Winding Down La Paz

We are on our last four days here in La Paz.  We had a great time - good friends were here with us for most of it - they went back to Ensenada a couple days ago.  It was the first time Mike and I were on a vacation with friends and we really enjoyed it.  We tend to be a little solitary, so to have it work nicely like this was a new and wonderful experience.  Today is Saturday - we take the ferry 13 hours to Mazatlan on Tuesday.  I am looking forward to it - we sprung for a cabin so we could lie down if we felt like it. 

Since we have been here, the weather has finally been warm enough to swim at the beach!  Actually, I said that wrong.  It hasn't been a need for warmer water that kept us out of the ocean, it is the water temperature.  La Paz is on the Sea of Cortez, where the water is warm.  Mazatlan is on the Pacific Ocean, which has colder water.  And believe me, these Sea of Cortez beaches are just like what you see in travel ads - beautiful turquoise water and light sands.  I stayed in the water the other day until my fingers were wrinkled.  You can see fish swimming away from you and shells on the bottom because the water is so clear.  I could go on and on, but I won't.  You get the idea. 

Today we are going to take the car and just drive around the southern part of the baja pennisula - maybe a drive to Cabo for old times sake!  Yesterday we drove to a town called Todos Santos and had dinner.  Todos Santos is an artist's community located on the Pacific ocean side of the penninsula. It is a beautiful place and the food was good.  We ate at the Hotel California.  The ocean water was cold, so we chose not to go swimming.  The beaches there are beautiful though - miles of sand and surf without interruption. 

I really miss the boat and am more than ready to get home to it.  We have the new watermaker to install - and if we get there soon enough, the guy who sells these things will still be on his boat in the Mazatlan Harbor if we run into difficulties with the installation.  I don't really anticipate Mike having any problems with the job, however.  Here's hoping!  But after that watermaker is installed, we plan to go back up here and spend a month at some islands offshore here.  I am looking forward to the peace and quiet of a lonely anchorage for awhile! 

Well, I have to get going.  I will try and do a better post later on - I have been pretty lazy lately.