The Ajijic Plaza

One thing we love about old Spanish colonial towns is that they all have lovely town plazas.  On one side (or perhaps two sides), there is always a church, and another side generally has some governmental buildings.  Then there are shops and restaurants situated around the main park square.

The plaza in Ajijic is no exception. It has an old church and several buildings dedicated to the arts, as well as a ton of excellent restaurants, large and small, some with outdoor seating; a coffee shop; a tremendous number of sculptures; the center “bandstand”; park benches; kids playing; people selling things; stores; . . . .  It’s a delightful place.  No government buildings though because Ajijic is really a subdivision of the community of Chapala, so the government buildings are in the Chapala town plaza.

On the weekends, you will find a lot of Latino families enjoying the space and a fair number of gringoes.  During the weekdays, the plaza is filled with ex-pats: men sitting together, women sitting together, couples sitting together, couples sitting alone — they are everywhere, and clearly, they are enjoying “the good life.”  Here are some pictures of Ajijic’s  downtown plaza.

The center of the plaza — a public grandstand

Sculptures from every possible material are everywhere

This coffee shop is always filled with ex-pats.

Another favorite ex-pat restaurant

One of the side streets is pedestrian-only and is filled with stands of local artisans.

This little side street also has a magnificent long mural, almost the length  of the street.  It is historical, with several of the leaders of Mexico’s independence represented.

And people sometimes lay items out on a blanket to sell

The Cultural Arts Center is also on the plaza.

This art center sponsors several classes, and one day, we watched several  retirees painting various scenes in the plaza. They were serious and spent several hours on their projects.

And off one of the ends of the plaza is a beautiful old church.

The Ajijic Town Plaza has become our “go to” place most every day.  There’s always something to watch, and the artisan and gringo art stores surrounding the plaza are always a delight.