When we signed-off from the last blog, we were touring Guadalajara, on our way to visit Lake Chapala and waiting for Al and Patti to join us for another great summer vacation. Once again we have a lot of pictures, so we'll let them tell the most of the story.
We spent another few days in Guadalajara and then we moved to a rental house in Jocotepec, on the north shore of Lake Chapala. From there we took a few day trips to Ajijic, a small town also on the north shore and to Mazamitla, a small "alpine" village in the mountains south of the lake.
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| Our last Sunday in Guadalajara. Table of desserts for sale in the nearby square. |
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| Dance lessons in the square. |
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| The yard/garden at our rental house in Jocotepec, on the north shore of Lake Chapala. |
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| The church in Mazamitla, a small village in the mountains south of Lake Chapala. |
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| Patti and Al ready for vacation. |
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| Children performing traditional dances on the square in Tequila. |
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| Our hotel in Tequila. |
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| Suited up for a tour of the Jose Cuervo factory. |
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| Oven for cooking the agave "pineapples". They cook them for ~30 hours, let them cool and then squeeze out the juice to make the tequila. |
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| Tasting the tequilas after they have been aged. |
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| Tasting in the tequila cellar. |
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| Tequila tasting using all of our senses. |
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| Tasting two-for-one tequila margaritas. |
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| A mural in the square |
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| Back on the boat. |
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| Al enjoying two-for-one happy hour mango margaritas at the pool. |
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| Martini tasting while provisioning at Costco (~10:30 a.m.) |
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| Leaving Paradise Village Marina, heading to Marina La Cruz for fuel. |
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| B on the fuel dock. 730 gallons successfully loaded in the aft tanks. |
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| BBQing on the boat deck at Marina La Cruz. |
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| Early morning start. |
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| Sunrise on the way to the fishing grounds. |
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| Waiting to catch something yummy. |
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| Only thing caught today is bait fish. |
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| Taking a break from fishing and doing some snorkeling at Tres Marietas. |
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| Dave and Al snorkeling to the beach at the Tres Marietas Islands. |
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| Maybe tomorrow... |
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| After fishing for three days with no luck, we decided to head for the mountains and the old mining town of San Sebastian. Dave and B at the hotel in San Sebastian. |
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| Taking an afternoon break at the Italian restaurant in San Sebastian. |
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| Banana tree in San Sebastian. |
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| Hiking the town trails in San Sebastian. |
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| Finally, FISH ON!!! |
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| Al wearing both harnesses. It took over an hour to reel the fish in. |
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| The marlin close to the boat. We estimated that he weighed 300+ pounds |
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| Coming up to the surface. |
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| Dave on the swim platform, releasing the hook and making sure the marlin swims away. |
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| Relaxing after a satisfying day. |
