More about La Paz
My search for life between the two extremes has come to an end. La Paz is the home of a large middle class population who is not tourist dominated. Pat Rain’s mentions in her book that La Paz is a friendly town that deals with tourism on its own grounds oh so true. I have found the locals very friendly and helpful yet not tripping over themselves to relieve the gringo of his money.
I am reading John Steinbeck’s “Sea of Cortez” as I travel decades later in the same path. His recollection of pre war La Paz is interesting, of course the town has grown and developed but the spirit of the town seems to be unchanged.
I have always heard that many cruisers and American travelers get to la Paz and never leave. The status of some of the boats in the harbor supports this. There is a tight nit cruiser net every morning on the VHF where local information, crew lists, swaps and trades and other vital information is shared. The cruisers have a great club house and give amazing support to any cruiser needing help or just camaraderie.
I am anchored at the beginning of the anchorage right off the municipal pier so I see the lights of the town. A short dinghy ride gets me to the Marina De La Paz dinghy dock where for about a dollar a day I can tie up, dump garbage and get jugs filled with fresh water if I need. This is the location of the cruiser’s club house too.
From here I can walk the board walk into old town and enjoy the sights or get any sort of supply needed. The prices here are far better than in the more tourist locations, I had a delightful dinner, with avocado salad, chips, two NA beers, a large plate of shrimp and ice cream all for under $20 at a water front café. While dining I heard the familiar sound of a political rally—no idea for what but the rhythm of speech is unmistakable. Turns out it is a large pro life rally, something I was surprised was even an issue such a Catholic dominated country.
The next day I went to the CCC, the Fred Meyer of Mexico, to get supplies. For about $7 a cab driver took me to the store, waited for me to shop—even let me use his discount card—and took me back to the marina, not bad! The CCC is much like any American super market, with clothing, sporting goods and rows of food. A few glaring differences, as with Cosco, there are great samples of featured items—unlike American stores, these samples included shots of Tequila! I could not resist the photo op of the Santa’s helper;