You built it and they’re coming!

OVER-THINKING THIS WHOLE THING?

Originally Published the Week of July 19, 2024 in Western Outdoor Publications

When I was an attorney, we had a saying, “Everyone tells their story in their own self-interest.”

That’s not to say folks lie.  Some do.  Some don’t.

Some just embellish or elaborate on the truth.  Not quite “fibbing” but everyone slants their story in their own favor.

Human nature.

So, this time, I’m gonna buck the inclination.

What I write is probably NOT in my own self-interest, but maybe in a convoluted way, it is.

It’s just another side…another angle, if you will on some developments down here.

It’s about fixing things that aren’t broken.

We’ve lived and worked down here in La Paz some 30 years.  The changes and developments that keep rolling in are exponential.

Construction everywhere.  I guess that’s part of being a destination city.

If you leave anywhere near a place where folks come to vacation or where they are re-locating…the coast…the mountains…a river…a lake…

You know what I’m talking about!

There’s really not much to do about it either, but here’s my take from another angle.

Here in La Paz, they stopped direct airline flights from the U.S. about a dozen years ago.  We just weren’t “touristy” enough.

You had to fly from the U.S. to Cabo and shuttle or drive up 3 hours the 100 miles to La Paz.

Or you took a convoluted series of connection flights that got you here.

Or you could catch a direct flight from Tijuana.

I’ll admit.  Not the most convenient.  Actually, kind of a pain in the B..TT, for most of us.  Not just the extra time, but the cost as well.

But, I like being “non-touristy!”

The world is full of Cozumels, Cancuns, Puerta Vallartas and Cabo San Lucases.  Nothing wrong with that.  Fun spots and they certainly have their place.

To each their own.

But the world is quickly losing the alternative non-touristy spots.

Like La Paz…family-oriented…relatively quiet…you can walk the historic streets…no one chases you down the street to sell you t-shirts, timeshares or jewelry.

But, the word is out.  And people are flocking.  I get it.

Every magazine article…every youtube video…”La Paz is the Next Hidden Spot!”

Come find it!

Right…

So, for the first time in more than a decade, there will be 2-5 flights a week from Los Angeles here.

Sigh and a big whoopie.

As a business, sure, this will be great.  Make is easier for people to find us and get to us.  More clients.  More business.

But that’s the problem as well.

There should still be places on this planet that are little harder to find.  There should still be places that are a little harder to get to.

That’s the charm and attraction.  The “road less traveled” is not as easy to find as our planet gets more crowded and people go wandering around the face of the Earth.

I’ve seen it. You have seen it.  I’ve visited places around the world as well.  I’ll admit my own mind starts fantasizing…

Man, it would be great to buy some land here.  Or buy or build a house here.  Or live here!

Same thing down here. The land boom is already on.  The construction crush is here.

The powers-that-be with more wisdom than I possess took one of the local beaches…one of the prettiest in Mexico if not the world…and decided to put bathrooms out there.  And shady palapas and trash cans.

Let’s fix what wasn’t broken!

Well, what was once a beach you would find in Conde Nas and National Geographic is now so covered with beachgoers and vendors selling churros and t-shirts that the they have a quota now on how many folks can be there at one time.

You have a time limit as well as to how long you can stay.  There’s a waiting line to get in.  And don’t get me started on the trash!

To another beach, they turned a little two-lane Mexican road into a super highway.  Same thing happened.  They built it and yes…they came…in droves.

I know there’s no stopping this.  But, I do lament the progress of not leaving well-enough alone and remember what it used to be like.

These ARE the good-old days.

That’s my story!

Jonathan