Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
|
Monte
Coxala
Lake Chapala, Mexico
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
Currency Exchange
We have lived in the Lake
Chapala area off and on since 1993.
Hearing rumors of a
restaurant/spa up by the Raquet Club in San Juan Cosala that had outstanding
views, we always meant to go visit. Being about an hour out of
our town of
Chapala, we became lazy over the idea and eventually forgot about it.
Interest was renewed
recently and all of a sudden we just had to go!
See our pictorial below.
Map showing the location of Monte Coxala
From our apartment in Chapala Centro, we
walked to the Bus Station to pick up a taxi.
For 170Pesos (about $9USD) he agreed to take
us to Monte Coxala where we planned to eat lunch at Restaurant Chac Lan.
The entrance to Monte Coxala
Some say the meaning of Monte Coxala is "Big
Mountain."
Well, that certainly fits for this area since
we have hills more than mountains. But this one IS pretty big.
Approximately 20 years ago,
a local doctor had a vision. His dream was to recreate a place like the pre-hispanic
ancestors had many years ago, including pyramids, Mayan symbols, snakes,
spirals, thermal waters, and using quartz and obsidian throughout the grounds.
This is a magical place to
relax and appreciate nature.
The Check-in office is to
the left of this photo and I mentioned that we wanted to eat lunch at Chac Lan.
The receptionist called for
a Monte Coxala taxi, and he took us there straight away with no charge.
A large Olmec head on the grounds
Chac Lan Restaurant was a bit of a drive on
these grounds, and we were able to enjoy the gardens and various hotels along
the way.
This Olmec head in the center of the photo is
a very famous sculpture at Monte Coxala.
People often get their photo taken by it.
View from the road of Lake Chapala
The Chac Lan Palapa Restaurant is on the
left.
Here you see beautiful gardens, ancient
symbols, sculptures and a swimming pool.
Beautiful Lake
Chapala is in the background.
View from Chac Lan Restaurant
The grounds are massive.
When we arrived at Chac Lan Restaurant, we
were guided to go upstairs to the Palapa part of the restaurant.
Arriving about 1pm, Fernando, the waiter said
it would still be a few moments before they would be ready to take orders for a
meal.
No worries!
We had plenty of views we wanted to see from
this part of the mountain.
This view is from our table at Chac Lan.
Pre-historic sculpture
All throughout the buildings and acreage are
copies of pre-historic sculptures from the Olmec, the Maya and the Toltec
cultures - all of whom lived in Mexico.
Three heads!
Billy, Akaisha and an Olmec head!
The 30-foot high Palapa at Chac Lan
Chac Lan is the Mayan god of rain and was
very important in the Maya culture since they relied heavily on rain for their
agriculture and survival.
This Palapa restaurant, made of local woods,
is often reserved for weddings, social gatherings, baptisms, and anniversaries.
Enjoying the view
Here I am, enjoying the view of the Lake,
after Fernando took our lunch order.
Truly, all of the grounds were just
beautiful.
Pasta with lemon cream and shrimp
We were excited to try the items on the menu
and the three of us each ordered something different.
This freshly made linguini with lemon cream
and shrimp seemed to call out to me, and I was not disappointed.
Sometimes cream sauces on pasta can be bland
and non-distinctive.
Such was NOT the case here.
Just enough of everything and not too much of
anything.
All was cooked to perfection.
Ravioli
This dish was spinach-stuffed ravioli in
fresh tomato sauce with basil and grated Parmesan cheese.
Our friend left no crumb behind!
Ribeye with Ranchero beans
Billy ordered a Ribeye steak with Ranchero
beans, grilled chili pepper and sweet onions.
Of course, it was delicious, but being the
Chef that he is, he mentioned that the grill needed to have more heat to sear
the outside of the meat better.
That's my boy!
Brulee de Elote
We hadn't had dessert in a while and the
selections here at Chac Lan were the standard: Apple strudel with vanilla ice
cream, something chocolate, Creme Brulee and.... Brulee de Elote!
What was this?
We had never tasted a Brule of Corn before,
so we went for it.
Beyond our expectations, the first bite was
outstanding.
Moist, creamy, and with the sweet corn
kernels, this Brulee had cajeta drizzled on top, and all around it was fresh
fruit.
Billy and I shared it - and being as rich as
it was, that was plenty.
We enjoyed it so much, we went home and found
a recipe so we could make it ourselves!
Our bill for the 3 of us
The bill for the three of us came to 915
Pesos, or about $48USD before tip.
Would we recommend the restaurant Chac Lan?
Absolutely!
__________
Chac Lan Restaurant
Rafael Osuna Oriente #300
Fraccionamiento Raquet Club
San Juan Cosala, Jocotepec 45820 Mexico
Tele: 387. 761. 0111
387. 761. 0326 387. 761. 0908
Website:
https://en.montecoxala.com/
Email:
info@montecoxala.com
Reservations & Information (045) 33
31 01 00 39
(045) 33 31 01 00 40 01
(387) 76 101 11 01 01
(387) 761 05 99
For directions and a map,
Click Here
For more information, photos and stories
on Chapala,
Click Here
For more information, photos and stories
on Mexico Click Here
About the Authors
Retire
Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
kind of person – the person who prizes their
independence, values their time, and who doesn’t
want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
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