Life in La Paz

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Life in La Paz

Hola family and friends,

Ansa and ECHO are still in La Paz. We left here for points north about a month ago, but some difficulties ensued. We sailed up past Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. On the way, a school of dolphins crossed our path and decided to play with us. See the dolphin clip. We were at Isla San Francisco when I discovered I couldn't start my engine. The starter was fried. Also my windlass, which I thought I had repaired in La Paz, wasn't working. We had no choice but to return to La Paz for repairs (see TOW clip for ECHO towing Ansa back to La Paz).

Week by week something came up to keep us here. The last event was my having a crown fall off, necessitating a trip to the dentist. Today, Friday, we think we are ready to set off again. We have re provisioned and fixed or improved a bunch of stuff. I won't bore you with the details.

What I decided to do with this blog is show you a little of La Paz and the people we have got to know living here.
Unfortunately, this website doesn't allow me to mix text and pictures very well, so I have used the comments portion of the pictures to carry the dialogue.

Our current plan is to go north for the summer to get out of the way of hurricanes. Then we'll come back to La Paz for awhile and then cross the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan, probably in late October.

It's Saturday (5/15) morning and we are preparing to leave Marina Palmira.

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Photos

Dolphin
One of the many Dolphins that played with us on the way to Isla San Francisco.

Echo behind Seal Rookery
The seal (actually sea lion) rookery is a few rocks that stick up out of the sea about 10 miles from anywhere.

Seals on the rookery
Just north of Isla Partida is this rocky seamount that the sea lions hang out on. These rocks just stick out of the water miles from anything else.

ECHO and Ansa in Isla San Francisco
Here's where I found out my starter motor was fried.

Lupita, Sasha and Adriana
Here are the three ladies who run the Marina. Lupita is an ex stewardess (ex because the airline she was working for went belly up in the latest financial disaster) who works part time at the Marina. She is an English and French student working toward being a Teacher. Sasha is a trainee who is learning the biz to replace Adriana when she has her baby in July.
Adriana and Lupita are wonderful ladies whose reply to any request is "No problem." What a great attitude they have.

Marina Teinda
This is the little store right here in our marina. Think of it as a 7/11 for boaters. They even have fresh donuts (donas in Espanol) every morning. I am a really good donut customer.

Rudy
Rudy is the main man in the marina Tienda. Very friendly and courteous. He will help you with anything he can.

Christian
Christian is one of the many wonderful people who work for the Marina. He does a lot of things, and one of them is to drive the shuttle van into town three times a day..

Buffet at at La Panga
La Panga Restaurant is one of two here at our Marina. Here we see them set up for Mothers Day brunch.

Fish in the Marina
We have some tame fish that live in our marina. There is a school of these guys that swim around and leap and play in the fairways. I'd like to tell you what kind of fish they are, but I haven't been able to figure it out.

ACE 1
Ace hardware store. Has a lot of stuff you won't find in an Ace in the US. Ever seen a cement mixer in a hardware store. Eclectic stocking, you can by hole saws, but not the madrels for them.

ACE 2
Generators are big in Mexico.

Restaurant Bismark
For some reason, this restaurant is named after the German battleship Bismark. The restaurant is on the seafront and has really good fish tacos.

Bismark
See, it really is called that.

Camorones
Here is Senor Augusto, he sells fresh caught shrimp, lobster or scallops, depending on what he caught lately. Quite a character; wanders around the marinas flogging his wares.

La Costa
This restaurant is about two blocks from Marina La Paz and is the default cruiser hangout. They support the cruisers and allow them to use restaurant facilities for meetings, etc. Brian and I went here for a Saint Paddy's day dinner cooked by cruisers, hosted by the restaurant.
The food was awful; Brian and I think the cooks were British or Australian, certainly not Irish; nowhere near the class of the same meal at BBYC. But the restaurant is on the beach, and the bar is OK, so who's complaining.

Club Cruceros
The Club Cruceros shack on the property of Marina de La Paz. How the cruisers managed to get the Marina to allow this is a mystery.

CC1
Club Cruceros maintains a book, tape and DVD exchange. You can borrow whatever you want for no charge.

CC bulletin board
Club Cruceros has a little shack on the property of Marina de La Paz. Here is the bulletin board, advertising services and swaps and trades.

CC Post Office
This cabinet is the Club Cruceros mail station. There are enough people travelling back and forth to the US and Canada that sending mail and small packages is quicker this way than through the mail.

CC Patio
Cruisers and Expats hang out here in the mornings to exchange info and socialize.

Comments

[Linde "Rosebud" Hall]

Ah, doesn't that just take us back?!
Thanks for sharing your blog. Sorry to hear about boat troubles. I know you were anxious to get outta there when we were still there. Have fingers crossed for a smooth departure for you. "Hi" to Mikey. Tell him I'm fixing kung pao chicken for dinner tonight. Love the pictures...great to see some of our marina pals. You two take care! Hugs, Linde