Mexico Guru web site

The best web site I have found for information about traveling around Mexico is www.mexicoguru.com/ It is filled with interesting information. I look at it often.

Ajijic pier and surrounding area

This afternoon I took a walk down to the Ajijic pier. It was quiet. Just a few people out on the pier. I rested at the outdoor restaurant and took a photo of a proud little boy with a fish he had just caught. Behind him is the man made walk way. It is built up from sand bags painted white. People like to walk their dogs on it, a substitute for the flooded beach.

I walked into town. There were more people crowding the local restaurants, mostly Mexicans. Probably people from Guadalajara. They like to come out here on week ends. I don't blame them....I am missing my family. Sometimes it is hard to live alone, even though it feels like a paradise here. I know my sad feelings won't last. There is too much to see and do here to stay sad for very long.

Reading Material

One problem I have had in other parts of Mexico is finding good books to read. The most popular books that are found in hotels and stores are the New York Times best sellers. The mystery books and the love stories. Light reading for people on the go. Not books that require too much thought. I like it here in Ajijic because there is a very good library at the Lake Chapala Society. For the yearly fee to join, I get to use the library all I want and the video library for movies. I am a reader. I must read three or four books a week so having a good library makes a big difference in the quality of my life.

I just finished an interesting book, The Paradox of Choice, Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz. This one didn't come from the library. It belongs to the owner of the house where I am house sitting now. I have problems with making choices. I agonize over the simplest of decisions, for days, weeks, months...I waste large chunks of my time, just weighing my choices and changing my mind...... This book helped me to understand myself better.

I am what is called a Maximizer. This means that I do not want to make a decision unless I know it is the best choice. I am always weighing the alternatives and looking for the best one. Therefore I often feel dissatisfied, worried that the choice I made wasn't the best one.

There are people he calls the Satisfiers. These people are happy with Good Enough. They don't waste their time changing their minds or shopping for the best of whatever.....These people generally have happier lives because they are more easily pleased and will accept their decisions without expecting them to be the perfect decisions.

I would like to be a Satisfier. I think I am slowly becoming more that way. But if I allow myself to start making comparisons I will drive myself crazy.... Thoughts like, should I move to another country or another town in Mexico? Would I be happier in Panama or Costa Rica? I try not to think those kinds of thoughts. There is no perfect place. Every place has problems and good things. I just happen to like the good things that are here. I will settle for the problems.

The book said there was an experiment where they gave people a sample of six jellies and then a coupon for a dollar off on any jar. Then they gave people samples of thirty jellies and a coupon. The people with the choices of thirty didn't buy as much as the first group. They were over whelmed by too many choices. They just walked away instead. I think of all the choices in the grocery stores in the States. Hundreds of different products to have to choose from. It is easier here. Not so many choices. I get food pretty close to the source, from the farmers. That simplifies my life. I don't like to stand in front of an entire row of breakfast cereals and have to decide which one is the best. And I am not going to look for another town in Mexico or another country. I am going to commit to living here. I liked the book.

Daily life on the Ajijic, Chapala and Guadalajara plazas

Mexican Plazas

The Plaza is the center of social life in Mexico. I have never been to a town here, no matter how small, that doesn't have a plaza. They are interesting and exciting, especially in the evenings when families and single people come out to socialize. In the larger towns, the plazas are always bustling. People have stands set up to sell crafts and food. I lived near the Chapala Plaza when I came down here the first time, in a motel room that cost me less than two hundred dollars a month. If I felt lonely, all I had to do was walk the half block to the plaza and sit on one of the many benches. Before long someone would sit next to me and start up a conversation. Since I don't speak much Spanish, it was usually an American.

On Sunday evenings a local band plays in the Chapala Plaza. Quite a few people show up to listen to them. When holidays come around there are always performances and more food stands are created for the audiences. Children running around, jumping off the stage before the performances, young people flirting, it is exciting to watch. I have never felt any threat out at night here. It is good to be able to walk the streets without worrying. I feel safe here. I am never bored as long as there is a plaza near me.