Lago de Chapala

Last weekend we went to Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico located about an hour south of Guadalajara.

Posters hanging from lamposts proclaimed the celebration of Carnaval, the pre-Lent celebrations that take place everywhere from New Orleans to Rio de Janeiro. Chapala, though, had far more tame celebrations - they seemed to consist of little more than an artisan craft sale and a raucous mariachi performance.

Still, Chapala was a beautiful place to visit - far cooler than I had imagined, with its mountains tumbling down into sandy beaches that opened up onto a glassy green lake. I suppose, growing up near the Great Lakes, I had assumed Lake Chapala would be similar. But because year-round temperatures are far warmer here, the feeling of Chapala was closer to Puerto Vallarta than the Indiana Dunes.

(Don't worry, though, Great Lakes: Conditioned by your vastness, I was still surprised to be able to see the other shore from the banks were we stood. I told Chris, "Wow - the Great Lakes must be really big." She said, "Uh, yeah." Chris finds this obvious - she's a Great Lakes girl. Which is why she was so happy to visit even this smaller body of water on a Sunday afternoon in February.)

As usual, I took plenty of pictures.

Lago de Chapala