Day 98: La Paz, Mexico

It was still pitch dark outside when we first awakened, but we could see lights in the distance, confirming that we were nearing La Paz. Due to last night's time change, we were up and at 'em early, and off the ship as soon as it docked just before 7am, to take photos of the hills/mountains surrounding the port. I love the arid beauty of the American Southwest, and La Paz very much resembles Arizona and New Mexico...if they were surrounded by sea. Unfortunately, the ship docks at a freight pier, so the first impression of the immediate area is not quite so picturesque. The hillsides were carved out to build up land on which to construct  the pier, and it's a bit like docking in a quarry. But, oh, that orange sunrise in a cloudless blue sky more than made up for it. 

 

 

 

We reboarded the ship and enjoyed breakfast in the Club Restaurant (our days of full breakfast service are dwindling down). After that morning pill taking activity, we walked off the ship again...and right to one of the vendors set up by the terminal. Some silver jewelry had caught G's eye when he first disembarked, and he was in a gifting mood today. I left sporting a new bracelet,  ring, pendant and earrings and love them all. It's kind of like a slightly belated birthday present!

The port was offering two free shuttle services today, since it really is located in the middle of nowhere. First, luxurious motor coaches had been driven up from Cabo San Lucas (complete with WiFi!) and these were making the 17-mile drive into the town of La Paz. Then, some shuttle vans were making the 20-minute drive in the other direction to Tecolate Beach. Not that it was beach weather- it was beautiful and sunny and in the high 60s- but the photos of the beach on display were nice, and the beach itself looked endless. We opted for the beach, and just the two of us were driven there in a van and dropped off at a pair of very rustic beach bars. 

 

 

 

 

The water (this was the Gulf of California, or the Sea of Cortez) was a brilliant bright blue color, clear and placid. Though the beach was a little rocky; it was extremely walkable. We first settled in at a bar and each had a Pacifico beer and soaked up the solitude. Just across the water was Isla Espírito Santo, which looked uninhabited. I think it's a nature preserve. After awhile we decided to walk the full length of the beach. And as we got to the other end, we saw for the first time a handful of motor homes scattered on the wide beach. We were greeted by two couples, one from Washington Stqte and the other from Canada who were traveling together. They said they spend several months each winter in the area and that was their favorite beach. They can camp there for free but once a week or so they pay to camp in La Paz to empty their sewage and get water and do laundry. We talked with them for quite awhile before we continued on our walk. 

 

 

  

The most interesting campers were a couple with young kids from Lithuania who were camping in an old school bus, but there was another guy from Germany camping in a van. The beach was so long and wide that they all had lots of space but apparently do socialize each evening and have a big campfire on the beach. It sounded like the kind of vacations we took when we were first married. We had a blast then, but I'm not certain I'd want to be bathing in the Sea of Cortez these days. 

We made our way back down to the end of the beach where the couple of beach bars were located and drank a second beer. We kept an eye on the area where the shuttle van had dropped us off; we hadn't seen another come by yet, and there were no fellow passengers (or anyone else) on the beach at that end. But just before 1:30pm, a van did show up and we took it back to the port terminal. Without even getting back on the ship we decided to take the large bus into La Paz, and at that time of the afternoon we were the only passengers doing that. It took almost 30 minutes to get there, and, once there, we only had about an hour to walk around. I was hoping to get some fish tacos but we didn't see a restaurant offering them on the main drag. There was a local craft fair taking place (color me shocked) and, interestingly, a few classic cars on display, including three old Ford Broncos (one of which could have been once owned by G).  But by 3pm we were taking the (completely full) bus back to the port. I'm glad we spent most of our day at the beach. I think it was much more enjoyable. 

 

 

We returned to the terminal just in time to see some local folkloric dancing and then reboarded the ship. It was nearly 4pm and we were starved...and tired. We decided to skip dinner in the Club Restaurant (it was the Chefs Menu) and instead just enjoy sailway and sunset from the Panorama Buffet. It was too chilly to sit on the Panorama Terrace (weep!) but we kept going out there to take photos. The ship sailed shortly after 4:30pm and passed close to land, offering gorgeous views of the craggy mountain peaks. We saw a beautiful sunset and then continued grazing the buffet and talking with fellow passengers until after 7:30pm. The entertainment tonight was a cellist and vocalist duo called Brendan and James, but we were still wearing our clothes from the day and didn't have the energy to get cleaned up or attend the show. Instead we are tucked into bed early tonight, watching videos on TV. 

 

 

 

I think tomorrow will be a yoga pants and fleece pullover day. Even today we were chilly when we weren't in the sun. But hopefully the payoff will be some whale sightings. Captain D said the weather should continue to be good until we are almost in LA, when he is expecting some swells again. But he said that he is going to try to increase our speed while the ocean is fairly flat, so that if the swells arrive early, we will be earlier. 

We will really miss sailing with Captain D. He is aces in our book. :-)

Day 101: La Paz

When was the last time we did something for the first time?  Several times today! Our excursion today ranks right up there with ATVs in Moorea and jet skies in Bora Bora and climbing Mt. Tapioi on Raiatea as one of our most adventurous of the winter. I wonder if it will leave me as achy as all those did over the next few days, and I suspect it will. Medicated with Vitamin I, we are tucked into bed right after dinner again tonight. 

We set an alarm for 6:30am today, then slept through it until 7am. Finally, it was only the need to get out of bed to grab my iPad to photograph the beautiful sunrise on the bridgecam and shown on our TV that got us going.  Despite our best intentions, it was another day of a bacon, egg and cheese muffin and coffee from the IC, grabbed while we waited with Suzan and Greg for the Grand Princess to be cleared in La Paz, located on a peninsula in the Sea of Cortez. Suzan commented that she had read my blog entry from yesterday and noticed it just kind of trailed off at the end. Yes, five margaritas will have that effect on a blog post. I vowed to remain abstemious today (and very nearly succeeded).

Sunrise as seen on the Grand Princess bridgecam

We met up with Grant, Carol, Phil and Jan on the pier. Carol had arranged a tour for us today through Kayak Baja (www.kayakbaja.com) to swim with sea lions at Isla de Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez. This was the first visit to La Paz for all of us, so we weren't certain exactly what to expect. The Grand Princess docked at a freight area about 20 minutes north of the town of La Paz, and we were met by a shuttle arranged by the excursion company and driven to their office in town. The landscape was very Arizona-like, with rolling brown hills and an abundance of tall cacti. Once at the Kayak Baja office, we were told that the water temperature would be in the mid-60s (ouch!) and were fitted with wetsuits by our guide for the day, Benjamin. Now, I am not a fan of long sleeved wetsuits (talk about claustrophia!), but to swim with sea lions, I endured squeezing into one (actually, being squeezed into one). Once we were geared up and wearing life jackets, we walked a short block down to the waterfront where we boarded our boat. 

The day was bright and sunny but never warm. I had kept my wetsuit on, simply because I could not bear the thought of pulling it on a second time, and was soon glad for its warmth. We met our captain, Armando, and that's when we first heard the news that it would be about a 90 minute boat ride to the sea lions. Oh joy... While we were in the harbor at La Paz, it wasn't too rough, but as soon as we reached more open water, it got seriously bouncy. We bounced across the water, enjoying the rock cliff scenery and willing our travel time to pass quickly.

We swung into a frigate bird sanctuary where Benjamin explained to us that frigate birds got their name from pirate ships, as, like pirates, they are always stealing other birds' food. The rocks were white from guano, and the birds were a little stinky.

We continued on, doing our best to protect our spines and necks and stay warm, until we finally reached the island covered with lounging sea lions. Actually, we smelled them before we saw them. There were dozens of them, males and females with nursing babies that were so cute. I wasted no time, because sitting on a bobbing boat is not my favorite thing to do, and did a backward roll off the side of the boat into the water. Gasp!  It was so cold it momentarily took my breath away, but Benjamin encouraged us to get moving to warm up, and he was right. I peeked my head under the water and was amazed at its clarity. It was about 40 feet deep and crystal clear down to the ocean floor. I was surprised to see lots of colorful fish; somehow I thought it would be too cold for them. But it was breathtaking to see the first sea lion race by within feet of me. Up close, they were huge, and moved much faster than I'd imagined they would. 

I was soon joined by Suzan, Carol and Jan, but didn't realize until I was back in the boat later that not a single guy got in the water, except Benjamin, of course. I eventually asked G to throw me his scuba hood; its warmth helped ease putting my ears in the water, and I did finally acclimate to the temperature. It never felt totally comfortable, but it was bearable. We stayed there until we got uncomfortably chilly, and witnessed some male aggressiveness under the water that showed that the sea lions did have some sharp teeth. 

Male aggressiveness

A nursing baby sea lion

Once we were back in the boat, we spotted several nearby manta rays jumping straight up and out of the water, which generally means they are unnerved by a predator in the water. It was about a 15-minute ride back to a long stretch of beach where Armando pulled the boat in close to shore and we waded the short distance to the sand. There, Armando and Benjamin set up a table and served lunch:  ham and cheese sandwiches, ceviche, avocado and chips and cookies. Suzan, Phil and G had walked over to a nearby store this morning from the Kayak Baja office and purchased some local beers and we washed down our lunch with those, very refreshing and not nearly as potent as yesterday's margaritas. 

After lunch, Phil and Benjamin went kayaking while the rest of us enjoyed the warmth of the sun on the beach. About 2:45pm we reboarded the boat, not looking forward to that rough ride back. Fortunately, we didn't have to go as far south as La Paz; the boat dropped us back at the ship, and that took only about 45 minutes. Still, we were glad to see the smokestacks of the Grand Princess appear behind a hill, indicating that we were getting close. 

We all met up in a hot tub on the back of Deck 16, warming up and soaking weary muscles, and we stayed there until it was time to get ready for dinner. G and I shared a very quiet meal, listened a bit to Los Briliantes, the mariachi band on board (they are really good!) playing in the Piazza, then got fuzzy water and returned to the cabin. G was asleep in five minutes, and I will be, too, as soon as this blog post is published. 

We're in Loreto tomorrow, another first for us, but have no firm plans for the day. Our two days in Mexico have been tough ones, in entirely different ways. It may be time for a beach day, or a walk on the Maleçon, the beachfront boardwalk in most coastal Mexican towns.