That's My Story

LA PAZ LIVING – Published Jan. ’05 – MSNBC

For the 3rd time in the last ten minutes, Bill Johnson buried and re-buried his feet in the warm white sand of Tecolote Beach and sighed again as he squinted out over the flat turquoise waters. Leaning back in the white plastic beach chair, he looked at his wife in her own beach chair and, even then, accepting another frosty umbrella-tipped marguerita from their mesero (waiter).

“I feel like I’m part of a Corona Beer commercial sitting here,” said Bill. “I have half-a-mind to send a digital photo back home to the guys at work where I hear it’s cold and raining,” he added with a grin.

“This was a great and easy get-away idea,” smiled Sherri Johnson from behind her sunglasses inhaling the fresh tartness of the icy lime-flavored concoction then laying down to let the sun warm her back. “Here the all the snow is in your glass instead of on your driveway,” she joked.

If you mention the “Mexican Riviera” to most people, images of Puerta Vallarta, Acapulco and maybe even Cabo San Lucas come to mind. Yet most would be hard-pressed to find La Paz on the map, let alone know were to find the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.

However, just a quick two-hour flight south of Los Angeles, this sleepy colonial city of 150,000 friendly folks sits serenely on the Sea of Cortez nestled next to the warm waters of the Bay of La Paz. At the southern tip of the 1000-mile long finger peninsula knows formally as Baja California, Mexico (Lower California) the city is slowly being discovered laughingly as “The anti-Riviera.”

“This is so different from other Pacific Coast Mexican destinations,” explained one first-time visitor. “It’s not so ‘touristy’ and more like Mexico 50 years ago without all the high-rises and tourist traps.”

Indeed a walk down the waterfront “malecon” reveals white sand beaches bordered by colorful side-walk cafes and restaurants. Palm trees and thatched umbrellas line the beach where there is a distinct lack of hustle and bustle characteristic of so many other popular Mexican populations. A guitarist strolls by. A local family picnics on the beach. A young Mexican couple peddles by on bicycles giggling and waving at a white-uniformed police officer also astride a bike who waves back and blows his whistle.

Marjorie Duncan of Oregon was out for an afternoon stroll. This was here 4th visit to La Paz and she makes a point of always getting some fresh made local Mexican ice-cream. “It’s the BEST mango ice cream on Earth!” she explained between big spoonfuls. “They make it by hand here and people come from all over to just get ice creams and sit and watch the world and all the sailboats go by. Everyone is friendly. There are hardly any tourists and unlike other places I have visited, no one keeps trying to sell me time-shares!” she added with a laugh.

It’s not that there aren’t things for tourists, it’s just that La Paz is a “real” city. The product of Spanish conquistadores, zealous missionaries and roving pirates, La Paz is the capital of the state of Southern Baja (Baja Sur). It is the home of the University and soon-to-be national aquarium plus the center for business, agriculture, shipping and light manufacturing as well as art and culture in the area. Major hospitals, shopping and other amenities are available. Life just moves a little slower along it’s centuries-old cobblestoned streets and narrow alleys that wind back from the waterfront back towards the old Spanish mission cathedral. Locals play the Mexican version of bingo on Sunday afternoons. Eating fresh seafood from local open-air vendors is almost an artform. Half the city still takes a siesta a mid-day to awaken at night, European style, to dine al fresco by candlelight under the warm starry nights or catch improvisational waterside concerts by local musicians.

Most visitors fly directly into La Paz’ modern airport only 10 minutes from downtown and several excellent hotels where a nice room averages about $100/night for two. Taxis are everywhere, but one often wonders how the drivers make a living since everything is within walking distance. Foot-power is the way to go and most tourist oriented activities are within blocks of the beachfront. For daytime activities, La Paz is a hidden gem for sportfishing, scuba diving and other water sports where water temperatures can reach into the 80’s and 90’s with gin-clear visibility. Daytime temperatures range from the 70’s in the winter to upper 90’s in the summer on the average.

“I know it sounds manufactured,” says Tracy Sullivan, an office manager from San Francisco, “but at night, I really can hear guitars playing from my hotel room overlooking the bay. Combine that with the gentle lapping of the waves and this is the ideal place to just de-compress with a good book and conversation on the balcony. I come here twice-a-year and the hotel treats me like one of the family. Often, there are so few tourists here I just love it!”