La Paz

It’s only 18 miles from Bahia San Gabriel to La Paz. Since we had no marina reservations we decided to motorsail across the San Lorenzo Channel. That way we could arrive early in the afternoon and have time to get settled. The light wind was dead on the nose and sailing in would have been an all day affair. Marina De La Paz was full so we choose Marina Palmira about two miles to the North. It’s a very nice facility with everything you need. Inexpensive too with a full week for the price of a single nights stay in a good motel.

We attended the awards dinner for the Sea of Cortez Sailing Week and really enjoyed ourselves. The food was excellent and the Solera crew picked up a First in Class Award in the "Better Late Than Never" category. If you hadn’t already guessed, every boat that enters gets a First in Class Award.

La Paz has become one of my favorite Mexican towns. Founded in the 1500’s it has an interesting history. Pearl harvesting fed the town’s economy in the early years. Steinbeck’s book, The Pearl, is based on local folklore. Yaqui Indians, who were adorned with pearls and mother of pearl carvings, established themselves as the most talented free divers in the region. The Spanish capitalized on this and shipped home as much of the treasure as they could. Eventually the oyster beds were depleted and La Paz reverted back to the sleepy village it had been before. More recently, the city has become the capitol of the Mexican State of Baja California Sur. Even with a population of around 250,000, there's a friendly and peaceful attitude
in the air. The Malicon waterfront is a focal point for the city. Every evening many of the townspeople spill out onto this long walkway for a stroll in the cool evening air.

Cyn and I met up with Colorado cruisers Barry and Sue for a road trip to the town of Todos Santos on the Pacific coast. It’s a nice arts and tourist oriented place. It may be most famous for the Hotel California that, as legend has it, was the inspiration for the Eagles song.

Morgan's Margarita

We just finished preparing for the 300 plus mile return trip to San Carlos. The provisioning is done and Solera is ready to go. It will be about ten days before we get internet access again. We’re looking forward to the leisurely trip back.