El Toro Furioso

ACA conducts bus tours to the abastos on a regular basis.  And I'm almost certain that they have maps and photocopied pictures of the places they recommend.  E-mail ACA co-founder Wendee Hill (acaecotalks@gmail.com) or visit their organic-farming Eco Training Center in Jaltepec on the way west to Jocotepec. Or buy tickets to the next abastos tour:  September 7.  Tickets available at the ACA center or from the Diane Pearl Gallery on Colón in Ajijic or from Berta on the patio at LCS.

how full will the lake get? is there homes that get water in them when the lake is up? is there an out fall for the lake that will keep the level down?

The concern this year is lack of rainfall and a possible drop in lake levels, not home flooding.  El Niño has limited rainfall this year, especially in the northeast part of Jalisco and along the shore.  Lakeside has had much less rain as well, but not as severe a drought.  I don't have the latest figures but, anecdotally, I was cleaning our old pictures from my computer yesterday and ran into some lake pics from 2005.  There were trees in the malecon in San Antonio that were 30 meters from the water.  Now they are still way under water.  But there is reason for concern longer term.  They say that El Niño runs in 18-month cycles, so there may be a further deficit in rainfall during next year's wet season as well.  They also say that the fullest the lake has been, even when it was very high last year, was about 70% of capacity.  Let's hope for a rainy September, which has been the rainiest month in many years past.  By the way, what part of the world uses such quaint phrases as "is there homes that get water in them"?  Just curious.  ¡Qué le vaya bien!

We would recommend La Manzanilla on the Costa Alegre 200km south of Puerto Vallarta.  You would be renting a house or a casita, not staying in a hotel/motel.  Check out www.VisitLaManzanilla.com  X-mas is the second-busiest time of year, after Semana Santa.  Many many tapatios there at that time.  The weather is beautiful, if a little brisk even at night.  Restaurants are good to very good.  Beautiful bay with no rip tides.  Side trips to Melaque, Barra de Navidad or north to the beach restaurants of Tenacatita.  La Manzanilla is not on most maps, but it is the first town heading north on the Bahía de Tenacatita.  The opposite end of the bay is the town of Tenacatita, which is on the maps but hardly a town at all.  We stayed in La Manz for over three years and liked it so much, we bought our home there.  Now we split our time between there and Lake Chapala.