Just like in most other parts of the world, the weather in Ajijic had been a bit cooler than normal, but our family and friends provided all the warmth we needed. January was filled with lots of parties, Sunday outings and a two-week visit from one of Glorine's sister, Marlene and her friend Doris. Keep us informed by clicking on the email link Larry and Glorine.
	January started out with the big football bowl games and friends, Carol and Roger, originally from Oregon, hosted two of the big ones (Rose Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl) in their beautiful home with a large HDTV. While we Oregon fans were disappointed, we Boise State fans were happy to come away with a win.	January 6th is as large a celebration in Mexico as December 25th. It is the Three Kings day and marks the official ending of the Christmas Season. A group of friends drove 20 miles north of Ajijic to a village called Cajititlan (Ca-heat-eat-lawn) known for its massive celebration that culminated on January 6th with parades, adoration of the Three Kings, boat rides, etc.
	This little sleepy village along the lake comes alive with this celebration, which attracts thousands of visitors. Vendors sell food, drinks and about every trinket imaginable. Activities include the ritual of bringing the Three Kings to shore by boat, the procession then leads them back to the Church with standing room only. As we moved through the markets we came upon this make-shift bridge made of boards from crates. Talk about being poor!	On the way back to Ajijic from Cajititlan, we stopped to find a pottery shop we had heard about. The store was closed but when they saw us outside they opened their shop to help. With us not speaking Spanish and them not speaking English, we found this specific planter that was not yet complete. The potter pulled out a can of varnish to make the pebbles (he had placed on the side of the dish) shine. And when he was finished he charged us 80 pesos, which is about $6.00 US Dollars. What a day!!
	That same week, about a dozen hearty friends took off to visit the largest zoo in Mexico located in Guadalajara. The zoo was enormous and included a train ride through the zoo, botanical gardens, a massive aquarium, an area dedicated to Australian wild life, and a "safari" where the animals roamed freely. Here the tour bus stopped long enough for several of us, including Larry, to feed this giraffe some carrots.	The zoo is located on the northern most edge of Guadalajara where the city stops and enormous canyons and mountains begin. Along the ridge of this canyon, the city built a park with nice walkways and overlooks to view the river and canyon below. Here Marilyn and Glorine are posing on one of these overlooks.
	In addition to the traditional holidays, every town has its own festival dedicated to the patron Saint of the Catholic Church. Here a group of us made a trek to Jocotepec, a city on the northwestern edge of Lake Chapala. Our first stop was a tour of ACA, the organic organization that Glorine volunteered for in the past. Wendee (the lady on the far left who runs ACA) gave us a tour of Jocotepec including a great restaurant, which most of us would have walked by, the parade, and a little known and darkly lit pub called Salvador's, which the owner built stone by stone from the rocks along the mountains overlooking the city.	Ajijic is a center of the Performing Arts and offers lots of opportunities to entertain the expats living in the area. One of those events was Lip Sink-Wink Wink, in which these people lip synced to some of the most popular songs of the past 50 years. Most of the skits were hilariously funny, which made for another great afternoon.
	Maureen and Wayne joined us for a quiet birthday dinner celebrating Larry's birthday at a local restaurant.	With all the great night clubs in the area and the "Latin beat" we decided to learn some new dance steps including the Cumbia and Salsa. Our instructor came to our villa and taught lessons on our Mirador.
	On the 20th of January, Marlene and her friend Doris arrived from the cold winter weather of Bismarck to the beautiful weather of Ajijic. Here we are giving them a tour of the village.	They arrived just in time to witness another religious celebration dedicated to Saint Sebastian, another patron saint of Ajijic. After following a procession of hundreds of Mexican through the cobblestones streets of Ajijic, the stature of the saint was place near the Church alter.
	Our typical Wednesday evening consists of happy hour with Los Amigos (the friends) followed by dinner and dancing with friends at a local night club. Here Marlene and Doris are joined by a group for an evening of fun.	One of the treats we showed Marlene and Doris is one of the three bakeries in the area that still make breads the old fashion way. Here is a picture of the inside of an oven that is at least 10' x 10' and filled with pans of breads and pastries.
	The Lake Chapala Society was another site which is filled with tropical plants from throughout the world. The warm and sunny day made this little adventure very relaxing and enjoyable.	In the town of Chapala, we took a boat ride on Lake Chapala which gave us a different perspective of the area by seeing it from the lake. Here is the newly completed island with a statue of Jesus The Fisherman, us being serenaded by a Mariachi Band and a tour of the local Church.
	On January 24, we turned the El Parque community center into "Adios Fiesta" (our going away party for the winter). About 100 people joined us for a day of music, pool time, great food and weather to die for. Chuck and Larry introduced Marlene and Doris to the Tequila toast. It looks like they are enjoying it.	Saying farewell to such great friends was not easy, but we still had another week to have fun before we left. One of our neighbors is a DJ and he and his wife played the greatest dance music. The party started at 2:00 and as you can see we were still on the dance floor as the sun was setting in the background.
	With all the quality restaurants in the Ajijic area, one we enjoy a lot is the "Hole in the Wall." There is no sign outside, but everyone knows they are there. And the costs are hard to believe.	When our friends heard we were going to introduce Marlene and Doris to the Hole in the Wall, some that lived near there joined us. From there we took a stroll to tour their homes.
	While all these homes our nice, the one with the most spectacular view is this rental, rented by Jerry and Gloria for the winter.	San Juan Cosala, is one of the poorest villages near Ajijic, but is home to the thermal spas that have also become a ritual for us. Here we are soaking up the sun and the mud. The village is still sporting left over festival decoration and night was capped off with a Mocajeti and the finest Margaritas on lake side.
	Every village has a weekly Tiangas, which is an open air market with food, clothing, art work, pirated DVDs, etc. Ajijic hosts theirs on Wednesdays so Marlene and Doris got a taste of shopping Mexican style!!	Rock & More was a music event that attracted over 300 expats whose roots go back to the '50s and '60s. Elvis was in the house and provided some great dancing music. Glorine reserved a table for 16, which was easy to fill. Notice Elvis's red scarf-- on Glorine!
	The House of Hope, a charitable group for homeless teen boys, hosted a Home Tour showing off some of Ajijic's finest homes.	This picture was taking with just a few of us on the home tour and was taken from a balcony set up for dining and entertaining. What a beautiful view!!
	Our final outing for Marlene and Doris was the downtown area of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city. We toured the Guadalajara Cathedral completed in 1618 and considered by Vatican to be a "minor basilica." A few blocks from the cathedral was a major three story indoor market, where Marlene and Doris bought lots of their souvenirs.	They say "the weather may bring you to Ajijic, but it is the friends that will bring you back." Here is Brian and Marilyn from Regina, Canada who we met in Spanish class. Here they are hosting a party for all those who were celebrating their birthdays in February.
	We feel blessed to have gotten to know so many great people. Here is Jean and Chuck who we met during our first winter in Mexico and learned later that we each were married on the same month, day and year.	We met Peter and Sybilla through Brian and Marilyn. Peter is a story teller and Sybilla is an artist. Both were raised in Germany and later moved to Toronto.
	We also met Gary and Kay through Brian and Marilyn. They are from Minnesota; in fact we had dinner with them on Lake Minnetonka when we were visiting our daughter last summer.	We met Jerry and Gloria at Open Circle one Sunday morning. Our mutual Oregon ties drew us together and we have had lots of adventures together. Newly retired, this is there first extended winter in Ajijic.
	We met Phil and Mary through Chuck and Jean who live a block a part in the heart of Ajijic. Originally from New York, they love cooking and entertaining.	OK, one last outing. Marlene and Doris were beginning to wonder if we ever stayed home. This one was on Sunday following Open Circle where a bunch of us gathered at Raul's-the restaurant with the fire pit, filled with skewers of meat. WOW, are we going to miss Ajijic!!
	That evening, Maureen and Wayne hosted a going away party for both us, Marlene and Doris. They had about 30 people join in. Here are some candid shots of a few of them--enjoying great food and great company.	Larry caught this picture during the party at Maureen and Wayne's. It was cloudy, raining and a bit chilly. While beautiful, this picture also depicted the mood we were in which was a bit gloomy. But these three months in Ajijic will forever be filled with great memories and from there we moved on to another adventure-that of a new grandson and another summer of roaming through retirement.

January's web page includes January 1 through January 31.