The dust is pervasive, endlessly coating the little town of Ajijic as the winter stretches on. We stayed just outside the town limits up on a hillside overlooking Lake Chapala, Mexico's biggest lake. It's about 60 miles long, and maybe 20 miles across at its widest point. The Tapatios come down from Guadalajara for weekend getaways and create traffic jams on Sunday nights that annoy the locals. But on weekdays it's pretty sleepy.
Cows have the right of way on the main road.
Intrepid vendors set up roadside grills or card tables with ceramic figurines for sale. Men ride their horses along the narrow cobblestone streets on their way to work. The church bells ring out every hour. Families of Huichol Indians hang their weavings over clotheslines strung between trees down by the lakefront and sit in the shade awaiting customers. The central plaza is cool and green under the spreading ficus.