The Lake Chapala Society: a Heroine’s Legacy

by Kristina Morgan

In order to tell you about the Lake Chapala Society (LCS), I must first tell you about Neill James, Ajijic’s “Fairy Godmother,” and the benefactress of the LCS, located in the heart of Ajijic, which is home to the largest expatriate society in the world.

She is a woman I would have dearly loved to know and so I hope I can convey just a bit of the spark that made her one of the most fascinating heroines I have ever had the pleasure to read about.

Neill James was a person after my own heart. Born on a cotton plantation in Mississippi, she was a well-educated woman who was a world-renowned travel writer. Briefly married and then divorced with no children, she became a fearless adventurer, fascinated by flying after she met Amelia Earheart.

Neill survived a disaster that brought her to Ajijic, which became, perhaps, the best thing that could have happened to her or Ajijic.

Jurassic Park: A Family Camping Adventure in Mexico

Before we came to Mexico I assumed that the entire country was either desert or coastal. Discovering Mexico’s diverse terrain—mountains, jungles, pines, plains and more—has been an absolute delight, and one of the things I love best about living at Lake Chapala is that this area is like the hub of a wagon wheel with many other fascinating and beautiful destinations just a few hours away: Colima, Guanajuato, Puerto Vallarta and Michoacán, to name a few.

Just recently my mom and dad suggested we go to the state of Colima, a few hours away, and check out a place they found on Google Earth with a waterfall. There are rivers and springs all over the place spilling beautiful waterfalls off the rocks.

We all piled in the car: my husband, Joel, and our three kids and Ruby the Great Road-Trip Dog. If you’ve traveled in close quarters before, you’ll know this was an adventure in itself. Let me just say that after an hour on the road, the kids weren’t the only ones saying, “Are we there yet?”!