Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic: The Insiders Guide to the Northshore for International Travelers [Paperback]

Teresa A. Kendrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2000

The only book in any language to cover this unique area of Mexico. With over 1000 listings, this highly detailed four-color guide is packed with practical insiders information and comes with a companion map of the area. Chapters on the area's natural history, cultural etiquette, medical care, accommodations, travel, money, shopping, sports, art and artesania, communications, and a calendar of events and lists of things to do makes this a one-of-a-kind guide for anyone. Self-published the book is being met with rave reviews.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... Kendrick's considerable local knowledge and that of her contributors, gives this book an unusual degree of authority. (Open virtually any other guidebook on Mexico and you ll be lucky to find more than a few pages -- or paragraphs -- devoted to the Chapala area.) In fact, there is so much information here for both residents and short-term visitors, that I second another reviewer s suggestion that you ll need two copies of this book: one to keep in the car, the other for the use of guests or beside the telephone at home. --Carl Franz, author of The People's Guide to Mexico, 30th Edition

I find this a quality production that more than fulfills what it set out to do. --Alan Cogan, Reviewer, Travel Books Section, mexconnect.com, Nov. 2005

I ordered this book from Amazon and took it with me to the Lake Chapala region and found it to be an excellent guidebook. It was as if I had a resident of the area at my elbow the whole time. The map was especially helpful. Because it was published over two years ago, a couple of the restaurants listed were no longer in business but otherwise, it was extremely helpful. --Margo McCutcheon (Gabriola Island, BC Canada) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Teresa Kendrick is originally from the United States but for the last 7 years has called Mexico home. Her work in the museum world ignited a passion for Latin American art that led her south from Austin, Texas to Ajijic, Jalisco where she now lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: Mexico Travelers Information (April 30, 2000)
• ISBN-10: 0967524806
• ISBN-13: 978-0967524801
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,031,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Live On The Northshore of Lake Chapala..., November 27, 2001

By 

Don Adams (Tlachichilco, Poncititlan, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic: The Insiders Guide to the Northshore for International Travelers (Paperback)

and I've been using this guide ever since it came out. As a matter of fact, I have two copies; one at home, and one in my truck for use when I'm out and about. In this area we refer to the guide as "the bible", and many of us refer to it quite frequently.

A previous reviewer may have left the impression that much of the information in this book came from the website "Mexconnect", and I must take issue with that assertion. Anyone who knows anything about the qualifications of the writers involved in this project can tell you that these are people of the highest integrity and scholarship. Their contributions to Teresa's book are based on their own experiences, their own explorations of the area, their own face-to-face interviews with local business owners and govermental officials, and their own familiarity with the services and providers who make living in this area such a pleasure. If, as the anonymous reviewer says, most of the information in this book can be found on "Mexconnect" (a site I'm very familiar with) I'd certainly be interested in where it's located, since I've been unable to find it.

I've read many of the city and area guides offered by the large publishing houses, and I've read the few local guides published by residents of the cities of which they write. Let me assure you that Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic stands head and shoulders above any that you might choose for comparison. This guide is the most user friendly book I've ever seen. The table of contents and the index lead you quickly and easily to any subject in which you have an interest, and the content is first-rate, offering an incredibly complete listing of all the services you could ever need. I challenge anyone to find a listing or compilation that even comes close to the breadth and accuracy of this book. You could search "Mexconnect", along with every local Lakeside publication, and not be able to find even a small portion of the information contained within the 209 pages of Teresa's guide.

I've been in and out of Mexico since the early 60's, I've lived and worked in several cities down here, and I can truthfully say that I've never before seen a book that provides the area visitor such a complete and accurate guide to gracefully and easily moving about a specific place. In additional to an outstanding listing of places to eat, places to stay, and places to purchase any and all personal items you may need, the guide offers insights into local customs and mores, a bit of essential Spanish language, and a number of interesting and informative tidbits designed to make the traveler look and feel like a local resident, rather than a tourist. The vast majority of the information presented in this book has never before been published-in either English or Spanish.

Lest you think that I'm overly effusive in my opinion of this book and it's author, let me tell you that after seeing this classy book, the officials of the State Ministry of Tourism of the State of Colima approached her to write a guidebook for their area. She is also currently researching a book for another respected author, as well as editing a first effort of another area writer. I'd say those were pretty impressive endorsements of her abilities and knowledge.

Trust me on this folks, this is the rare book that delivers much more than the purchaser might expect. As you might be able to guess, I strongly urge you to buy The Insider's Guide. As a matter of fact a visiting couple that I ran into in one of our local bookstores bought a copy after I showed them how useful it was. Again, I suggest that you do the same.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sets a New Standard for regional books on Mexico., January 2, 2001

By 

Carl Franz (ajijic,Jalisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic: The Insiders Guide to the Northshore for International Travelers (Paperback)

by Carl Franz, author of "The People's Guide to Mexico", now in its 25th Edition

After decades of neglect, major publishers have finally begun to include titles on Mexico and Latin America in their guidebook catalogs. We'll call this long overdue attention the "good news". The not-so-good news is that the fierce competition between publishers to create new and more profitable guidebook series doesn't necessarily benefit readers and travelers.

In their rush to stake out new guidebook territory, editors are often forced to cut corners and look for shortcuts. As a result, many popular guidebooks, especially those from a series, are based on the work of under-paid, work-for-hire writers. Stingy advances seldom cover actual travel costs, increasing the pressure on the writer/researcher to move quickly through their assigned territory. In this hurried, "drive-by" approach to guidebook production, previous knowledge of the country and language are not necessarily required.

A good example of this is the unsettling compliment my own book on Mexico received from a young, newly published guidebook author. In describing the preparations for her first-ever trip south of the border, she confided that she'd left the U.S. equipped with nothing but "a contract, a bus ticket, and a copy of The People's Guide To Mexico". Another series-writer privately complained that his publisher unexpectedly switched his assignment from a popular Caribbean island to a book on New England! In addition to working on a low budget and to a very tight deadline, this author was truly a `stranger in a strange land'. He'd never before stepped foot in New England.

Fortunately, alternatives to mass-produced guidebooks can still be found from smaller presses and independent, self-published authors. Favorites from my own library include "Outdoors In Western Mexico" by John and Susy Pint, "Mexico City" by Andrew Coe, "A Handbook of Mexican Roadside Flora", "Oaxaca Crafts and Sightseeing", "Western Mexico" by Tony Burton, and many titles from Editorial Minutiae Mexicana. Though some have lost the struggle to stay in print, the quality of their author's research and writing insures that these books retain lasting value to serious aficionados of Mexico.

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Now, "Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic: The Insider's Guide to the Northshore for International Travelers" is quite a mouthful, but then so is this book. With contributions from experts in anthropology, natural history, language and culture, author and Ajijic resident Teresa Kendrick presents a description of Lake Chapala and its popular tourist and retirement communities that is broad in scope yet also quite detailed.

The book opens with an excellent regional overview by Dale Hoyt Palfrey and Tony Burton. This chapter gives the reader a thorough yet concise description of the region's geography, aquatic life, ecological zones, and unusually benevolent climate. Plant lovers will appreciate a discussion of garden and mountain flora, accompanied by attractive thumbnail photographs.

In "How To Be A Good Visitor", Carol Wheeler Esparza and others explain some of the finer, vital points of local cultural etiquette. In spite of its large "gringo" population, Lakeside is still thoroughly Mexican in character and customs. The authors rightfully emphasize the importance of paying respect to cultural differences, rather than simply grinding your teeth at them.

The book's practical nature is evident in explanations of how to ride a local bus and hail a cab, how to use a Telmex phone booth, and what you can expect (and not expect) in terms of hotel accommodations and restaurant service. Can't speak the language yet? A mini-Spanish primer offers everyday phrases and important, "need to know" vocabulary.

Further chapters describe Accommodations, Rentals and Real Estate, Food and Drink, Sightseeing, Sports and Fitness, and Getting Around. There's a Calendar of Events, directions to hiking trails and hot springs, lists of radio and TV stations, video rental shops, and places of worship.

Ajijic is a well-known haven for artists, and Teresa Kendrick's own background in design is apparent in the book's expert coverage of popular art, galleries, boutiques, and artisan studios. If you've got restless out-of-town guests who are dying to "shop until you drop", just open the book to Teresa's shopping map and turn them loose. Her suggestions for where to find baskets, blown glass, ceramics, leather, paper, silver and other traditional artesania will keep everyone happy for days.

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As you explore the pages of "Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic" it becomes obvious that Kendrick's considerable "local knowledge", and that of her contributors, gives this book an unusual degree of authority. (Open virtually any other guidebook on Mexico and you'll be lucky to find more than a few pages -- or paragraphs -- devoted to the Chapala area.) In fact, there's so much information here for both residents and short-term visitors, that I second another reviewer's suggestion that you'll need two copies of this book: one to keep in the car, the other for the use of guests or beside the telephone at home.

Lakeshore residents will find that beyond the book's value as a guidebook, "Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic" is also an easily browsed directory of community organizations, businesses and phone numbers. Whether you're looking for the name of that amazing purple tree, directions to the nearest bookstore, a dentist's office, or a home pizza delivery, it's all there, well-indexed and quickly accessible.

With over 200 professionally designed pages, numerous photographs, and a four color layout, "Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic" also breaks the "self-published" mold. From the the expertise of its authors to the quality of the paper and production, this remarkably comprehensive guidebook sets new standards for regional books on Mexico.

As a complement to their new guidebook, Mexico Travelers Information also publishes a four-color folding map of popular Lakeside communities. Adapted and enlarged from Tony Burton's popular street map, the "Map Guide To Lake Chapala, Ajijic and Environs" makes it easy to navigate among confusing street names and unfamiliar neighborhoods.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Leave Home Without It!, June 7, 2001

By 

Karen Blue (Ajijic, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic: The Insiders Guide to the Northshore for International Travelers (Paperback)

I've lived in Ajijic for five years and although Teresa Kendrick's book was written for visitors, mine is dog-eared, well-used and sometimes abused...The wealth of information, easily organized, saves me hours of research in answering questions from my readers...At least twice a week, I check to see if a specific restaurant is open on that night, to check phone numbers and email addresses for B&B's...Kendrick doesn't accept advertising and her recommendations on doctors, vets and dentists can be trusted. She has done her research.

Want to know about Tequila? Banking? Car Rentals? How about local events and fiestas? Miss your local yoga classes or churches, or perhaps you're simply interested in relaxing at a nearby spa? If you come to the Lakeside armed with this book, you won't miss so many of the opportunities other visitors have.

I can unequivocably recommend this book and her website keeps it current for you. How many travel books can you say that about?