La Paz, a Great Community

Garden Coconuts

 



Marina del Palmira

Marina Swimming Pool

Garden Oranges

Car Show in La Paz

Car Show in La Paz

Old Town Hall

Old Town Hall

Seems like there is always something going on in La Paz for the community to enjoy and it’s beginning to feel like home.  We recently attended an antique car show held in town along the waterfront – cars from the 20’s through the 70’s were on display - a collection owned by locals and visitors alike, some of which are used as a regular mode of transportation.  Not to be outdone, boaters were busy playing with their toys and getting their boats looking shiny new.  We saw a yacht at Marina del Palmira which had a garage (lower level) to house their Runabout and Sea Doo, wow!  Our boat needed cleaning and waxing as well due to the extremely salty sea and never ending harsh ultraviolet light.  We decided to make use of the local services and hired a Mexican business to wash and wax the entire boat; the three amigos did an excellent job at a fraction of what it would have cost in the States.  Our marina stay has been a real pleasure; Marina del Palmira has several cafes, a lovely swimming pool and garden, and a nearby fruit stand that sells drinks, whole coconuts, and pineapple.  We discovered that buying whole pineapple is the only way to go since the canned pineapple here seems to be of poor quality.  We also discovered more interesting buildings and restaurants in La Paz like the Old Town Hall, basically a shell that houses a book store and coffee shop.  While biking through town, we discovered a great restaurant that serves quality seafood dishes.  This thatched roof, open-air style restaurant called a palapa was filled with locals – we had delicious crab and shrimp served with tortillas, chips, cabbage and salsas.


Got d' Fever - Cleaning & Waxing



A Boat with a Garage!

Swimming with Giants

 

 

Humans Are Small By Comparison

Huge Gaping Mouth of the Whale Shark

Snorkeling with Giants

 

Some Whale Sharks Get Really Big!

Today we took our dinghy out to a spit of land near La Paz, noted to be the location where whale sharks feed during this time of year.  The whale shark is considered the largest fish in the sea, reaching lengths of 40 feet or more with the average size being 25 feet.  Although massive, whale sharks are docile fish and aren’t interested in humans since these sharks are plankton feeders.  Whale Sharks scoop up tiny plants and animals, along with any small fish that happen to be nearby with their colossal gaping mouths while swimming close to the water’s surface.  As we motored around in our dinghy, we spotted the two large dorsal fins and the wide, flat head of a whale shark.  I quickly doned my snorkeling gear and dropped into the water near the beast.  I was so excited to be so close to this amazing creature that I was breathing hard and at the same time using up energy in order to keep my distance from its huge gaping mouth and swinging tail, which consists of a dual-lobbed caudal fin.  I swam parallel with the creature looking at him eyeball to eyeball and could see his five very large gill slits, long gray body, and white spots – an incredible experience.  Realizing I was exhausted, I made my way back to the dingy as Leonard motored toward me to shorten the distance.  I estimated the creature to be at least 25 feet or more with an impressive gaping mouth as he moved through the water feeding on plankton; I saw numerous fish swimming ahead of him as if to escape his presence.  The huge gapping mouth is perhaps the most impressive feature of the whale shark, which can be up to 4.9 feet wide and contains 10 filter pads and between 300 & 350 rows of tiny teeth.





Watchout Fish!

Tour Boat from La Paz Finds a Whale Shark

Leonard's Turn to Take the Plunge

On Our Way Back to La Paz

Revolution Day

 

Our stay in La Paz coincided with Revolution Day, a holiday celebrated throughout Mexico on the third Monday of November commemorating the start of the Mexican Revolution by Francisco Madero in 1910.  This major armed struggle began with an uprising against longtime autocrat Porfirio Diaz and lasted for the better part of a decade until around 1920.  Over time the Revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war and is often said to be the most important sociopolitical event in Mexico.  Wealth, political power, and access to education were concentrated among a handful of families, overwhelmingly of European descent known as “hacendados” who controlled vast swaths of the country by virtue of their huge estates.  Foreign companies from Great Britain, France, and the United States also held interest in Mexico.  Most people in Mexico were landless, laboring on the vast estates or in the mines for little more than slave wages.  We decided to ride our bicycles into town on Revolution day and discovered a delightful parade coming down the main boulevard – senoritas and senores were in colorful costume riding horses as children looked-on and played nearby; a true community event with lots of family fun.

Even Mexican Cowboys talk on the Cell Phone

La Paz – The Peace



La Paz - The Peace

La Paz Paseo

Shopping in La Paz

Panga Fishing Boats

Our friends had flight reservations out of La Paz so we departed the beautiful island of Espiritu Santo and arrived at La Paz on November 18^th around noon.  We immediately fell in love with La Paz; it’s a wonderful town with all the amenities and services one could want including great restaurants, market places, a town square, and a lovely paseo (promenade) bordering the waterfront.  As the capital city of the State of Baja with approximately 251,000 people, La Paz is an important regional commercial center.  We explored the town and noted many modern shops and clothing boutiques as well as the typical sidewalk vendors but without the high-pressure salesmanship.  It’s not surprising that expats have adopted La Paz as their home and many boaters from abroad stay at the marinas for extended periods of time.  Expatriates provide help to visiting gringos and hold special events that are announced on the VHF radio each morning on Channel 22A; information is also shared on their internet site at www.clubcruceros.net.  We spent a night out on the town with our friends Bruce and Pam before their departure, starting with drinks at a waterfront restaurant and then dinner at one of the finer establishments in La Paz.  La Paz is definitely one of those places that one comes to love and appreciate; it's like a vortex that keeps drawing you in, from which there is no escape.  Interestingly, John Steinbeck featured La Paz in his novel The Pearl (1947) and mentioned La Paz extensively in his travelogue The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951).  The city is also the setting of the children’s novel The Black Pearl (1967) by Scott O’Dell.  The following day, we participated in one of the events organized by the Expats, a special welcome for the Ha Ha Fleet and other visitors to La Paz held at a local restaurant.  The event included a wonderful buffet dinner in an outdoor courtyard complete with entertainment by a Mariachi Band and dancers in colorful Spanish costumes, all for only $10 per person – the entertainment was absolutely superb and we no doubt would have paid much more for such an event in the U.S.


Pangas Along the Beach and Promenade

Beautiful Costumes



Superb Dancing



Excellent Mariachi Band

Isla Espiritu Santo




Bahia San Gabriel - Isla Espiritu Santo

Sheer Cliffs and Turquoise Waters

Stratified Cliffs - a great place to kayak and snorkel

Isla Espiritu Santo

After rounding the tip of Baja, we continued north into the Sea of Cortez, heading for the beautiful island of Espiritu Santo (Spirit Saint).  It is indeed a heavenly place with clear turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, and green cactus proudly standing among the red rock cliffs revealing a striking contrast of colors.  We anchored in the bay of San Gabriel and spent the day swimming and snorkeling in the warm, crystal clear water.  The water is so clear we could see our anchor chain lying on the sandy bottom a few feet below.  We abandoned our cold-water mindset of the north and embraced the warm waters of Cortez.  We took the dinghy and anchored it near the rock cliffs where the four of us spent time snorkeling - gliding through schools of brightly colored fish and corral.  We also had fun using the kayaks for a trip to the beach; I had brought my hiking shoes and walked to the top of a ridge for a beautiful vista over the bay.  The following day we motored further up the island and anchored in the cove of Ensenada Grande where we witnessed a beautiful sunset and star studded night, a perfect finale for our island visit with friends Pam and Bruce.  The island of Espiritu Santo is indeed a special place and is part of the National Park island chain that was created in 2003 by an alliance of Mexican and U.S. conservation groups to protect migratory birds, sea turtles, and numerous species of fish, a true National treasure.



Lorena and Bruce Diving from the Mother Ship

Got d' Fever's Anchor Chain Visable through the Clear Water

Cactus Grow Even Among the Rocks

Long-Time Friends - headed to shore for an evening stroll

Los Frailes and Los Muertos




Beach at Los Frailes

Deep Soft Sand at Los Frailes

Some Shade at Los Frailes

We departed with our friends Bruce and Pam from San Jose Cabo at 8:50am on November 13^th headed for Los Frailes on the southeast tip of Baja.  The seas were choppy making somewhat of a rough ride for our guests but fortunately calmed later in the afternoon.  Los Frailes (the Friars) is a lovely bay with a few homes and a hotel.  We arrived in the early afternoon and took the dinghy ashore.  The sand was so deep and soft that it was difficult to pull the dinghy up on land even with all four of us pushing and pulling.  We managed to get the dinghy a comfortable distance from the water’s edge and then went for a walk on the beach.  Java had a great time exploring and bounding through the sand, happy to have space to run.  The next morning we departed for Bahia de Los Muertos (bay of the dead) located 6 hours to the north in the Sea of Cortez.  In the 1920’s, the cove served as a cargo port for off-loading supplies for a nearby silver mining operation and years later the site was used for salt production and storage.  Today the cove has several beautiful homes and a first-class private resort, a best-kept secret among boaters.  Having arrived in the late afternoon, we made the most of the remaining daylight and went ashore by dinghy.  This time the sand was compact and we found it easy to wheel the dinghy up on land.  We visited the beautiful resort and discovered that the lovely dining room in the foyer was open to the general public.  We ended up enjoying this very special place with a bowl of Tortilla Sopa, Quesadillas, and drinks.  The high ceilings above us held a special surprise for guests - a three-tiered train track runs around the rectangle space of the room with multiple trains and realistic sets – I loved the hacienda scene, it looked like there had been a shoot-out.  By the time we left the resort it was pitch black except for the twinkle of stars overhead and the anchor lights of a few boats in the harbor, it was truly a lovely evening.



Bahia de Los Muertos

Lovely Resort at Los Muertos

Train Set - Hacienda Scene

Three Levels of Train Track above Diniing Room

Cabo – a world of contrasts

 

Cabo San Lucas

Disney Cruise Ship at Cabo

Glitzy Hotels in Cabo

 

After arriving in Cabo San Lucas in the wee hours of the morning, we anchored in the bay just off the beach awaiting our turn for an assigned slip at the marina.  The bay was alive with a variety of activity including parasailing, paddle boarders, and water taxis.  A major Fishing Derby was taking place so sport fishing boats were coming and going from the marina like bees to honey.  Soon the Disney Cruise Ship pulled into the bay and lowered her anchor taking up a good share of the anchorage.  The organizer of the Baja Ha Ha Rally was assigning spaces at the marina (based on the date of registration for the event) and it became clear that some boats would need to anchor out due to the extra demand for boat slips.  We decided to up anchor and motored to San Jose del Cabo about 30 miles away and stayed at this more secluded and quiet marina.  Not wanting to miss the Ha Ha celebration, we rented a car and drove into Cabo San Lucas to attend the “we cheated death once again” party.  We spent some time before the party exploring Cabo and found a striking contrast between the upscale shops and hotels along the beaches vs. the town itself, which would be considered ordinary without the glitzy beachfront developments.  The Ha Ha celebration was held at the marina in Cabo surrounded by upscale shopping and mega yachts.  It was a casual event held outside in the warm evening air with lots of seating and plenty of drinks to go around.  Everyone was declared a winner and presented with a ribbon and certificate, Got d’ Fever now proudly displays her certificate in the pilothouse.  We really enjoyed our stay at San Jose del Cabo, a more authentic Mexican town with narrow paved streets and adorable shops and cafes catering to both locals and tourists alike.  San Jose is where we began to learn how things are done differently in Mexico and started to shed our preconceived American way of doing things.  I had planned to take our sheets into the lavanderia (laundry) to have them washed, expecting to have the task completed in a couple of hours.  After walking through the streets in the hot sun, occasionally stopping to ask for directions, we finally found the laundry shop.  The attendant saw my bag of laundry and said “no agua;” she pointed to the two large 300 gallon water tanks and said “manana.”  It was clear that she had run out of water for the day and that we would have to come back again tomorrow.  I should have used the drop-off and pick-up laundry service offered by our marina, which is exactly what I did the following day.  During our stay in San Jose del Cabo, we visited an outdoor market held in the mangroves accessed by a non-descript dirt road.  A variety of unique arts and crafts were available for purchase; I bought a turtle necklace carved from bone, and my friend Pam purchased a hand-embroidered blouse.  Our friends Pam and Bruce had flown into Cabo to join us for our cruise to La Paz.  The evening before our departure, our friends treated us to a wonderful dinner in San Jose and we walked the town square observing local families enjoying the cooler evening air.  It seemed rather active even for a Monday and we were told that the town square becomes quite a social scene on weekends.  We said goodbye to this adorable town and settled in for the rest of the evening back at the boat - we would be departing mid-morning for the next night's anchorage at Los Frailes.


Outdoor Market - San Jose del Cabo






Entertainment at the Outdoor Market

Shopping in San Jose del Cabo

Town Square - San Jose del Cabo