Point South Mexico - Real Estate and Lifestyle Magazine

Perched high on the mount, Villas Los Angeles looks out over the world from wide verandas and heavenly shaded terraces. The white face of the Villas shimmers in tropical sunlight. Dark blue tiles embrace reflective sapphire waters of the pool. Orange hibiscus blossoms flower alongside curving stairways tiled in hand-decorated Mexican terracotta. Purple bougainvillea, flowering shrubs dressed in yellow, blue and red, tip their bright faces heavenward. White gardenias scent the air. Verdant fronds of tall palm trees sway in the breeze.

About 20 years ago, we lived at Ana Capri on the south shore of Lake Chapala near Mismaloya. In those days, the sparkling blue waters of Lake Chapala were so high that the surrounding mountain slopes seemed to rise directly out of the lake. Every morning we could see a dozen or more small fishing boats from our front window. Occasionally a large trawler dragging nets for charales, would wend its way through deeper water. White garzas flocked around the schools of charales and mojarras swimming nearer the shore.

When reading about Mexico's long and storied past, we often forget the ancient history, which surrounds us at Lakeside. I was "pleasantly" reminded Sunday, August 15, when my buddies Pat and Gabriel suggested I accompany them on a hike into the hills behind Mezcala in search of 4,000 year-old Indian cave paintings. I couldn't resist this combination of anthropology and physical fitness, and so I immediately accepted. Pat and Gabriel had been unsuccessful the previous week in locating the caves, but now with the benefit of reconnaissance data (directions from the locals), I was assured we would be successful.