The End of the Baja Journey

We pulled into La Paz after a four and a half hour drive from Loreto. This was the first time we drove without our friends (and it was perfectly fine). The road was good but narrow and curvy heading out of Loreto with beautiful views of the Sea of Cortez. Once we reached the town of Ciudad Constitucion it was literally a straight shot to La Paz. We rented space at an RV park just North of La Paz called Maranatha Campestre. The story behind the park is kind of cool. The owners are missionaries from the states. Her father came down in the 1950s and bought land with an airstrip on it. They converted it into a campground where they not only rent RV spaces but have church retreats on weekends and day camps for local kids in the summer. There was a youth retreat one weekend during our stay. It was nice to hear Christian music. Even though we couldn’t understand the words the tunes were recognizable. There is a swimming pool (unheated) and on days when the wind wasn’t blowing Paula talked herself into taking the cold plunge to swim laps. She even admitted that after the initial jolt the water was refreshing.

Paula and Pat attended an international ladies luncheon that's held the first Thursday of every month.It's a kind of networking for the business women of the surrounding area and a way to get connected if you are new to La Paz. The entertainment was a guitar player and a couple who performed traditional Mexican dances.  Pat was taken from the audience to participate in one of the dances. It was very entertaining. The food was a wonderful sample of the local dishes.

Pat with the dancers

Our stay in La Paz was more low key than some of the other stops we made. Warren needed some dental work done so we stayed two weeks to accomplish that. He has one more appointment left but the work was good and the price was even better.

La Paz is the capital of Baja California Sur (the southern state). It has a population of about 250,000. There is a large cross section of Mexican families because a lot of people that live here are employed by the government. They call it a real Mexican town. The people are very friendly.  One of the best things about La Paz is the Malecon. It is a boardwalk (here it is made of concrete and tile) made from a sea wall. It is about 5 miles from one end to other.  The street is dotted with hotels, restaurants, real estate offices, and rental car places. Along the beach you can hire a boat to take you fishing, snorkeling, or touring around one of the islands. People jog, roller blade, ride bikes, and go on family walks. There’s a flurry of activity all hours of the day and night. Just off the Malecon is the town square with more restaurants, shopping (including a large Sears department store), offices, book stores, and the tourist information office.

The mission in La Paz

The sun setting over the Malecon

One of many sculptures along the Malecon

A beautiful sunset in La Paz

Our friends  (Bob and Pat) that we traveled down here with own a beach lot about 10 miles north of La Paz. We were invited to come out and “dry camp” there. The beach is a wonderful walking beach, flat and firm. We wandered down the beach collecting colorful shells and watched the dolphins play about 100 yards out in the surf. The night skies were absolutely incredible. It's not often that you get to see stars that are so bright and clear. We enjoyed a camp fire and watched shooting stars. Wow!

This driftwood looks like a howling dog

View from the campsite out onto the Sea of Cortez

Under the Palopa (spelling?)

Dry camping on the beach

One of the big events that happens in the Baja is a race called the Baja 1000. It's a race through the desert in dune buggies, Volkswagen bugs, and trucks outfitted for desert driving. A friend, who we met last year in Cabo, was competing  and we were invited by another friend to come and watch. The vehicles race each other on a short track completing 10 laps. This is done to accumulate points that are used to qualify you for the big race in November. It was truly exciting to watch these vehicles loaded with horsepower screaming around the track. Now I think I get the Datona 500 craze just a little bit more. We did get to see some crashes. No one was seriously injured so it was just part of the fun. 

Warren checking out the truck

It is a very big event here in the Baja

We did get a chance to golf on two of the four golf courses in the area. The Costa Baja and the Paraiso. Our favorite was the Costa Baja because it is overlooking the marina. The views are spectacular. The other course is located on a sand bar that was at one time a very big development. However, as so many before it, it was developed at the wrong time. It's a shame because it's a really beautiful piece of property.

Golfing at Costa Baja

The marina

View of the Sea of Cortez from Paraiso

Condos at Paraiso Resort

Warren enjoying a Coke at the Beach Club

Infinity Pool at the Costa Baja Beach Club

 

As we come to the end of our Baja journey we want to thank all of you who have taken the time to follow along. It has been an incredible time and we feel truly blessed to have personally experienced it. Before starting out we were warned of the risks and we heeded those warnings. However, now that we’ve done it we would have to say that there is little truth to those rumors. The roads are narrow and the trucks pass you when they shouldn’t but the people are warm and hospitable and the weather can’t be beat. The landscape is so varied and each stop had its own surprise. Our advice to those of you who want a real adventure is if you get the chance to drive the Baja, DO IT! However, we also recommend going with someone who knows where to stop and what to do at those stops. We believe you won’t be disappointed. We definitely were not.  Signing off for now…Adios! The Double Edge Travelers!

Loreto Bay

Our next stop along the Baja was a small town on the Sea of Cortez called Loreto. It is a quaint town with lots of good restaurants and shops. We met the owners of the RV Park and the man arranged for us to hire a boat for the next day to explore the island of Coronado east of the harbor.  On the way around the island we encountered a school of dolphins. Every time we chased them they would dive under the water and disappear. This happened about 3 or 4 times until finally they allowed us to run the boat alongside as they swam around and under the boat. What a spectacular experience! The rest of the boat ride around the island consisted of seeing beautiful rock formations, watching pelicans fishing, interrupting some sun bathing sea lions, and watching a baby Osprey and mom flying around their nest. Then our captain took us to a sandy beach to have lunch and enjoy the sun. It was another amazing day.

Unusual rock formations

Sea Lions bathing in the sun (a little annoyed with us)

Paula and Warren enjoying the ride

Stopped at a nice sandy beach to enjoy our lunch

Pelicans fishing

The rest of the time in Loreto was spent exploring the town. It is the oldest established town on the Baja. The first mission was built  here in 1697. I don’t know if the mission located in the square is the same one that was built back then but it is a very cool building. Also, the square around it is really quaint with shops, restaurants, and a neat old hotel. One night we went to the top floor of the hotel by way of a winding staircase located in the inner courtyard. On the top floor there’s an outdoor patio which has a bird's eye view of the main square. We also discovered a pool on the roof. It was very impressive. The decor was old Mexico with  lots of rod iron and old wood. Beautiful!

The town square of Loreto

The mission church

The trees are shaped to make a tunnel for the walkway

The old hotel with the viewing patio and rooftop pool

One incident that happened while staying in the RV Park (located in the middle of town) was there happened to be a girl’s 15^th birthday party (called a quinceanera). If you know anything about the Mexican culture you know that this is a very important birthday. So, as it happened, the family hired a band, invited all their friends and commenced celebrating the birthday. They had a microphone which they allowed the girl to sing what must have been her favorite song. She probably sang it a half dozen times. Unfortunately she wasn’t much of a singer and the music sounded all the same except for a variation of the tempo. This of course went on until 2 AM! Try sleeping through that. I didn’t work very well. Most everyone woke up the next morning blurry eyed and a little grouchy but we had a great story to tell.

The next stop…La Paz!