mexart Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Has there ever been a water Taxi service between chapala and Ajijic? Would it make economic sense to have such a service? Pier to Pier service would certainly take the increased hassle of going from one to the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcstroker Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Sounds like it would be a neat idea but with the changes in lake level I don't think it would be feasible. Right now the lake is dropping in depth and being that the lake is rather shallow it doesn't take much for the shore line to recede from day to day. You would need a movable dock, especially in Ajijic where the pier isn't suitable for launches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 For a while we had a water taxi crossing to the south shore from the Ajijic pier. It was a very cool ride but they had serious problems with the dropping water level on this side where the lake bottom is more flat and the water is shallow. It sure was fun while it lasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgates Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 We have a friend who is bringing his new Hovercraft here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeser Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Hovercrafts seem to work well. Several years ago a Japanese (rumored) company brought a couple here and used them to ferry their people across the lake from the Montecarlo hotel and back for a month or so. They were looking at investing across the lake and it saved a couple of hours a day. The shallowness of the lake is a problem with getting boats in to the shore especially on Chapala side. Remember several years ago they used buses to drive passangers from the Chapala Pier out to where the boats were. The land out from the pier looked like a desert out about a mile. Then later a Business man tried to dredge a deeper docking area and canal out into deep water and the conservation or agua comission stopped him and eventually all his equipment was hauled off. The said that he didn't have the right permits and those permits couldn't be had. At lease not at the "price" he could afford to pay. \ Look at the old photos for sale at the Chapala Malacon on weekends at the old 40=50' schooners and sloops that carried commercial goods to villages around the lake for a hudred years or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquaponicsman Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 It would be nice and relaxing. But I do not think it is very practical for all the reasons stated above, especially considering that a bus from Ajijic to Chapala is only like 17 pesos, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdmowers Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 50 minutes ago, Aquaponicsman said: a bus from Ajijic to Chapala is only like 17 pesos, I think. No, not so much as that! 8 pesos for the smaller buses and 9 for the large buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm30655 Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Years ago there was no road between Chapala and Ajijic. One of the old times told me it was very convenient because everyone from Hollywood brought their lover here. The deal was that someone would call and warn the people that their spouse was on the way and no one got caught. I don't know when the road actually went in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgates Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Hovercrafts can go over dry land, door to door! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBearII Posted April 20, 2017 Report Share Posted April 20, 2017 Ah, those were the old days--if there ARE any Hollywood lovers here now, they have escaped my notice, but please advise!!! (--Signed, Ever Hopeful!) ALAS--Remember when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton shacked up in PV? What can compare to that? SIGH!--it is just not as much fun here as it used to be, she said enigmatically! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mexart Posted April 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 Thanks for the input, the receding lake levels and dock issues preclude I think this kind of service unless it was hovercraft. But aren'the they terribly noisy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted April 21, 2017 Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 There was a road between Chapala and Ajijic but it was not passable during the rainy season hence the water taxis.. Yes water taxis would be nice if they did not use overcraft that are very noisy.. Actually a quiet waterfront beat busy traffic on the lake as well as busy traffic on the carretera... the day of people sailing or rowing quietly are over.. The old road was Ocampo / Camino Real... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyela Posted April 21, 2017 Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 2 hours ago, mexart said: But aren't they terribly noisy? Depending on the size and power source of the hovercraft they can be noisy, but generally they are still much quieter than a rear prop swamp buggy. The really big ones are surprisingly quiet, as are the one-man small ones. It's much the same with portable generators - there can be a vast difference in the noise produced between the cheap ones to the more expensive ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted April 21, 2017 Report Share Posted April 21, 2017 Remember when the airboats were here? They didn't last long because of the excessive noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johanson Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 They were really fun to ride if you had sound deadening headphones. But boy did we get a lot of ugly looks and hand signals from those living on shore who hated this terribly loud noise. Although I had a great time, I sure felt sorry for those on the shore who had to listen to these terribly loud airboats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traderspoc Posted April 22, 2017 Report Share Posted April 22, 2017 The fisherman sank the last swamp boat as it was to noisy a ten years ago. in the middle of the night whoever does the hovercraft better make you hire local fishermen to work for you the port captain has the history about that. I have a friend who gave me a ride a two person hovercraft on the lake. it has several patches form hitting obstacles in the lake not a good idea lake to shallow, still many fences under water with barbed wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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