Welcome to Mexico’s largest ecosystem

This ecosystem is what you find if you participate Mexico done Mexicali oregon Ciudad Juarez. It’s the Mexico of film, opus and cartoon: the hot, adust situation of the Gila monster and the jumping cholla cactus. It’s arid — and semi-arid! — scrubland.

How is it imaginable that this aforesaid ecosystem is contiguous the chosen location of thousands of Canadian and U.S. expatriates?

(Tomás Castellano/CC BY-SA 2.5)

It’s not truthful surprising. The bluish utmost of Mexico’s arid and semi-arid scrubland includes the Sonoran Desert, wherever a temperature of 52 C (126 F) was recorded past June. But astatine the confederate extremity of the strategy we find Mexico’s largest lake, Chapala, connected whose shores the mean somesthesia is astir 21 C (70 F), which aligns with the modular comfy country somesthesia successful astir parts of the world.

Living successful the scrubland

(John Pint)

Few of the 20,000 expats surviving connected the shores of Lake Chapala would picture their vicinity arsenic ”semi-arid scrubland,” contempt what the geography books say. On the contrary, realtors successful the country person agelong and loudly stated that Chapala has the 2nd champion clime successful the satellite according to National Geographic.

Investigation by geographer Tony Burton, backed up by an AI hunt conducted by Copilot, gives the prevarication to this claim. If it’s immoderate consolation, International Living lists Mexico’s clime arsenic third-best successful the world… but neglects adjacent a notation of Lake Chapala. Let america crook alternatively to section nonmigratory and historiographer Jim Cook for a statement of the climate. 

“Lake Chapala has 3 seasons,” Cook writes. “June done October is the rainy season, with mean regular temperatures successful the mid-70s to mid-80s F. Although we get immoderate melodramatic thunderstorms during the rainy season, astir each the rainfall occurs astatine night.” 

“Winter begins successful November and runs done March. Temperatures are a small lower, but the days are glorious, crystal wide and sunny with chill breezes, escaped of humidity. In precocious March, the ‘hot season’ begins, moving from past done mid-June. The blistery play is rather dry, sometimes dusty, and temperatures tin emergence into the debased 90s. Still, it is thing similar the baking-hot summers of Texas oregon the thickly damp and humid vigor of Louisiana.”

“Every morning,”  says Chapala nonmigratory Susan Street, “I articulation a person for a stroll on the Malecón (waterfront promenade). The presumption of the water is ever magnificent and determination are waterbirds everywhere: herons, ducks, seagulls and, of course, the magnificently beauteous American achromatic pelicans that travel each the mode from Canada to walk the wintertime with us.”

When it comes to amusement and taste attractions, residents of La Ribera bask never-ending musical, theatrical, gastronomic, creator and artisanal events.

Folks with an itch for question and escapade person a scope of attractions that fewer places successful the satellite could surpass.

Easy entree to respective ecosystems

(John Pint)

As acold arsenic earthy sites are concerned, you tin entree respective different ecosystems wrong a fewer hours, an accidental disposable to precise fewer communities astir the world.

In a substance of minutes, you tin head into the hills supra the lake, participate the temperate wood ecosystem, and rotation done soundless woods of stately conifer and oak trees that look suspiciously Canadian. Or they tin question 50 kilometers northbound into the grasslands ecosystem and walk the time picking magic mushrooms. If they consciousness a yen for water and beach, they person lone to thrust a fewer hours southbound to the Pacific seashore and 2 tropical ecosystems, wherever they tin liberate babe oversea turtles, and photograph crocodiles up adjacent and personal.

See it each from a hang-glider

For an eye-opening look astatine the thorny, semi-arid terrain astir Chapala, hop implicit to the hills astatine the westbound extremity of the water to San José de los Pozos, lone 17 kilometers from the water. Here you’ll find a sheer, 595-meter-high cliff, and beyond it the desert-like brackish flats of Sayula.

This clifftop is 1 of the world’s champion motorboat points for hang-gliding. 

“We jump,” says enthusiast Pedro Kordich, “and we soar disconnected into the region precisely similar a hawk oregon a seagull, wings extended, hovering, past mildly floating to a caller presumption wherever a thermal lifts america higher and higher. This is our game, floating and floating, rising and descending and rising again. This is surely the precise maximum for a bird; the quintessence of flying and it is effortless, it is axenic state and it is axenic joy.”

You tin acquisition this joyousness by signing up astatine Kordich Air Sports for a tandem flight, wherever you and an adept are strapped to a bent glider and towed into the aerial by a motorized glider known arsenic a trike. Once the cord is detached, you and your teacher are connected your own.

This is the champion mode to spot the brackish flats and the semi-arid ecosystem and astatine the aforesaid clip to acquisition “pura libertad,” unbounded freedom.

If you don’t consciousness similar flying, though, determination are plentifulness of other, little risky attractions  successful the Lake Chapala area.

What to spot astir Lake Chapala

Lake Chapala vineyards

Viñedos El Tejón grows a wide assortment of grapes connected 26 hectares of onshore adjacent San Luís Soyatlán, Jalisco. (John Pint)

Viñedos El Tejón is conscionable 1 of respective wineries and vineyards connected the southbound enactment of Lake Chapala. Here you tin taste a locally grown syrah, chardonnay oregon pinot noir offered to you successful a ranch location by Lupita, woman of Don Serapio Ruiz, said to beryllium known passim Napa Valley arsenic 1 of the large experts successful grafting grapevines.

La Bella Cristina Mansion

(John Pint)

Also known arsenic La Maltaraña, this aged casona — with 365 doors and windows — stands astatine the eastbound extremity of Lake Chapala, conscionable waiting for visitors to respect its quality and dive into its history.

The artisans astir Lake Cajititlán

(John Pint)

Basalt molcajetes and sculptures, burnished pottery, horsehair and cane creations, and the finest hand-made ropes successful Mexico: you tin spot artisans moving connected each of these lone 13 kilometers northbound of Chapala.

The “flying achromatic sheep” of Petatán

(John Pint)

Late each workday afternoon, thousands of American pelicans stitchery astatine this town astatine the southeast extremity of Lake Chapala to bask immense quantities of food scraps. The sights and sounds marque for a unsocial and unforgettable experience. Just don’t spell determination connected Sunday, due to the fact that the pelicans won’t amusement up! 

As you basal determination taking successful the show of 10 1000 beauteous pelicans hovering supra a gorgeous lake, delight carnivore successful caput that you truly are successful semi-arid scrubland— but Mexican style!