Things to see and do

The village of Jocotepec

• walk into the main church originally founded in the sixteenth century
• step inside the chapel of El Señor del Guaje
• buy fresh fruit and vegetables (and lots of other things!) in the daily market
• on Thursdays, jostle your way through the vibrant weekly street market or tianguis
• enjoy the famous locally-made "Nevada de Toluca" ice-cream
• shop for a sarape - one-off, personalized designs can be completed within days
• join in a game of basketball, soccer, or raquet ball, or swim in an Olympic outdoor pool.
• people-watch on the town's main square or plaza with its shady arcades
• sample such delicious local delicacies as birria (a kind of goat-stew) and tequino, a corn-based drink
• visit the Special Education Center (which incorporates the internationally-famous Lakeside School for the Deaf, featured in a 1994 Canadian Reader's Digest article)
• walk up the hill to the art studio of painters Georg & Phyllis Rauch (prior appointment essential)

San Juan Cosalá - five minutes by car

• small village founded hundreds of years before the Spanish arrived.
• Lakeside's most popular spa
• unwind in excellent thermal pools
• roll back the years with a massage
• admire the natural geyser next to the beach

Ajijic - fifteen minutes by car

• center of American and Canadian "retiree" communities
• dine in one of the numerous restaurants
• browse the handicraft shops
• view the art galleries
• shop in the boutiques

Chapala - twenty minutes drive

• buy crafts at the handicraft market
• relax in a thermal pool
• experience the hustle and bustle of the town where D. H. Lawrence once lived

Scorpion Island

• enjoy a boat-ride
• the island is a sacred site for the Huichol Indians
• lunch at a rustic restaurant

Mezcala Island

• explore the ruins of a nineteenth century fortress
• see a memorial to Independence heroes

Guadalajara

• Need a big city fix?
• The Posada del Pescador is only 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the the beautiful colonial heart and modern shopping centers of Guadalajara (population: 4 million)
• "shop 'til you drop" in Tlaquepaque's superb antiques and handicrafts stores
• spend a Thursday morning in the amazing craft market in Tonalá

Further afield

Tequila

• visit the town and museum
• tour a tequila-making factory
• see miles of agave fields
• sample the end-product!

Tapalpa

• walk the streets of a picturesque mountain town
• admire the great scenery
• partake of fine food
• challenge the golf course

Santa Cruz de las Flores

• extraordinary church architecture (Jalisco Popular Baroque)

Mazamitla

• another picturesque mountain town
• wonderful scenic views
• great restaurants
• unusual old church
• lovely waterfall

Ocumicho

• small indigenous Tarascan village
• fantastic old church
• unique family-made figures - known worldwide as Ocumicho "devil" figures
• unique shopping experience - colorful and garish!

Petatán

• tiny photogenic village perched on a hill that was once an island in the lake
• winter home to more than a thousand white pelicans (borregones)
• incredible sight and incredible photo opportunity

For details of these and other interesting day-trips in this area, we highly recommend Tony Burton's Western Mexico; A Traveller's Treasury (Perception Press, 2001). Tony lived in Jocotepec for many years and shares his discoveries and insights in this wonderful guide to the region. The book (English and Spanish editions) is available from Sombrero Books.