As the host city for water ski competition, Chapala is ready to put on the dog for the local leg of the Pan American Torch Relay and keep the buzz going through the end of the month with a series of special events to entice visitors and residents alike.

Torch schedule

The Pan American flame is slated to cross the Jalisco state line this weekend in Puerto Vallarta, continuing en route to Guadalajara with runs through Colima, Ciudad Guzman, Tapalpa, Chapala and Lagos de Moreno prior to the October 14 opening ceremony.

Chapala will take possession of the torch Wednesday, October 12, 10 a.m. at the central plaza in Atotonilquillo. Runners will carry the flame across the Guadalajara-Ocotlan highway to the edge of town, passing it off to a team of cyclists lined up to pedal to the junction with an unpaved road leading to San Nicolas de Ibarra. At that point the torch will be passed to Mayor Jesus Cabrera who will be mounted up to lead a contingent of 30 horsemen taking charge of the next segment.  From there on, the torch will alternate between runners, cyclists and tourist boat operators.

Estimated arrival times at other key points along the route are as follows:

- San Nicolas de Ibarra plaza, 11:30 a.m.

- Santa Cruz de la Soledad plaza, noon.

- North entrance to Chapala, intersection of Avenida González Gallo and Avenida Pepe Guízar, 12:30 p.m.

- Boat ramp at Palapa El Guayabo restaurant, east end of the Malecon, 12:50 p.m., for transfer to a nautical fleet that will cruise westward bordering the shoreline.

- Landing at Club Nautico, La Floresta, 1:30 p.m.

- Loop through Ajijic. passing the plaza, 2 p.m.

- Loop through San Antonio Tlayacapan, passing plaza, 2.30 p.m.

- Loop through downtown Chapala, arriving at the Fuente de Pescadores, Avenida Madero at Paseo Ramon Corona, 3:15 p.m. Celebration and live entertainment will continue there throughout the rest of the afternoon.

A prime point to picnic and catch the action is the newly renovated Parque La Milagrosa at the western outskirts of Chapala, where crowds will be able to observe a torch transfer as boats sail towards Ajijic and again as joggers approach Chapala in the opposite direction some 90 minutes later.

Time estimates may be modified following a practice run set for Saturday, October 8.

The torch route is fully traced out in an eight-minute You Tube video posted on the city government website www.chapala.gob.mx. To access the link, scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click on the Ruta Virtual button. Colored lines overlaid on a Google Earth image of the terrain show the mode of transport: red for runners, green for cyclists, orange for horsemen and yellow for boats. The 77 different transfer points are indicated with numbered arrows.