March 22, 2009 Walking the Malecon in La Paz

We awoke to cool breezes blowing through our room. Needed to wear a fleece jacket for the next couple of hours. How delightful!! Casual breakfast in the kitchen/dining area of Casabuena. We helped ourselves to cold cerels and pastries, tea and coffee. Everyone in our group got acquainted at sometime over the next hour.

By nine o'clock, jackets were packed away, sunscreen applied, and we were on our way to explore La Paz. Some planned to take a sightseeing tour, others went to church. I , with several others, took a long walk along the Malecon (a wide pedestrian walkway) along the turquoise colored, Sea of Cortez. My guess is that we walked three miles each way. Our destination was an Art Show at the Marina. There was a cool breeze which made the walk very comfortable.

The art show was local art....by ex-pats.....not Mexicans. Being that it was at the Marina where those with mucho dinero dock their yachts.....prices were a bit ..... a lot.....high. It was fun to look. Most of the artists were ex-pats from Canada and the US. The art show was for a good cause.... high school scholarships for local students.

Temperatures were climbing........ shade was becoming sparse as the sun rose in the sky. By noon, Rachel, June, Carol and I were ready to eat lunch. I remembered a promising seaside restaurant that we had passed earlier. Had spoken to the waiter who promised seafood would be served at lunchtime. We returned to "El Kiwi" and were not disappointed. Our table was in a shaded area outdoors with a refreshing breeze. We each tried a different dish and all were very satisfied. I had the camarones ajo (garlic shrimp). Our waiter was friendly and the whole experience was a good one.

We wanted to see the main street of town so we walked to the main plaza opposite the church. There were a few old men on benches and three large shoeshine stands. On one corner was a coffee house for gringos and opposite this a large ice cream shop. The street parallell to the Malecon had many shops.....some open on Sunday. Sidewalks and streets were crumbled so we needed to keep our eyes on the ground in front of us.

One day in La Paz is plenty. We saw much of the city.....a real working city for Mexicans in spite of the many tourists.

My last trip to La Paz was fifteen years ago. There definitely are more tourists at this time. I see more condominiums, and where there is growth....there is Walmart. La Paz is a good jumping off place for sea kayaking....but, I would not want to spend much time here.