Impressions of La Paz

As I related in the previous posting, one of my very first impressions of La Paz wasn’t all that good. Being stuck on a sandbar in the harbor does not do a lot to make me feel warmly disposed. However, that has fast dispelled. I will start with the cruiser scene since that’s what I saw first.

For starters – the weather here has been wonderful. It is a bit on the warm side and getting warmer but there is lots of sun, clear, sparking water and blue sky – much like Hawaii. It calls to me to relax, be happy. Moving back from the waterfront, it rapidly gets warmer and more arid looking. This is a desert even though it is surrounded by water.

I was fortunate to have my friends on Rocket Girl here to give me a few quick clues about the way things are here. For starters, there is the big party line in the sky. Most people monitor VHF channel 22A. It is used as a calling frequency with conversations held on other channels. A typical hook up on 22A starts out with something like “Wanderer, Wanderer. Laelia.” If Wanderer is listening he/she responds “Laelia. Wanderer. 65 and up.” That means that I should shift to channel 65 and call again. If that channel is in use, got to channel 66, etc. A certain amount of eavesdropping goes on – not that anyone would be silly enough to carry on an intimate conversation – but there is a lot of interesting activity in the harbor.

Mornings, except Sunday, there is a cruiser’s net (network) that meets on 22A – probably the only exception to using the channel for hailing. The net is run by someone on one of the boats here. It starts with asking for anyone with emergency, medical or priority traffic. This is when you jump in and ask for help with your salmonella, appendicitis, etc. Following that (not in this exact order) there is mail call – the local marinas and other common mail drops announce the mail they are holding. There is a swap and trade segment. Foreigners are not allowed to sell things in Mexico but there is a suspicious amount of trading going on for “coconuts.” There is a segment for people wanting rides or going someplace and willing to take passengers – another for help wanted/help needed. Another segment is for announcements about events of interest to the cruising fleet. The net wraps up with a call for general messages – anything that didn’t get handled so far.

Preceding the net, there is a discussion group meeting on another channel to hash over current events. The moderator reads off something that he probably pulled up on Google. People may make comments. The comments range from thoughtful and intelligent to clueless. Still, it tends to be interesting. Participants may also bring up any news item that they think may be of interest.

The community here in Marina de La Paz seems divided into two fairly distinct segments. There are the active cruisers and the long-term live-aboards. The long-term live-aboards tend to be older and somewhat cliquish. The cruisers are mostly here in the marina for a month or less to make repairs and get organized to move on. The cruisers tend to be more gregarious and quick to offer help.

Overall though, the atmosphere here in the marina is relaxed and friendly. I enjoy it.

But I didn’t come all this distance to live in the marina. My first expedition out was a simple walk down the Malecon (boardwalk). La Paz is justifiably proud of its Malecon. The water is clear and inviting. The beaches are white sand. There is a wide, undulating sidewalk behind a knee high wall separating the beach and the Malecon.

There are interesting statues ranging from a very new creation of a mirrored pearl in an open shell...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...to a mermaid hanging onto a dolphin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...to a very puzzling statue of a man wearing what looks like a small boat sideways at his waist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite this being the tourist section of a town that is a tourist destination, people on the Malecon are overwhelmingly Mexican in appearance. There is a small percentage of people (like me) who are obviously tourists enjoying the sights. People look relaxed, happy and prosperous middle class in appearance.

Oddly enough, even though the traffic is fairly heavy on the street paralleling the Malecon, there are no traffic lights. Some intersections have four way stop signs – some don’t. Despite that, traffic flows smoothly. I have heard only a two horns. One appeared to be friend honking at friend – light taps on the horns. The other was someone who obviously unhappy with another driver at a four way stop. The car doing the honking was coming from the marina street so he may well have been an impatient, rude Norteamericano.

The far side of the street is lined with shops, restaurant, hotels and other small businesses. A surprising number of the hotel-like structures appear to be unused. A fair number of the small shops are empty – some boarded up. It is an odd contrast of bustle and ruin.

There are sidewalk vendors and taxi drivers hanging about looking for business but for the most part they are fairly reserved by the standards of the run of the mill USA beach front. The only time I have been approached by one of the taxi drivers was when I was walking back to the boat after shopping. I was carrying a backpack full of food and a shopping bag with some more items. A simple “No, gracias” was all it took to discourage him.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping for the first time. I decided to walk some of the streets a few blocks back from the Malecon. The first thing I noticed was that the city of La Paz seems to have put street signs at a low priority. Only about one out of four intersections have any sort of sign proclaiming the names of the streets.

 

 

 

I would have to say that sidewalks very much appear to be an afterthought. For the most part, they exist but they range from unpaved paths to narrow concrete slabs to elegant, wide, tile paved spaces.

The commercial and residential district are not rigidly separated in this section of town. A car repair shop stands on a corner flanked by residences. There are numerous vacant structures – maybe one out of five. Some appear to have been unused for quite some time. The structures are mostly concrete slab so they are not tumble-down – just unpainted and dilapidated looking.

When I reached one of the busier streets, the buildings were mostly shops with apartments and offices on the upper floors. Again, there were a surprising number of unoccupied shops and some entire buildings.

All along my walk I met people who smiled and greeted me. In front of many of the shops, a portion of the staff were standing and conversing with other shop keepers, by passers and friends. The overall impression was still one of friendly, happy people in no hurry.

The Super Mercado (super market) resembled the small grocery stores of the 50’s. It was not large – perhaps a quarter of the size of the average Safeway. The aisles were narrow. There was a surprisingly good selection of vegetables and fruits. Canned and bottled goods were similar to the ones we find in supermarkets but only one or two different brands of each item. The staff was friendly and tolerated my attempts at Spanish with smiles. It all worked out.

On my way home from the Super Mercado, I picked up a small, free English language newspaper that appears to be sponsored mostly by the local realtors who are selling to the gringo market. There was a long column bemoaning the fact that the big box stores are pushing out the smaller, family owned stores. Just off-hand, I know that Sam’s Club, WalMart and Costco are here along with Sears and Home Depot. An old, small store might have a limited selection of goods, but there were a lot of stores and a buyer could eventually find the desired item. This is being replaced by the big stores that have wide selections, well organized displays and fast service. Sounds a lot like small-town USA from the 70’s to now.

Overall, I would have to say that I like La Paz a lot. I might not want to be here later in the summer, but for now, the weather is wonderful. People are friendly, they smile a lot, they don’t appear to be in a big hurry. La Paz has the reputation of being the second safest city in the Americas. No drug wars are going on here. It is a tourist destination but not intensely so. When I got a few blocks back from the beach area, people appeared to be almost entirely Mexican. The stores looked like they catered to locals – not tourists.

I wonder what it would be like to live here a year – see the city through the seasons, improve my Spanish, get to know more of the residents. Who knows – it might be hard to return north after that.