The Adventures of Uncle Ben: Zady goes to Mexico

The family took a vacation, which was a long time coming. This time to La Paz, Mexico, about 2/3^rd down the Baja California Peninsula. La Paz is a city of about 220K residents nestled in the Bay…of La Paz. Back when Cancun was the only big party city in Mexico, people pegged La Paz to be the next big destination. They built it up with all sorts of high-rise hotels, but people instead flocked to Los Cabos on the very southern tip. Many of the high-rises were abandoned and the skyline is dotted with dilapidated concrete structures. Tourism did come to La Paz, but its known for locals and family-oriented travelers rather than the club seeking alcohol addled gringos that descend on Los Cabos.

the roof of our place- hot tub included

While the city is massive and sprawling, only a small strip along the beach is where all the tourists stay. The beachfront boardwalk (called the Malecon) filled up with cheap rented bikes, scooters, trikes, skaters, and joggers every evening when the sun set. During the day, well, Mexico in August is quiet unforgiving. Temperatures rose to high 90’s almost as soon as the sun was up. Clouds were non-existent, and shade was hard to find. So besides walking to restaurants, everybody flocked to the water (or air-conditioned buildings) during the day.

The water adjacent La Paz was shallow and somewhat polluted. So fun to paddleboard or kayak on, but not great for swimming (no corals). The pristine beaches smattered the coast a few miles north on the coastline.

This is where we spent most of our daylight hours.

After a leisurely breakfast/lunch, sometimes we would make it out before a nap (but most times not), we’d drive to the beach, set up the shade tent, inflate the paddleboard, and head out onto the water,

Balandra Beach was by far the most popular with locals and tourists. Pristine waters, shallow sandy banks, and in a flat calm bay made it very desirable. There were no buildings, so nothing ruined the picturesque horizon. Nearby, beaches Tecolote and Pichiligue both had restaurants, services, and rentable shade tents for beachside service. None of them had thriving coral reefs. They all had small dots of coral, but shoals of sand fish dancing around you. Strangely enough, wherever there were a ton of people, the most notable fish present where pufferfish. I also though pufferfish were shy creatures who liked their privacy, but these guys would stand their ground until a foot away.

We booked a tour to the nearby Espiritu Santo Islands. Situated 10 miles north of La Paz, Isla Espiritu Santo is a UNESCO heritage site known for hosting the largest sea lion colony in the Americas. The island isn’t inhabited, but used to host a large thriving pearl company, which at its peak hosted over 500 people. Now, a few piles of rectangular rubble are all that remain.

Weeeeeeeeee. Zady had this face the entire boat ride

sunbathing sea lions

Unfortunately for us, it was pupping season and we were not allowed to snorkel with the sea lions (called “marine wolves” in Spanish). Another 2-3 weeks and we could have spent the day playing with these fabulous (but smelly) dog-mermaids. Supposedly, they act just like dogs interacting with the swimmers.

Instead, we boated around them, boated by the sprawling Frigate Bird nests, and docked on a beach back on the southern tip of the island for lunch and for some snorkeling. I snorkeled with Zady in her lifevest, which was awesome—and I think she enjoyed it to. Mostly due to the whale sounds coming out of my snorkel.