29 Years

La Paz, Mexico
February 22, 2015

Happy Anniversary to us! Twenty-nine terrific years! When we woke up there were balloons on our doorway, and a poster, and we got a Happy Anniversary card "from the Captain and Crew."

No photos of La Paz today. Our camera broke. This is our 4th or 5th camera in the last 5 years. There are some black zig-zaggy pieces that cover the lens when the camera is turned off and they are supposed to retract when you turn the camera on. Now they won't retract all the way.

We docked at Pichilingue at 7 am. The ship will be sailing at 2 pm, so we'll have to be back by 1:30. Pichilingue is the port for La Paz, more or less. It is 10+ miles from La Paz. There is NOTHING at the port. It is industrial and it is the ugliest port we have ever been in. Most ports have some place where you can walk around. This one has about a 50-foot walkway with maybe 4 booths on each side selling touristy junk.

Even though La Paz didn't sound all that interesting, we don't want to be the ugly Americans who make a snap judgment that a place isn't worth seeing. We don't want to be the kind who don't even bother to get off the ship. There must be some reason why the ship stops here, right?

Princess provides a free shuttle into town. It is an older motorcoach with bad shocks and minimal air conditioning. It takes us 35 minutes to get to La Paz. There are lots of speed bumps along the way. When we get to the main highway we fall in behind a lengthy caravan of gigantic motorhomes heading south. Most of them are towing cars behind them. Americanos!

In La Paz we are dropped off by the central square. La Paz is bigger than Loreto, more of a desert, and not as nice - by a longshot. I think the "broken windows" theory may be at work here. Broken-Window-Theory There is a lot of trash and graffiti. Many of the buildings need a lot more than a coat of paint.

Across the square is the main cathedral. It is not that impressive from the outside. It is less than 200 years old. It is made of blocks of red coral and probably some other types of coral or stone. The inside was nice. It has a very high vaulted ceiling, made from wood and painted in a cream color with dark highlights. You can look at the cathedral and its ceiling and stained glass windows and read the plaque in 5 minutes. If your camera is not broken it might take as long as 8 minutes.

We decide to walk down to the Malecon and wander along the beach. We walk along crumbling sidewalks spattered with black spots (chewing gum, I think). About a block before we get to the Malecon we notice a carnival ride over the top of a building. When we reach the street running along the beach we are surprised to encounter HUGE crowds. It turns out that it is Carnival week. There are all kinds of booths along the road for several blocks. Today's Carnival is especially for children and there are families everywhere. The booths are selling rides, food, toys, and costumes. A popular toy for boys is a machine gun. They are also selling those blow-up toys on a stick. The airplane version says "Pan Am." How long has it been since Pan Am was around?

It isn't anything like our experience of Carnavale in Brazil; it is much more family oriented. There is some music and lots of hubbub. Some of the kids are really cute.  

We walk down to a large statue of a priest and a bird (no plaque) and sit down for a while watching the endless parade of canivaliers. (I just made up that word.) I watch a man from our ship stub out his cigarette and leave it in the little patch of dirt at the base of the priest statue, right in front. I thought that was very disrespectful, but it's usually better not to start a confrontation, so I'm just venting my disgust here. 

A whale skull at the Whale Museum

Back to the bus for the long ride back. This one has broken seats - permanently reclined, no air conditioning, a window that has separated from its frame, and a microphone that doesn't work very well. A young lady tries to give us a tour on the drive back, but between her accent and the bad microphone, I only get about half of it. The gist of it is that La Paz is a wonderful place to live.

Conclusion:  I'm not sure it was worth the long ride into town. If there had not been a carnival it really would have been disappointing. It was Sunday and a lot of things were closed. It was too early for lunch. It was too early in the day to go to a beach - not warm enough yet. I would not want to come back here.

I understand that there is a wonderful beach called Balandra Beach in the other direction from the town. It is a $20+ taxi ride away. I would be concerned about getting a taxi when we wanted to return to the ship. I don't know what kind of facilities are available at Balandra. There are some good areas for snorkelers and divers at Balandra and at an island nearby, but that doesn't interest me.

One of the reasons we took this particular cruise is that we had never been to Loreto and La Paz and thought it would be fun to visit some new places. If I came to La Paz again, I might try to go to Balandra, but I probably would not get off the ship.

Rhetorical questions that occurred to me when I was back on the ship people-watching again: What looks worse - wearing your fanny pack in front or in back? Where is your camera when you need it?