November 26, 2004, La Paz, B.C.S.
We had a great sail/motor sail Monday down to La Paz. Nice wind and moderate waves. The channel into the harbor is full of twist and turns. We didn’t have any problems but it was interesting. We went in and out of San Diego harbor without thinking. Here we had to have one of us manning the binoculars on the bow looking for buoys telling the person steering where to turn. The driver has to track our progress on the chart to make sure we are following the right buoys. Great fun if you are into navigation like I am. Rhea can handle either position. She is becoming a real sailor.
I was in this marina in ’99. Fourteen months ago it and almost all the vessels in it were completely destroyed by hurricane Marty. Like the first class San Carlos marina, this marina is owned and operated by former Americans who are now Mexican citizens. They have completely rebuilt the marina and have done a great job.
I spent five hours Tuesday morning doing the Mexican check into port paperwork. I had to do this personally because I have to get an import permit for Vagari. Vagari is not completely legal yet but we are close.
Tuesday night we had a formal dinner in a very fancy restaurant. Well deserved after many days at sea.
Wednesday we explored the area around the marina and the downtown area. We have a fold up bicycle that we used all day. I rode around looking for parts, groceries and good restaurants. Rhea rode the beautiful Malecon (boardwalk) and checked out the fancy shops in the upscale part of downtown. The Malecon runs along the bay front for two or three miles starting just a block from the marina.
Wednesday night we went to a local restaurant that has a weekly jamfest for cruiser musicians. Some of the players/singers we very good, some weren’t. We sat at an interesting table. The couple from the sailboat right next to us is, we think, in their early 30’s. They are from San Francisco. They are starting a circumnavigation. Not all that unusual in our little world of cruisers. Except for the fact that they are both legally blind!
Hard to believe. Check out their website http://www.blindsailing.com/. Having said all that, they are really neat people. We hope we can spend more time with them. On our other side was a young married couple (under 30). She is from Sydney, Australia he is from the San Francisco. They met on Catalina Island California. He worked for the harbor patrol and she was a sailing instructor at a kid’s camp on the island. I first saw them in the Port Captains Office. A fun, interesting couple to share dinner and drinks with. The third couple is also planning on going all the way around. They are much more like us in age and background.
La Paz has a population of about 425,000 and is the capital of the state that covers southern half of the Baja. It is not a tourist town, but we have seen a couple of nice hotels. There is only one road that comes down the Baja into town. It’s a two-lane twisting road that should only be driven during the daylight hours because cows wander onto the road. La Paz is also supplied by a daily ferry from mainland Mexico. Baja California Sur (B.C.S.) has the lowest population density of any state in Mexico.
We are sorry we couldn’t invite you for Thanksgiving dinner. We are sure you understand. Because of our tight space limitations we had to limit our guest list to 147 of our very closest friends. The cruisers club held Thanksgiving dinners at another marina. You bring a side dish, your plate, utensils and chairs if you can and they provide the main course. We went with friends from our dock and enjoyed ourselves. But we did miss our family.
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