La Paz!: December 26th, 2023 - January 10th, 2024

La Paz. It’s a place that will slowly grow in your heart. I think it’s mostly the people. Everyone here was lovely. There’s just a sense of community in La Paz. It’s not as touristy as many other places in Baja. The cruiser community is close. The local community is close. It seems as if the whole town goes out nightly on the Malecon. Families bring out their kids. You can rent go-carts & zip down the sidewalk! -It’s a wide sidewalk. Since it was during the holidays when we were there, many places were lit up. Just a festive atmosphere. However, no one was out-of-hand or belligerently drunk. It felt safe & fun & energetic!

I do have to mention how lucky we were to get a slip at Marina de La Paz. Most sailors, when they come to La Paz have to anchor out along the channel. -Which wouldn’t be too bad but there are currents & tides which make this a little nerve-wracking, frustrating & can take away from enjoying time spent here. We spent the first night anchored out & we dragged. Not making for a peaceful night of sleep. We woke up & were about 10 feet away from another boat. You just can’t let much scope out on your anchor. They actually call this phenomenon the La Paz Waltz. Your boat is constantly moving from one direction to the next. Sometimes the boats next to you are not moving the same way. Yeah, it’s interesting to say the least.

However, we were so lucky. I was a squeaky wheel, as I emailed the owner of the La Paz Marina, Neil, on almost a weekly basis. I checked in with him last minute & he said there was a side tie that we could have. It’s definitely the biggest plus to only having a 30’ boat. That dock was 90’ long & so another boat would be able to tie up behind us if needed. Since it was on the outer edge of the marina, we did rock a little bit. But we didn’t mind at all. We felt secure.

Zephyr’s 1st real girlfriend, Tuna!

One thing we were introduced to while in La Paz was the Cruiser’s Net. Every morning at 8AM, cruisers that want to be involved, tune into the VHF. Someone leads the briefing where any happenings, needs, weather, etc.. are discussed amongst cruisers. This was really cool! We heard about a coffee hour happening at 10AM & we got to join a bunch of people on a patio in the marina for some coffee. This area, along with a little clubhouse, is called Club Cruzeros. Someone will volunteer to make coffee. People pay a nominal fee for it & sit around & chat for a while. Sometimes people will even bring out their guitars & play for everyone.

This is how we met many other sailors. We also met a woman, Paula, & her dog, Tuna. Zephyr got to play with Tuna & quickly fell in love. It was fun seeing have a girlfriend for the first time. Nice that he could play with her a few days here & there while we were in La Paz. Hopefully, he can see her later this year & that she hasn’t dumped him for some other stud.

Club Cruzeros/The Cruiser’s Net is also how we ended up with dinghy wheels! Someone was selling them for “coconuts” & we needed them. So awesome!

Other nice thing about the net is that people mention if they’re driving to the airport or other places & ask if people need a ride. Or if someone is flying back to the states they offer to take mail to mail it for others. Mail is nearly impossible in Mexico, so this is a nice way to get something sent.

Here & there around La Paz.

One refreshing thing about La Paz is that everywhere is walkable. There really isn’t anything too far away that you can’t walk to. Although, we did need to hail a cab after grocery shopping. Too heavy to walk a mile with our loot of stuff we acquire every time we go to market. Other than that, it’s fun to walk around. However, you do have to watch your step. Potholes abound on certain sidewalks so it can be a bit precarious at times.

Scenes from the La Paz Malecon:

Last week I did mention food in Mexico. In La Paz I found my new favorite restaurant! 32 Sabores. 32 Flavors in English. This place was so special! We went there 2 times! The staff was the most attentive that I’ve ever experienced. Yet, they didn’t hover. The food was absolutely delicious! I wish I had written down everything that we ordered. All of it was good though. Everything from the salad to the mole pork belly to the meringue dessert the owner had made for me because I have so many allergies.

Speaking of the owner…. Inna is amazing! This restaurant is all her creation. -From the menu to hiring the staff to the decor. She did it all herself! I was so stoked that I got to meet her the 2nd time we were there. I couldn’t even compliment her enough. If anyone has made a magnificent restaurant she has! I can’t wait to go back to La Paz just to eat here again!

32 Sabores - My new favorite restaurant!

Out to dinner at 32 Sabores with our friend Dan!

Now, let’s get back to Marina de La Paz. Yes, I’m going to rave about this too! First of all the price to stay there was very affordable. It included electricity & water & hot showers in a modern & well-kept bathroom. You can also have packages delivered to the office. Patricia, in the office, is extremely helpful, kind & efficient. She made our stay so smooth & pleasant.

Need to do laundry? Well it’s right there! You can do the laundry yourself or hire them to do it for you. They do a great job so it does make sense to leave your laundry & have it taken care of. -Unless you need something immediately. Then you can go to the laundry after her hours, until 11PM to take care of your own washing.

The decks are cleaned daily & the maintenance is kept up constantly. Antonio is the head of maintenance. He runs a great team. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a marina that was kept & maintained this well. 

There is a restaurant right in Marina de La Paz, The Dock Cafe. The food is yummy! -Especially their breakfasts. And the prices are great. You can either eat inside or out on the patio. They open early & stay open pretty late. So convenient! It was hard to not take advantage of this more than we did.

Need to dispose of your old oil & trash? No problem. They’ve got you covered. And there is a guy that shows up every Monday who will take your propane tanks & fill them up! Could you ask for more? Oh yes, they have great security.

There’s not much left to say except we thank Neil for running such a great marina! He could write a book on it! If only he could run every marina. Actually, Neil, if you are reading this, you could write a book on how to run a business. You’ve got it down right!

La Paz Marina

I’ve been looking for a market in Mexico that sells some more organic, healthier items. And I finally found one in La Paz! Tienda del Jardin. It’s actually just down the street from the marina. They had dried fruit, loose leaf tea, fresh shredded coconut, lentils, oatmeal, mushrooms, spices, seeds, nuts, & Matt’s favorite thing there, bread. Fresh baked bread! The owner, Rojillio, makes bread & brings it every Tuesday & Thursday. In fact, we went there on a Friday once & of course all of the bread was sold out. People flock to this place for bread. If you like bread that is more versatile than just white flour bread, then this is the bread for you. He also makes some sweeter breads like chocolate banana bread, fruit breads, etc… No preservatives here. Hope you gather that the store has way more than I listed. But you’ll just have to visit it for yourself. You are going to visit La Paz aren’t you?! It was so refreshing to find this place! We will also be back here too!

Tienda del Jardin

There is a bunch of culture in La Paz. Unfortunately we/Matt was busy with boat projects. Mainly fixing all of the chain plates on MerSea. So, we will have to enjoy the more when we get back there. We went to the Museo Regional de Antropología e Historia. -Or Baja California Sur Regional Museum. It was 5 stories! It’s a very interesting & well thought out museum. Most things were printed in Spanish. But that was good as it forced us to practice reading in Spanish. Sometimes we would need to get out Google Translate but most of the time we could understand the main point of the signs. It definitely made me want to take a deeper look into the history of Baja.

Natural History Museum of La Paz.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as our experiences in La Paz go. We will have a video up in a few weeks to show you La Paz in action. Although it’s hard to do it justice as we weren’t there long enough to convey the whole place to all of you.

Dock wildlife!

We’ll definitely be back to La Paz. Hoping we can get a slip again at Marina de La Paz. They are so amazing there! We can definitely see why, if you wanted to “settle down” in the Sea of Cortez, you would want to stay there. Probably the best run marina in all of Mexico. -Which is why it’s nearly impossible to get a slip. So, praying daily that we can get a reservation for December. We are on the waiting list. Wish us luck!

Zephyr’s cozy comfort spot.

Thanks for reading! Next week there will be a video on San Jose del Cabo! As always, we appreciate your continued support! You guys are the best! All of you deserve an adventure or relaxing vacation. Plan one for yourselves this week!