The Trip to La Paz

N 24*07.822 W 110*20.515 After saying goodbye to Jan, Jim, Jill and Doug, probably for the last time, we left Juncalito just before 9 this morning and made our way to La Paz, about 200 miles south. The first 50 miles went up into the same mountains we had been looking at in the west for the last few days. At the top of the pass, we entered a long flat plain that continued for over 100 miles. About half of this area was agricultural land with two modern, if uninspiring, towns. The rest was high desert with cactus and an occasional burro. We’ve checked into the RV Casa Blanca, a campground in La Paz with full facilities, and grabbed quick showers. We headed into town and walked the malecon (the waterfront pedestrian walkway) for three hours, just orienting ourselves. Our impression of La Paz, a city of about 150,000, is very positive. The city has obviously put a lot of effort into making the malecon a very pleasant place, and it seems well used by both visitors and residents (unlike the one in Loreto, which seemed to be sort of grafted onto the town). The other parts of the city, that we saw driving in and out, looked prosperous compared to much of what we’ve seen in the rest of Baja. We hope to spend some time in the downtown area tomorrow after we take care of a few logistics like laundry and groceries. The malecon is a “runner-friendly zone”. We saw runners there this evening (Mexicans, not tourists – the first we’ve seen in the country – apparently an urban phenomenon), and the books say there are lots of folks there exercising in the mornings. We’re going to try that out tomorrow morning. We came back to the RV Park and cooked the chorizo (sausage) we bought at the Loreto market Sunday and added some white cheese, onions, avocados and hot sauce, trying to recreate those taco/pizza things we ate at the market. Our dinner was excellent, but it wasn’t up to the “real thing”. The photos are from our walk on the malecon. February 11, 2009