Ajijic Street & Restaurant Art

 Today we caught the bus the short ride to see the lake and walk the malecon by Lake Chapala. It's 70 miles long and 7 miles wide (no, duh, we didn't walk the length). We've been warned not to eat anything from there, although the locals can, and not to swim in it either. But it is beautiful to see.  I've been noticing that every restaurant we've been to has lovely artwork on the walls. Some are for sale, but much is property of the restaurants. The streets too have murals everywhere, and I couldn't resist taking photos of a few on our walk. 
  We read about Tabarka, a Spanish tapas place that had been in our hotel neighborhood and moved 3 weeks ago. We tried to find it last night, but it was gone, so happily got there for lunch today. We met an x-pat from San Francisco who frequents Tabarka who's lived in Ajijic for 5 years. We also met their resident chicken who came with the location for the restaurant. She visits tables and begs food, so Davide, the owner, hands out rice to give her so the customers don't give him bread, which Matthew did before we heard it wasn't good for her. The place is filled with colorful art and has a beautiful outside eating area.




 We had a delicious warm shrimp salad followed by black paella.
We will return to Tabarka, either on this trip or one of our next ones. Great food. Matthew asked for hot sauce and the owner, sitting nearby, heard and  asked if he'd like either grilled chilis or a tomato and chili combo, so he had his chef make him a chili and tomato sauce from scratch to go with the paella. Such service...and no bottled sauce. The locals are wonderfully friendly and welcoming...and no f'ing wall is ever mentioned. 
 We walked the malecon along the lake...a really wonderful place to spend time. Many families having picnics and enjoying the area.

The view from the pier


This is a giant bowl or pit for bike riders. Behind it is a skate board ramp and park.


My own video made me laugh...because I obviously couldn't see due to the bright sunlight, so the beginning went a little awry.

We walked along the malecon to the end, which put is about 2-3 blocks from our hotel, so walked the rest of the way. If my foot hadn't been injured, we would have walked there by now. Today if felt a little better, plus the view was distracting enough and more importantly, the malecon is flat and straight with no stone paths, so it was easier. 
In case you don't get Facebook, here's my morning shot:

Who knew my foot would match my polish on this trip?

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