Lazy in La Paz

Long drive from Loreto, the group took about 5 and a half hours. We are staying at a very nice RV park north of town called Campestre Marantha, right on hiway 1. Plenty of room to park, well kept, a pool and an outdoor kitchen, excellent. Run by an American ex-patriate. The group enjoyed a margarita and snacks on arrival. The next day, most had a relaxing morning exploring town or at the park, while we set up restaurant arrangements and pre-ran the exit to Cabo. In the evening, we carpooled to a nice restaurant right on the water, and watched the sunset while we enjoyed dinner together. 

At 9 this morning, January 28, we all boarded a tour bus with guide and driver for a city tour of La Paz. We started at a weaving factory which makes and sells hand woven sarapes, tablecloths, and rugs. They use cotton and wool, and their equipment looks like something you would see at the re-enactment at Jamestown. 

Next stop, the mission. La Paz is the capitol of Baja California Sur, and a city of nearly 300,000. If you can't find it here, you can't find it in Baja. Walmart, Sam's Club, Home Depot, etc. A nice street on the waterfront is the place to be at night. The mission here took 83 years to complete, as you can see from the various colors of stone and different masonry on the tower.

Our tour continued to the Ibarra Pottery Shop. Mr Ibarra opened it some 50 years ago, and still works there, along with his daughters and grandkids. All pottery is hand-made, hand-painted, and double fired. Glaze and paint are lead-free. We couldn't resist picking up a few pieces. Virtually all his wares are sold from his shop here in La Paz.

                                      below is Ibarra's 11 year old grand-daughter, working with the moulds.

Off to the market, where we walked through the fish shop, butcher shop, and vegetable stands. Bill bought some fresh cheese to share at happy hour.

Now to the whale museum, where we learned that 80 per cent of the marine animal life on the planet spends time in the Gulf of California at some time or other. We saw the skeleton of a blue whale, grey whale, and a killer whale. Blues are BIG!

At a waterfront restaurant for lunch, we enjoyed tacos (of course!) including marlin, shrimp, lobster, yellowtail, squid, and so on. Yum. Jim and Bill made a new friend!

Tomorrow, we head toward Cabo, and camp on the beach for 4 days, so probably no internet for a while. Hope you are all enjoying this as much as we are!