When Captain Joe and I arrived to La Paz, it was Sunday afternoon at the marina and the main office was closed. We were required by law to check in with our passports but apparently they don't care on Sundays, we didn't care either. We were pretty hungry after the trip so the Captain locked up the boat and we went to the marina restaurant to eat.
La Paz was exactly that, peaceful. Paz means peace in Spanish and the first colonists who came up with the name weren't lying. It struck me right away that it was too peaceful, no action at all.
We had two more days before our flight back to Portland so there was plenty of time to explore La Paz, Captain Joe was tired and went to sleep early but I decided to check out the Malecón. Later I would discover after arriving to Mazatlán that most all the coastal cities in Mexico have an "El Malecón", the road and walkway that goes along the coast.
El Malecón in La Paz was very busy, mostly with kids riding their skateboards and bikes all over the place. After awhile it was a little annoying being constantly buzzed by speeding children, so I decided to buy some alcohol and sit on the beach and have a celebratory drink.
I went into an Oxxo, the 7-11 of Mexico, where they had beer, wine, and hard liquor. Since I had very little money until my next check, I opted for some cheap liquor. To my surprise they had these little plastic jugs of distilled mezcal for less than a buck. Right away I knew these were Mexico's answer to America's malt liquor, alcohol designed specifically for getting fucked up and at the cheapest price aimed at the poor people market. I bought the medium, 20 ounce sized bottle for a dollar fifty.
I walked towards the beach and sat on a bench right off El Malecón, the splash of the waves and music from somewhere behind me made it a pleasant experience. I cracked open the plastic jug and took a swig, whoaa it was strong. After only two swigs I was numb, numb enough to explore a little more without being irritated by hoards of children. What I really needed was some weed, but I was too paranoid to go around asking for it. There were no obvious street dealers hanging out on corners like other cities I've been to, La Paz is heavily patrolled by both state and federal police as well as armed marines who are stationed there. La Paz is of great interest to Mexico because of its high touristic value, Mexico has to protect it for the revenue La Paz brings in.
As I walked, I checked out the nightlife along El Malecón but since it was Sunday it was dead. I did see potential because of the several bars everywhere, one in particular looked like my kind of techno disco sort. The places that were open mostly play the popular Musica Banda, not really what I can get into. The Mezcal went to my head quick and since there was no action around I headed back to the boat to sleep.
The next day I was not hungover, and eager to start the day. Captain Joe and I went to the marina's main office to check in with our passports, the lady behind the counter was pleasant and didn't bother to look at our passports. The Captain checked his boat in and paid the required fees, we were in and out in under 5 minutes.
I wish I had a camera at this time, since my tablet broke I didn't have any way to take pictures. Ug, not only was that a pain but I was cutoff from the world with easy internet access. It wasn't until recently since I've gotten a replacement and an independent camera.
Captain Joe wanted to get started right away with his boat, so we made our inquiries at the repair ports nearby. My Spanish was finally starting to come in handy because nobody spoke English. We set up a future appointment for the equipment necessary to do the work and we were done. If it weren't for my Spanish the whole process would have taken forever.
The next day as Captain Joe prepared his gear to go back to The United States, I decided that I didn't want to go back yet. La Paz was nice and I wanted to see a little more of it, but I especially wanted to see more of Mexico. I found a cheap place to stay for a week then bought a ticket on the Bajaferry, a large ferry that took me from La Paz to Mazatlán. I've never even heard of Mazatlán before, to me it was just a way point as I traveled deeper into the country.
I would end up staying here in Mazatlán, even as I write this now. I fell in love with this place and got settled right in. I don't plan on living here always from here on out, but Mazatlán is going to be another home for me.
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