind the marina channel, the mountains rise sharply up.

The northern arm of the Zihuatanejo Bay contains a scattering of homes built into the cliffs. The twin catamarans shown in previous postings rock at anchor in the shelter of this wooded arm of land. the northern and southern arms of the bay give it a great deal of protection from the force of the open Pacific beyond. I took this shot in the early morning as the golden rays of the sun bathed the boats and homes in the distance.

Cliffside homes perch above the rocks lining the shore. This is the tip of the northern arm, an area called Puerto Mio ("My Port"). Even in Mexico, it must have cost a great deal to build these homes in such precarious spots. I imagine that the view must be pretty dramatic in stormy weather, with great waves crashing onto the rocky points just below the open decks of these houses.

A couple of pescadores try their luck as the sun drops below the horizon. We could always depend upon a dramatic, flaming sunset at Zihua. Playa Municipal is in shadow on the right of the photo. Next week, we'll take a look at Ixtapa to the north of Zihua, and also at the long, empty, palm-fringed beaches of Barra de Potosí to the south.

This completes Part 3 of my Zihuatanejo series. I always appreciate and encourage feedback. If you have a comment or question, please either use the Comments section below or email me directly.

If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE leave your email so that I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

The Life and moods of Lake Chapala - Part 2

Evening sun glimmers over the darkening waters of Lake Chapala. The Lake's water level rises and falls over time. In the photo above, taken in the summer of 2008 from the Ajijic pier, the water is high, but not at flood stage. The long retaining wall of Amistad Park is visible in the upper right of the photo. This is probably the optimum level of the Lake, and the shore is at its prettiest. In this posting, we'll look at some of the changes that have occurred in just the last 2 1/2 years we have lived in Ajijic on Lake Chapala. In the last section below, I included some photos expressing some of the different moods of the Lake.

Dry land fronts Amistad Park in an earlier year. When we arrived in 2007, I took this photo of the same area of the Lake at a much lower level. In the early 2000s, the Lake was even lower than this picture shows. At that time, one could walk as much as a mile out from the current Lake shore without ever getting wet feet. There were fears at that time that the Lake might be reaching a point of no return. A burgeoning Mexican environmental movement roused a public outcry. Mexican officials at the local, state, and federal level recognized the economic losses that would accompany the loss of the Lake and began to take action. Lake Chapala is fed by the Lerma River and the water exits through the Santiago River. Both rivers are located at the extreme eastern end of the Lake. Over many years, the Lerma has been sapped of its upstream water for agricultural purposes. It has also been the recipient of large amounts of industrial pollutants from factories along its course, as well as the runoff of agricultural chemicals. The public uproar forced government action to allow more water to reach the Lake, although it is not clear whether pollutants have significantly decreased.

Amistad Park, pre-flood. This photo captures the quiet loveliness of Amistad Park prior to the flood of 2008. This area was one of my favorites along the shore. The park was kept immaculately clean by local attendants. Large shade trees created a cool refuge for warm days along the shore. Families with children picnicked on the grass. Then the water rose.

Amistad Park, flooded. In the span of a few days, the water level suddenly rose. Brown water filled the park, killing some of the old shade trees. What had apparently happened was an excessive release of upstream water from far-away dams. I have never determined who made the decision, but clearly there was a breakdown in communication. Local governments around the Lake had spent considerable money to plant gardens and improve the Lake's shore. All that was wiped out by the flood. The Chapala city government (Ajijic' parent jurisdiction) has since rebuilt the park and added an attractive malecon walkway where the Amistad Park retaining wall once ran along the Lake. Unfortunately, in the process, they cut down many of the wonderful old shade trees, and uprooted the grassy areas. Perhaps at some point they will finish their interminable project, but in the meantime, the feel of the old park is gone forever.

Lirio chokes Chapala harbor waterfront (2007). Another recurrent problem at the Lake is the growth of lirio, or water hyacinth (eichhornia crassipes), an invasive species. Apparently, in the late 19th Century, hacienda owners on the east end of the Lake decided to introduce the lirio as a decorative plant in their fish ponds. Lacking any native check on its spread, the lirio grew explosively. Soon vast areas of the Lake were covered. Miles-long strings of the floating plant drifted with the winds. Lirio built up along the shoreline, extending out hundreds of yards. One study showed that 25 lirio plants could become, over a single season, 2 million separate plants covering 10,000 square meters of water surface. Ironically, the upstream agricultural runoff actually nourishes lirio, and the plant can absorb heavy metals from industrial pollution, making it too toxic for other uses. Breaking up the plants actually helps them propagate. By the late 1950s almost 20 percent of the Lake's surface was covered. One novel, if unsuccessful, strategy for combatting lirio was to import manatees (large water-dwelling mammals from Florida). Local Mexicans soon discovered that the huge animals were a fine source of protein, and the manatees quickly disappeared. Finally, authorities resorted to poison, which cleared out the lirio for a time, but posed other threats

Chapala waterfront, lirio free (2009). The photo above was taken in January of 2009. Workers raked the dead lirio up on shore and trucked it away, leaving the harbor pleasingly open. However, the lirio returned that summer and had to be cleaned out again. Many societies have learned, to their regret, that introducing non-native species can have a disastrous effect on a local environment with no natural defenses. I suspect that authorities in the Lake Chapala area will be dealing with lirio for a long time to come.

The changing moods of Lake Chapala

Cumulus clouds roil over the Lake, building up to a dramatic thunderstorm. During the summer rainy season, the skies can be dramatic. The weather can change quickly from blue sky and sunshine to dark, boiling masses of clouds, and back again to sunshine. Although winter is favored by many Lakeside residents, Carole and I like summer best.

A hole in the sky. Sometimes, on a dark, cloudy day, a blue hole will open in the clouds, allowing golden beams to shine down. After a time, the hole closes again, and the gloom returns.


Thunderstorm sweeps across the South Shore. The Lake is so large that different parts can have completely different weather at the same time. Even as close as five miles away, it may be raining while the sun shines brightly where we are. Summer thunderstorms are quite dramatic. Brilliant flashes of lightning and deafening drumrolls of thunder can continue for hours at a time. Sheets of rain come as a tremendous downpour, drowning out all other sounds. Fortunately, most of this happens late at night. Daytime storms are very rare. Still, the storms can have disastrous effects, forming rivers down steep cobblestone streets. Because the stones are held in place by dirt, they are often washed away, requiring regular repairs during the rainy season. In August 2007, a storm resulted in a trumba, or waterspout. These are like small tornados of water pulled up from the Lake surface. One such trumba dropped its load on the water-soaked slopes of the mountains overlooking San Juan Cosala, a small town just to the west of Ajijic. A huge mud slide came roaring down the arroyos of the mountain, destroying many homes and other property. Fortunately no one was killed, but many were injured and many Mexican families lost everything. I was proud that the expat community pitched in with money and other kinds of help in the relief effort. (Photo by Joel Gomez)

Summer thunderheads mix with the brilliant light of a sunset. It's always fun just to sit and watch the sky change from hour to hour and day to day. Sometimes, when I am doing some small routine task such as carrying out the garbage, I will stop and observe and wonder at the show unfolding before me.

Low cloudbank obscures the peak of Mt. Garcia on the South Shore. When this was taken, lirio still lined the North Shore. The leafless tree above now stands several yards from shore, in clear water. This tree usually attracted several large white egrets which liked to perch on the limbs. During a visit to the Lake while preparing this posting, I noticed that the tree has been cut down, another victim of "progress".

And now for something completely different. I had fun taking what was a rather boring photo, and adding some drama through the magic of digital photography and a computer photo program. I wanted to see what would happen when I pushed the color as far as I could. The result was an eerie, icy blue. I have never found a place for this photo before, although various others have admired it. This seemed like the right posting to use it. The dead trees in the picture above have also been removed, their skeletal arms no longer reaching for the sky.

Steep mountain slopes drop precipitously to the water. Most of the population around the Lake is concentrated on the North Shore between Jocotopec at the western tip to Chapala, about 15 miles to its east. The photo above was taken near Mezcala, east of Chapala, looking east. The shore is little populated here, because there is so little level land. A few small farms and fishing villages dot the North Shore for the next 30 milest.

Setting sun turns the Lake's surface a shimmering gold. We get wonderful sunsets here, almost every day. A fellow photographer once remarked to me that Ajijic photo contests should outlaw sunset entries, because beautiful photos are just too easy to take.

End of a quiet summer day. The sun has disappeared and light is fading, but there was just enough to catch the feeling of the last moments before dark.

I hope you have enjoyed my 2-part series on the life and moods of Lake Chapala. If you'd like to leave a comment, you can do so below, or email me directly. If you use the comments section below to ask a question, remember to leave your email so I can reply.

Hasta luego, Jim

The Life and moods of Lake Chapala - Part 1

A Snowy Egret broods on the prow of a fishing boat gently rocking at anchor. On a crystal clear January afternoon in Mezcala harbor I was mesmerized by the sparkling water. So was the beautiful white bird I was photographing. This photo is one of my favorites because it so perfectly captures the mood of the many sunny days we enjoy at Lake Chapala. I had long considered the possibility of a blog posting with a focus on the Lake itself, but I wondered if I had enough quality pictures to adequately tell its story. I not only wanted to convey information, but to capture the feeling of living at this place. I reviewed thousands of shots I had taken over the last three years, looking for just the right ones. A few of them I have used in other postings, but most I have never shown before now. I hope you enjoy this special two part series.

From the high ground, a vast expanse of blue

Looking southwest from high in the mountains of the North Shore. Below lie the western outskirts of Ajijic. In the distance are the mountains which rim the South Shore. Behind the rim mountains, under the clouds, the long blue Tapalpa Plateau stretches across the horizon. On top of that rolling plateau, the rocky, pine-clad landscape is very different from the lush semi-tropical country around Lake. Lake Chapala stretches out on an east-to-west plane, about 30 miles south of Guadalajara. It is the largest lake in Mexico, about 50 miles long, with a width of as much as 12 miles. Although broad, it is quite shallow, only about 30 feet maximum depth, with a mean depth of about 20 feet. In many places along the shore, one can walk out a long way into the water before reaching a depth over waist-high. To locate Lake Chapala in Mexico, check out this map.

Looking south over Ajijic's El Centro, Mt. Garcia looms across the lake. Unlike the previous photo, which was taken in the lush green of summer, the shot above was taken during the late winter, when the countryside assumes a rich brown coloration. The surface of Lake Chapala is almost exactly 5000 feet above sea level, and many of the mountains rimming it rise above 8000. Mt. Garcia, seen above, is the most visible landmark from the North Shore, topping out at just under 9000 feet. The wonderful year-round climate of the Lake is the result of its altitude, its huge size, and fact that it lies in a bowl surrounded by volcanic peaks and ridges. These factors help maintain a very moderate year-round temperature, along with low humidity. In fact, Lake Chapala is reputed to have the 2nd best climate in the world, yielding only to someplace in Kenya. Climate has always been very important to both Carole and I. Neither of us can abide the combination of high heat and humidity, nor are we much attracted to snow and bitter cold.

Looking southeast over the string of small villages that line the North Shore. These were each separate and distinct small pueblos at one time, and several were already ancient villages before the Spanish arrived. In the last few decades, they have grown together along the single highway that connects them on the Lake's North Shore. Although the Lake you have seen in these pictures may look large, it extends at least another 30 miles out of sight to the east. Lake Chapala has three seasons. June through October is the rainy season, with average temperatures in the mid-70s to mid-80s (F) during the days and 60s to 70s at night. Although we get some dramatic thunderstorms during the rainy season, nearly all the rain occurs at night. Days tend to be cool and cloudy in the morning and warm, sunny, and a little humid in the afternoons. Winter begins in November and runs through March. Temperatures are a little lower: 60s to 70s during the day and 50s-60s at night. But the days are glorious, crystal clear and sunny with cool breezes, free of humidity. In late March, it starts to warm up and the "hot season" begins, running from early April through mid-June. The hot season is quite dry, sometimes dusty, and temperatures can rise into the low 90s. Still, it is nothing like the summer in Southern California, Arizona, or Texas, with their baking-hot climate, or the thickly damp and humid heat of the US Mid-West or the South. In complaining about heat in Lake Chapala, we're all a little bit spoiled.

People and the Lake

Fishing boats float at anchor in Chapala's harbor on a sparkling winter day. Mt. Garcia is slightly obscured by a light haze over the Lake. Sometimes this haze gathers from dust kicked up by strong winds over the long dry lakes on the other side of the South Shore's mountains, along the base of the Tapalpa Plateau. While fishing is still an important part of the local economy, it has been eclipsed by agriculture, tourism and some light manufacturing and commercial activity, mainly centered on the populated western third of the North Shore. In fact, these boats are as likely to be used to transport tourists to Scorpion Island off Chapala's shore, as they are to harvest the Lake's depleted fisheries. The light-colored patches at the base of Mt. Garcia are plastic sheeting covering bean and berry crops of the large farms on the South Shore.

Ajijic's pier has had a rocky history. Seen from the waterfront of Amistad Park, the pier stretches into the shallows. Mexico law has tried to protect the Lake Chapala waterfront for public use. It forbids building private or commercial projects within a certain number of feet of the shoreline. Encroachments by private landowners, often with the connivance of local officials, regularly occur. They are just as regularly fought by people in the community, both Mexican and expat. Ever since the restaurant began construction along the public pier, questions have been raised about its legitimacy. Now a citizen's petition has initiated legal action against the owner of the restaurant. These things are always very murky, with charges (sometimes founded, sometimes not) of payoffs or special deals. I have mixed feelings about the restaurant. On the one hand, I don't want the law flouted and the Lake's shore taken over by commericial interests. On the other, the restaurant does provide a nice place to while away a hot afternoon meditating on the changing colors of the Lake.

On the end of Ajijic's pier, a lone fisherman tries his luck. This is a popular spot for the locals, and I have seen them pull out quite a number of fish over time. Tilapia and carp are the most likely products of this man's efforts. However, it is just as likely that his real goal is to enjoy the evening as the golden light fades and the sun drops behind the western mountains.

A gorgeous day for a ride along Ajijic's shore. A young boy exercises his horse along the shore line. Except when the water is high, one can walk for a considerable distance along the shore in Ajijic. Most of it looks pretty much like the stretch above, although a new malecon (built-up public waterfront) has been constructed for a couple of hundred yards to the west of the Ajijic pier. During a quiet walk along the shore, one can view Great White or Snowy Egrets wading the shallows with their long skinny legs, or performing intricate mating rituals. In winter, flotillas of majestic White Pelicans perform their naval maneuvers off shore. Sometimes, in the evening, a young man will wade waist-deep into the water and begin throwing and retrieving a large circular net, hoping to extract dinner from the murky waters. Similar activities have continued, uninterrupted, for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Enjoying the soft glow of a quiet evening. A young Mexican couple has found a new way to express mutual support. This railing used to run the length of Amistad Park, just above the water. Since a flood in the summer of 2008, all this has been replaced by the new malecon. As with the pier, I have mixed feelings. I really loved the old park with its huge old shade trees along the shore. The new malecon is attractive, however, and the locals seem to enjoy it.

Petatan, ground zero for White Pelicans. Petatan is a small fishing village on the South Shore. Here its point juts into the Lake like the long sharp prow of one its many fishing boats. Petatan was originally a volcanic cone which formed a small island a couple of hundred yards off the South Shore, about 1 1/2 hours drive from Ajijic. At least as of 1976, it was still an island, according to topographical map I saw in Chapala. Some time after then, a causeway was constructed connecting the island and its little village with the shore. Petatan has become locally famous because of the huge winter congregation of White Pelicans along its waterfront. They gather in hopes of feasting on fish parts discarded from the day's catch by local fishermen. In the photo above, you can see them in the distance, cruising around the point.

Two young fishermen prepare to try their luck off Petatan's waterfront. The net held by the boy on the right is the same type of circular, hand-thrown net I have seen used in Ajijic. Although young, both boys knew their business. One skillfully handled the boat, while the other cast the net. After a bit, they returned with a nice catch of tilapia. A bit further out, a squadron of pelicans cruises watchfully, hoping for a snack.

And he didn't have to lie about the one that got away... This Petatan fisherman got very lucky with his net. He proudly showed off his catch, probably a tilapia, but larger than any I have ever seen brought out of the Lake. Both tilapia and carp are introduced species. Originally the Lake abounded with White Fish, a unique, and reportedly very tasty, species which is now extinct. At one time, the Lake produced 150 tons of White Fish each year, but it was a species unable compete against environmental degradation, pollution, and competition with the introduced species. Notice the fisherman's hat, which spells out "Los Angeles." The hat is no doubt an introduced species which has strongly competed against the traditional straw hats. Ironically, while expats here (including me) favor the straw hats, the locals often favor baseball caps with north-of-the-border slogans and logos.

Preparing the pelicans' lunch (at least from the pelicans' point of view). Labor is divided in traditional ways in Petatan. The men catch the fish, and the women clean them. During several visits, I have never seen this division violated. The women were amused that we wanted photos of what they must have considered a rather pedestrian task, but they consented with grins all around. Petatan is an extraordinarily friendly place. People walked up and introduced themselves and tried to make sure we were having a good time. One woman stopped our small party and insisted on giving each of us a hug. Another proudly showed off her small shrine dedicated to the Virgen de Guadalupe.

After the catch, work remains. We found this fellow carefully straightening and winding up his net. Although he looks rather grumpy, his expression was due to the brilliant sunshine. He was actually quite friendly and enjoyed having his picture taken with his small, very dirty dog snoozing at his feet. He has not given up the traditional style of hat for the more fashionable baseball cap.

Lakeside animals

Animals, as well as people, seem enjoy the Lake. There are many creatures which live beside, on, or under the Lake. Horse owners regularly turn their stock loose on the shore to graze and water themselves. I have often seen this calico colt and its mother wandering the grassy shore while munching on the fresh green shoots. Although there is a considerable amount of petty theft in the area, no one seems to keep a close eye on horses such as this one. Perhaps it is because everyone knows to whom it belongs, and a thief would have a hard time disposing of his ill-gotten gains.

From under the water, a bountiful catch. One of the species most common in the Lake is Charal. These small fish, about the size and appearance of sardines, are caught by the tens of thousands, although there have been reports of declining catches in recent years. Charales are a common "street food" around the Lake. They are deep fried whole, and served in shallow cardboard containers with fresh sliced lime and hot salsa. Due to concerns about pollution in the Lake, I have yet to try them, but the locals seem to enjoy them.

Snowy Egret and a seagull share a local fisherman's boat. I enjoyed playing with this photo, digitally adjusting the color and other features until it finally resembled a painting. It really didn't fit in the posting I was creating at the time, so I am glad I finally got to use it. Although birds like these are competitors for fish and other small creatures of the Lake, these two seem to have put aside their differences just to enjoy the quiet, sunny afternoon together.

Another critter enjoys himself, as only a dog can. Dogs of all shapes and sizes are a daily fact of life around the Lake. This labrador retriever joyfully plunged into the Lake again and again, as long as his master was willing to throw the empty plastic bottle. His appetite for retrieval finally outlasted the strength of his master's arm. The sheer joy of a water dog in his element is a wonder to behold. Humans are very fortunate if they manage to find as much pleasure in such simple activities.

Egrets and White Pelicans maintain an uneasy truce. Though they often share the same perching sites, there always seems to me to be sense of tension. Here, the crowd of pelicans, heading for their evening feast of fish scraps, finally overwhelms the patience of a shore dwelling Great White Egret. The egret flaps its broad wings as it leans into its takeoff.

Food fight at the Petatan shoreline! Gathering around a great heap of scraps, the flock squawks and flaps and jostles. Throwing its head back and spreading its wings, the pelican in the center prepares to swallow a tasty morsel. Others look on enviously, or search for an advantageous position.

Pelican arrival forms a good excuse for another fiesta. Petatan and other local towns in the area have found another good excuse for a fiesta with their annual Pelican Festival, timed for the annual in-migration of these great birds from the US and Canada. The Festival draws attention to their small towns, brings in tourists from Lake Chapala's North Shore and Guadalajara, and allows everybody to have a walloping good time. The Festival also highlights the environment and wildlife of the Lake and helps local efforts to clean up the Lake and protect it from encroachments.

This completes Part 1 of my two part series on Lake Chapala. I hope I was able to communicate the daily enjoyment I get from living next to this wonderful resource. In Part 2, I will cover the changes the Lake has experienced in recent years, and finish with a photo series of "mood shots" I think you will enjoy. Feed-back is always welcome, either through the comments section below or directly by email. If you leave a question in the comments section, please be sure you leave your email so I can reply.

Hasta luego! Jim