Carnaval La Paz is an annual event coinciding with Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras to celebrate Spring and a celebration of all that La Paz has to offer. It dates back to the 1880’s and was originally established as a grand ball for the socially elite. Today, its a 5-day family event with 3 parades, live music, dancing, and lots of fair food (Mexican Style). If you’re thinking funnel cakes and elephant ears you are mistaken.
There were churros, sweet gorditas and elotes. Elotes deserves a description: Elotes is whole kernel corn, but as fair food – Slice a Tostitos bag sideways, use it as a bowl to add corn over the chips, then top that with mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce and queso fresco (Mexican cheese).
There were lots of familiar fair games but with differences. To give you an example, at the shooting gallery you would shoot at old beer and tequila bottles until they were all broken. There was the annual blanket auction, with a Spanish speaking auctioneer, so we never really knew what the auctioneer was saying. Kevin and I were laughing when we saw a big inflatable Bob Esponje (Sponge Bob).
We had our first visitors too. John and Nancy Gallagher from Seattle stayed with us during Carnaval. We ate at some wonderful La Paz restaurants, introduced them to some of our cruising friends, found a roof-top bar to enjoy the parade, and they got to experience a few days in the life of living aboard. We spent a day at El Magote on the beach and soaked up sunshine away from the Seattle snow.
This week’s project for Bev was to make dinghy chaps. This is a tight fitting cover that goes over the pontoons of inflatable dinghy’s to provide protection from the intense sun. Hypalon dinghy’s are susceptible to UV damage and can easily be destroyed by the sun.
Onboard I have my Sailrite sewing machine, 8 yards of Sunbrella fabric, Shelter Rite marine grade vinyl, snaps, grommets and a new hot knife for cutting and searing the edges of the fabric. What I didn’t have was a pattern and canvas shops are unwilling to share their patterns. . . darn! Step 1, make the pattern. I was lucky to have met a fellow sailor on the dock that had worked in a canvas shop and her skills and tricks were amazing!
After 7 days of sewing on my salon table, making several trips up and down the companionway to fit the chaps on the dinghy, and asking Kevin to haul the dinghy out of the water and put it on the dock for me each day, I finally finished my project. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. To make it complete, I sewed an octopus on the bow.
This picture was taken while I was working on an electrical project. I’ve been concerned about my alternator running hot when I use it to charge my new lithium batteries. So I ordered a new more powerful (250 Amp) alternator and brought it back from the US when we returned from Christmas. Since we’re in a marina waiting for our arch to get installed , I figured it was a good time to get the alternator installed except that it wasn’t a super easy drop in replacement. The output of the alternator was in a different place than the original alternator and modifications were required. With the help of friendly cruisers on the dock I was able to make a modification to the output stud of the alternator and use a slightly longer belt to give more room for the connections. All told this took me about a week. 3 1/2 days of work and probably 3 days of running around La Paz looking for one last part.
The picture above shows the space I had to work in. I have to close the door behind me or I can’t get into the engine compartment. I’m standing as far back as I can so my feet aren’t taking up the whole picture. All told I have about 4 square feet to operate in.
Today was a nice day to change the oil in the boat. I had the same size space to work in as pictured above. I don’t really mind changing oil but the spaces are pretty small, diesel engine oil is just filthy and I have to do it within oil flicking distance of a nicely made bed. Imagine doing an oil change 18inches from the pillow on your bed!
Just so it doesn’t sound like all we do is work on the boat – yesterday we took the dinghy across the channel to El Magote (the Mound) and let Riley run on the beach and Bev collected sea shells. Riley got to burn off some energy and we got a nice relaxing day in the La Paz sunshine.
Sergio picked us up from the marina and took us to his stainless steel shop to discuss modifications to the arch. It will provide davits to hang our dinghy, a solar rack to add 400 more watts of solar panels, and a pull up bar for Kevin 🙂
On the way back, Sergio took us to the marine store to help us pick out lights to add. There are some very talented tradesmen here in La Paz and the customer service we have been receiving is incredible.
The Northerly winds have arrived in the Sea of Cortez. The effect of the wind and tide on boats anchored in the bay has been dubbed “The La Paz Waltz”. I would describe it more like a rollercoaster ride rather than a “dance”. What’s nice about traveling by boat is when you want better weather you can just leave and move on.
Unfortunately, we have to wait for Sergio to install the arch before we can move on. He said the arch will be ready on Feb 1st and it will take about 5 days for the installation. We were lucky to find dock space at Marina Don Jose here in La Paz. They were kind enough to move boats around to make space for us. The port has been closed because of the high winds. When the port is closed nobody can leave so no new dock space has opened up.
The dinghy rides back and forth to the boat have been wet and dramatic! At one point Kevin realized that keeping the bow high in a 25 knot headwind could be catastrophic if the dinghy blew over backwards . . . lesson learned.
We are still here in La Paz waiting for our stainless steel arch and solar panel rack to be fabricated and installed.
The arch was brought to the marina on a truck and fitted to the boat last week while we were at the dock. Sergio and his crew took it back to their shop to do further adjustments, welding and polishing. We have reserved dock space at Don Jose Marina for Feb. 6-11 for the installation.
Our reservation at Marina de La Paz expired so we had to move out into the bay. All the marinas down here are full at the moment so they couldn’t extend our stay. We left the marina and anchored on the other side of the bay from the city near the mogote where the mangroves grow. The Northerly winds appeared and when they do they make the sea rough and uncomfortable. After two nights of swinging and rolling we moved to the area pictured above near the naval base. I felt like I was trying to cook and sleep on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland. It’s much more comfortable now because we’re just out of the fetch in La Paz Bay.
To give you an idea of just how rough the sea was we were heading from the boat to the dinghy dock yesterday and Riley loves to be in the front of the dinghy with his paws hanging over the front of the boat. All of a sudden, we hit some big waves and Riley went flying out of the boat. OMG! We panicked! Good thing I was still hanging onto the leash but he was dragging next to the boat in big waves and he looked terrified. We felt terrible and took him back to the boat, gave him a bath and lots of treats. Later in the day, he was ready to hop back in the dinghy. He is a tough sailor!
Being at anchor is a much different lifestyle from being at the dock. For one thing, it means bringing Riley into shore a few times a day but he lets us know when he wants to go. We aren’t hooked to a water faucet so we have to make our own water. At the marina, we were in a slip close to the entrance so people stopped often to introduce themselves and ask questions about our boat. Cruisers are a very friendly and helpful group of people. It was fun to meet new cruisers and share plans of where we’re from and where we’re headed.
It is convenient that we can use the dinghy dock at Marina de La Paz to park our dinghy when we come to shore, dump our garbage, do laundry, or have a drink or dinner at the marina. La Paz is a great area to be stuck but we’ve been here since before Thanksgiving and we’re anxious to leave and explore some new destinations.
The Northerly winds (20+ knots in the bay and 30 knots in the islands) are easing up this week. This is typical for winter in La Paz. It gets unbearably hot here in the summer since this area is in the desert. At least the winter days are warm and we can continue to wear shorts. The locals think 70’s and low 80’s are cold and they are wearing long pants and coats (we definitely stand out as tourists wearing shorts and walking an American dog!) We hear “bonito perro” (pretty dog) quite often.
We plan to leave tomorrow for a few days and head up into the islands. There isn’t a lot to post right now since we are cooling our heels waiting on work to be completed. We will be off and exploring in a few weeks and there will be some exciting experiences to write about.
This is Kevin’s story about our trip to La Paz from Cabo when we were returning from our Christmas trip.
There are a few ways to get to La Paz from Cabo. All seem difficult, but we were told that there’s a bus that can be taken. Big tour bus A/C, reclining seats, inexpensive, takes the same amount of time as other ways so we wanted to try it out. The issue is that we had Riley (no dogs per the bus rules – but no one seems to mind breaking rules here.) And it’s hard to find information about this bus. It’s ‘local’. As a tourist, no one will tell you. They’ll send you to the limo services or taxis.($$$) We also had a crap-ton of luggage 5 bags, an awkward box and Riley’s carrier. My case of travel stress is fully engaged so that’s the setup. Now for the story.
After taking a taxi to the bus station we found on Google maps, I successfully bought tickets for Bev and I in Spanish “Yo necessito dos boletos a La Paz Malecon”. For two of us it was about 19 USD. Cool so far. After waiting for the bus on the steps of the terminal they start loading luggage. Bev is trying to ‘sneak’ the very quiet Riley onto the bus in his little carrier, so she’s ahead of me and shows the bus driver her ticket and boards. I’m trying to ferry luggage through the line (too much luggage to deal with at one time) so I have a big pile that people are going around. (For the next part I have to fill in the blanks with what I think is happening because I barely have enough Spanish to say thanks and buy a coffee…) When it’s my turn I show the bus driver my ticket and he looks at my pile of luggage and asks if it’s all mine. I say “si” and he (I think) tells me I need to pay 75 more pesos to board. I’m freaking out because I’m convinced the bus will leave and I don’t have any money at this point. I gesture around frantically for a moment and and say “un momento…” (one moment), and jumped up the stairs of the bus and looked for Bev. As soon as I see her I say across the bus – possibly not in my quiet voice ” I NEED MONEY!” I hurry over to Bev and get some money with the passengers thinking it’s a hold up. Now all the passengers are in panic mode. Then I jumped back off the bus to talk to the driver. He looks at me and and says “Dos personas?” I say “Si” and he says “Oh equipaje no problema…” (for two people it’s not too much luggage) and I load the luggage! After this I decided I needed a new phrase for occasions like this and I came up with the one I used for a title. Mi esposa tiene todo dinero! (Translation: my wife has all the money). I think it’s pretty proper Spanish and I’ll bet there’s lots of times I’ll be able to use it!
We left the sunny, warm weather of La Paz and headed back to Washington for the holidays only to be met with a snow storm and freezing temperatures. It was quite a shock to our systems! We came to realize while we’ve been traveling we had acquired things that were accumulating onboard that we no longer needed or wasn’t being used much. We have a rule on the boat if something doesn’t serve two purposes it can’t be on the boat (space is at a premium). Needless to say, lots of things were stuffed into bags and taken home only to be replaced with new stuff 🙂
The photo above is our return back to La Paz yesterday. Yes, we found new items that needed to come to the boat:-) We brought several boat parts since some parts are difficult to find in Mexico. We still managed to bring a lot of other stuff that we will need to find a home for on the boat, including Riley. He has been living with Mark until we sailed down the coast and got settled. He is a great traveler! Several modes of transportation and an overnight stay in a hotel are required to get to La Paz. Since Riley is under 15 lbs. we purchased him a ticket to fly in the cabin although he had to be under the seat in a crate but he did fine with it.
One of the items we brought back with us was a folding wagon. I think this is going to be a back saver (Kevin just rolls his eyes)! Trips to the grocery store have become burdensome with carrying groceries in back packs. Sure we could take a taxi or Uber but living on a boat you need exercise so we get in a good walk with 12,000 steps to the Chedraui.
Today Sergio, the stainless steel fabricator, is picking us up to take us to his shop to see the new davits and solar arch he is building for our boat. Once it is complete and installed we will be leaving La Paz and heading North up into the Sea of Cortez.
If you look at a map of the area around La Paz you’ll notice a substantial bay to the North, perhaps 25 miles long with some islands marking the eastern boundary of the bay. In the winter weather patterns switch to northerly winds and this in turn pushes surface water down the Sea of Cortez with some of the nutrient rich surface water being pushed up against the beaches of El Magote (the Mound) just north of La Paz harbor.
Sometime around November, some visitors show up to feast on the small creatures in this nutrient rich water: Whale Sharks. Not just a few Whale Sharks – lots of Whale Sharks. Often these are juveniles about 18-20 feet long. There isn’t many places in the world to see Whale Sharks but they return to La Paz Bay every year.
The Whale Sharks swim slowly just beneath the surface in perhaps 15 feet of water and eat plankton for months, often within sight the beach. Each day 56 permits are issued to snorkel with the Whale Sharks and we went out with some cruising friends, Lance and Sherri.
With a windstorm coming and an expected closure of the La Paz port by noon we were told to meet at 7:20am to board a panga and go find Whale Sharks. By panga – I mean a 25ft open boat holding 13 people and two crew with a 300hp outboard. The swell was already pretty large with a building North wind. By the time we found the Whale Sharks the swell was taking a toll on some of the passengers, but over the last 3 months it seems we’ve become pretty immune to sea sickness so we just enjoyed the sometimes splashy ride. Finally, we found a spot with sometimes 4 Whale Sharks within sight of the boat while we took turns snorkeling.
Our first turn out, I barely caught sight of a tail but the second time the 20 foot Whale Shark was feeding and moving slowly and we were able to swim around and around him. It was incredibly cool! At one point the Whale Shark turned toward Bev and she felt the guide grab her from behind and pull her out of the path of the shark. While we were in the boat a pretty large Whale Shark was cruising along the surface with the top of his large open mouth visible from the boat.
If anyone comes to visit us during the Whale Shark season, this is a must-do activity! Bev and I would definitely go again!
Bev: We left La Paz on Thursday, Dec. 8 and sailed 20 NM to the the national park islands of Espiritu Santo and Partida located in the Sea of Cortez. It is home to 31 species of whales and dolphins, breeding ground for sea lions and marine turles, 210 specifies of birds and 500 species of fish. We are on the hunt for a blue footed booby. On the southern shore of the cove is a blue footed booby rookery. Their nests are built and tucked away into small caves along the rocky cliffs.
It’s difficult to capture how beautiful the turquoise water and white sandy beaches are. The white sand is created by the coral. The water is clear, the air is fresh and the beaches appear untouched. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. There are so many beaches you can claim a beach of your own for the day. The snorkeling is facsinating here with all the sea life and tropical fish. At night we turn on a green underwater light and watch the fish and rays swim towards the light.
We are leaving this beach tomorrow to move North up the island to enjoy another beautiful area. We traveled to this anchorage with two other couples that are also from Washington State who are on their way to Panama and Costa Rica. We have enjoyed getting to know them over the past few months and have had great fun on the beaches with them sharing stories, diving, snorkeling, beach combing, and getting to know one another. Tomorrow, we are leaving this beach and each couple is heading in a different direction.
Kevin: Lance and I hiked the island to the eastern shore. Starting at the beach above we climbed up a rocky gully past Agave plants, scrub, Saguaro cactus, thorn bushes and small trees. Despite how dry the island looks it’s really green and lush as you get closer. Occasionally there was a deep pool in the rock with fresh rainwater in it. Those pools were centers of life in the otherwise dry landscape. It took about an hour and a half to reach the east side of the island and we stood at the top of a cliff looking out into the Sea of Cortez. On the other side is the Mexican mainland of Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
A bittersweet thing about the cruising community is that everyone has a plan but no one has the same plan. After spending time with people you become friends but then may part ways as you travel in different directions. Your friendship still exists but it’s not clear when or if you’ll meet again.
I met Sabrina at the Saturday market in La Paz when I first arrived a few weeks ago. She is such an interesting person who moved here two years ago from Argentina. Her hobby is incorporating powerful stones into the jewelry she makes and she sells her pieces at the Saturday market. She created a bracelet for me (pictured) with a silver obsidian stone. She says the stone shields against negativity and evil and its great for self-confidence, crystal healing and following my inner truth. I am to wear it at all times including in the sea. I’ll keep you posted on how this bracelet is working for me 🙂
We have heard from many sailors in Seattle that if we wanted to get specialized boat work done to wait until we were in La Paz. It’s affordable and they do the best work. This morning, Sergio, the stainless steel designer and welder, came to talk to us about building a stainless steel tower for the back of our boat and incorporating davits to hold the dinghy and an upper rack to hold a couple more solar panels. The customer service here is the best! Sergio took us in his truck (without seatbelts, of course) and drove us to several marinas in the area showing us his work. He also introduced us to many of his past customers that raved about his work. We decided to hire him to do our project but he’s booked for now and will not be able to start until February which means we will be living in La Paz for awhile longer. Fine with us! It’s a great place with friendly people and beautiful weather!
