La Paz: La Paz, Bahía San Gabriel & Puerto Balandra – Beauty & The Beast

Mid-April, 2011 - After a few quiet days in Ensenada de

Los Muertos at the tip of the Baja peninsula we felt

sufficiently recovered from visiting Mazatlan and crossing

the Sea to make our way into another big city: La Paz.

Coupled with Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, La Paz

makes the third urban leg of the triangle joining the Sea

of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean (see Mexico Maps).

The beautiful marinas in each of these cities often keep cruisers

tied to the docks for weeks, as the deliciously comfortable resort

lifestyle makes it hard to untie the lines and move on.  We had

been told repeatedly before we left for Mexico, "Don't spend too

long in Puerto Vallarta like we did," or "We got stuck in Mazatlan

way too long," or "We were trapped in the 'La Paz eddy' and ran

out of time."  Staying out in the anchorages instead of the marinas

throughout our Mexico cruise has kept us mobile, and we planned

a brief visit to La Paz.

As we approached La Paz, motoring down the several mile long

entrance channel, the area seemed bursting with the thrill of new

resorts going up.  A brilliant green golf course defied the brown

desert surroundings while stunning glass plated multi-story

buildings rose from the hills.  Behind a huge unfinished building,

markings on the hillside revealed how the land will be carved up

for future development.  It all pointed to a town flush with hopes

of hosting well-heeled tourists for many years to come.

A massive water slide made our jaws drop, and we could hear

the screams of the kids on one of the slides.

It was nearing the start of

"Semana Santa," or the

Holy Week surrounding

Easter that is Mexico's

major vacation week, and

boats of all shapes and

sizes were heading out of

the channel into the island

playground that is just

beyond the city's limits.

Marina de La Paz has

space at their dinghy dock

for boats that anchor in the bay.  They

are also home to Club Cruceros, a

cruising club that offers a ready-made

community of knowledgeable fellow

cruisers for visiting sailors, complete

with morning coffee hour gatherings

and a very large book exchange.

The heart of La Paz is the malecón, or

seaside boardwalk, that extends for

several miles along the bay.  This is a

wonderful place for both leisurely

strolls and energetic jogs.  The

malecón is dotted with inviting

white wrought iron park benches

and charming sculptures.

A deep love of the sea and a

little bit of whimsy fill each statue,

reminiscent of San Diego's

Urban Trees.  Even the trash

cans are dressed up as sea

creatures.

A huge mural of

the undersea world of the Sea of Cortez incorporates a

sculpture of sea turtles in an intriguing way, and we

found a band of shells strumming instruments a little

further on.

Despite being a

bustling city, you can't

help but slow down

along the malecón and take a breather while looking out at

the many cruising boats anchored in the harbor.

During our stay we had lots of things

on our "to do" list, and we scurried

around town gathering provisions both for the dinner table and the boat.  This was the first

city where we had found a chandlery, Lopez Marine, that not only had all of the items we

needed but was run by a Canadian ex-pat who understood both our language and our

boat's fussy needs.  We had struck out at boat-oriented stores in Manzanillo, Puerto

Vallarta and Mazatlan before this, so we were thrilled to stock up on all the items we had

neglected to bring with us from San Diego.

We also discovered we were definitely in Baja and not on the mainland anymore as we

shopped for the galley and stopped at street-side vendors for snacks.  We had searched

high and low for fish tacos and grilled beef tacos on our travels on the southern mainland,

always coming up empty.  Flour tortillas are nonexistent on menus south of Puerto Vallarta

and aren't available for purchase save for one brand in the supermarkets.  Now we rejoiced in $1.50 grilled beef tacos with all

the fixings, we scarfed a few fish tacos, and grabbed a variety of brands of flour tortillas for the galley.

The richest guy in the world, Mexican communications

tycoon Carlos Slim, also seems to like La Paz.  His

megayacht was in port getting a little window washing

during our stay.

We woke up the day before Good Friday to find the

Mexican Navy in celebration behind us.

Several small Navy ships were anchored just off our stern, flags

flying.  A whole group of Sailors lined up on shore looking very

sharp in their dress whites.

La Paz is an older town, and it has hilly, narrow streets that give it a different, cozier kind of

feeling than other Mexican coastal cities we've visited.  As in the US where so many towns

are beginning to look alike with matching big box stores, Mexico's chains and street vendors

give many of their towns a similar appearance.  Familiar Mexican businesses like Coppel,

Elektra, Comex, Soriana, Comercial Mexicana, Bancomer, TelCel and Banamex show up in

every city, often accompanied by American counterparts like Walmart, Home Depot, KFC,

Office Max, Subway, McDonalds and others.

But the streets of La Paz go up and down,

rather than being wide and flat, and many

seem to be one-way.  Even the street vendors

here seemed to be offering slightly different

wares, including one who was selling

embroidered and knitted goods.

We got a tip from friends that a seamstress in

town makes custom fitted snorkeling suits.

With long sleeves and long legs, these lycra

outfits offer a little bit of warmth

and a lot of abrasion protection.

We visited Katty's house for a

fitting and three days later had

two wonderful new body

suits for less than the

price of a bikini back

home.

As we made our way

back to the boat one

day, a small school of

fish was swarming in

circles under our

friends' boat.

Were they caught

in that infamous La

Paz eddy too?

Hmm... maybe it

was time to leave.

The anchorages in the first 100 miles north of La Paz are considered to be

some of the best in the Sea of Cortez.  We wanted to visit every one, so

we started at Bahía San Gabriel at the southern end of Isla Espiritu Santo.

This pretty bay had us each sighing "ahhhh" all afternoon once the hook

was down.  A noisy frigate bird nesting colony filled the trees along one

part of the shore, and the long white sand beach begged to be walked.

"Tomorrow..." we both said simultaneously, envisioning a quiet kayak ride

to shore and a slow walk-swim-walk together along the water's edge.

From the perfect stillness of the cockpit we watched the sun set in spectacular colors, anticipating a quiet night.  So we were

quite surprised when the boat began to roll mysteriously.  An ominous, low roar gradually filled the air around the boat.

Suddenly the wind began to pick up, sending us into the cabin to get out of the cold and then bringing us back on deck in

alarm as it quickly accelerated over 20 knots.  The boat began to buck and roll, and we watched in awe as the one other boat

in the anchorage, a 65' Swiss flagged yacht, pitched wildly in the growing maelstrom.  We struggled to keep our footing as we

scrambled down below again.  What the heck?

For 15 straight hours the boat jerked violently and the wind bellowed and whistled through the rigging.  We were wide awake

throughout the night, our only comfort being the knowledge that the seven people on the other boat were wide awake too.  By

morning we had read every book on board about the La Paz Coromuel winds.  Good grief.  Who woulda thunk that a heavenly

little tropical anchorage could transform into a nightmarish haunted house and roller coaster ride so fast?  Well, we learned

that it happens every night in the late spring and summer within 40 miles of La Paz.  The word "Coromuel" is the Spanish

pronunciation of the name of British privateer Samuel Cromwell.

This odd, all night phenomenon of absolutely vicious south/southwest winds is caused by hot desert air rising from Baja's

southern tip near La Paz and sucking in the cold Pacific air across the low lands without any mountains to slow it down.  By

11:00 each morning the show is over and the winds vanish, replacing the word "nightmarish" with the word "idyllic" in the

description of every southwest-facing anchorage in the area.  With great optimism, many travel guides dismiss this horror as

"a cool evening breeze," which it may be if you are on a protected patio somewhere.

So the trick in spring and summer near La Paz is to stay only in

those anchorages that have south to southwest protection.  We

found such a spot at Puerto Balandra.

Tucking up under the towering cliffs

to the south, we spent three stunning

days gazing at the white sand

beaches and jade green water, smug

in the knowledge that when the

ferocious winds came at night we would be completely

protected from the huge waves and modestly protected from

the howling wind.

It had been 16 months since we had spent any time in the

Sonoran desert, and it felt wonderful to be back again.  The tall

cárdon cactus, close relatives of our beloved Arizona saguaro

cactus, seemed to reach their arms out to us in a big wave

"hello."  In the distance we heard the familiar chortle of a cactus

wren.  Our sinuses got all crackly again and every towel on the

boat dried out in an hour or so.

Slathered in sunscreen once more, we explored the pristine

beaches by foot and with mask and snorkel.  We spotted a

sunflower starfish under the still, clear water.  From the boat we

could hear the happy voices of kids playing on one of the white

beaches a mile away while the sun baked our bodies.  It

reminded us both of our childhood days -- on Michigan lakes for

Mark and on New England beaches for me.

We hung out in the cockpit every

afternoon, and Mark got inspired to strum a few tunes.

This bay is a perfect weekend getaway for folks in La Paz.  After

a few days of blissful vacation we zipped back into the city for

some final provisions before hitting the remote and largely

uninhabited islands to the north in the Sea of Cortez where our

first discoveries were Isla Partida's Ensenada Grande and then

Isla San Francisco.

Find La Paz and Puerto Balandra on Mexico Maps.