Outdoor Living – August 2026

Kayaking Lake Chapala: The Lake Beyond the Shore

We look out across the waters of Lake Chapala and enjoy the sight of Mount Garcia, of pelicans and cormorants gliding just above the surface, of fisherman casting their nets in graceful arcs. It’s like a living painting, a movie we watch from our miradors and terazzas, or when walking on the malecón. We watch the skies with changing clouds and bird migrations. On the shore, horses, cows, people and street dogs vie for our attention. And yet the lake remains a mystery.

Perhaps that feeling of déjà vu some of us experience while gazing across the water isn’t mystery at all, but recognition — a memory of other times spent afloat in kayaks, canoes, fishing boats, or simply near water. The feeling of utter comfort and ease, that innate connection and pleasure we all experience from being ON the water. For many of us, being on Lake Chapala feels less like discovering something new and more like returning to something we had forgotten.

Many members of the Ajijic Kayak Club arrive with a history on the water. Some grew up fishing, boating, or paddling. Others rediscovered an old passion after moving Lakeside. For me, it started with an inflatable boat my father gave me when I was eighteen. Later I inherited my uncle’s kayak, and over the years I carried that love of being on the water from California to Southeast Asia and eventually to Ajijic. When I moved here, my uncle’s trusty old kayak came with me. Some things, it seems, are meant to follow us.

Many members of the Ajijic Kayak Club arrived Lakeside with years — sometimes decades — of life on the water behind them. Sailors, fishermen, canoeists, river paddlers. Like so many people who settle in Ajijic, they carry fascinating former lives that occasionally reappear in unexpected ways. And once you live beside a lake like this, curiosity eventually wins.

Except for fishermen and the occasional tour boat, how many people can say they have drifted in the middle of Lake Chapala with nothing but water in every direction? Have you watched the mountains rise impossibly green from the shoreline? Been surrounded by pelicans gliding so low you can hear their wings? Seen a fish break the surface beside your boat or a snake leave a silver trail through the water?

Have you paddled past shoreline trees standing guard over colonies of Black-crowned Night-Herons, or looked up to find hundreds of Yellow-headed Blackbirds wheeling overhead like smoke caught in the wind? Some of us have. And once you’ve seen the lake from out there, the view from shore is never quite the same.

Some kayakers like the thrill of getting to their chosen destination. Other kayakers are bird watchers. Some go out for exercise but are stunned by the beauty and forget they were planning to race. We are on the lake where fishermen wave “Buenos Dias” as the pelicans wait for their treats. This is the interaction with the lake that I am talking about.

I don’t believe you can be more “one with the lake” than in a kayak. You sit low enough to feel the movement of the water beneath you — the gentle lift of a swell, the pull of a passing wake, the rhythm of the lake itself. Your paddle becomes an extension of your body and your connection to the water becomes immediate and unmistakable. Out there, you are no longer observing the lake from a distance. You are part of it.

The Ajijic Kayak Club is open to people who are comfortable on the water, able to swim, and able to lift approximately 40 pounds, although some kayaks weigh considerably less. More than anything, it is a community of people who enjoy nature, wildlife, and experiencing Lake Chapala from a different perspective.

If you are curious about kayaking or interested in joining the club, we gather every Thursday around 11:00 a.m. for brunch at Café Linda at the Lake Chapala Society. It’s an opportunity to meet members, hear a few stories, ask questions, and learn more about the club.

Safety has always been our first priority. New paddlers are introduced to the lake alongside an experienced club member, and prospective members arrange their first outing through our Thursday gatherings. Recreational kayaks, paddles, and life vests are available for guest use in exchange for a 400-peso donation.

We are fortunate to live beside the largest lake in Mexico. Even more fortunate is the opportunity to experience it not simply as scenery, but as something we can move through, explore, and become part of. Lake Chapala has been waiting just beyond the shoreline all along.

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