La Paz

La Paz, Mexico, is a city of over 100,000 people. La Paz is on the eastern, sheltered side of the Baha peninsula. It is also nearby a large number of good anchorages. La Paz is the place for supplies and maintenance in the first good cruising region south of Puget Sound.

We wandered a good deal around La Paz and really like the city. It is unassuming and retains a small-town feel. La Paz has everything that you could want, but doesn't feel like a city. Remarkably we didn't run into any beggars or sleaze, possibly because there are very few tourists here.

We spent about a week in La Paz, at anchor. There are several marinas but transient space is in demand and there are waiting lists even to get a dock for a day. That having been said, rates are less than C$1/foot/day, which makes taking a dock here much more affordable than at Cabo San Lucas. The anchorage has good holding in 20 feet, sand. But there is a two knot current which mades a short tide rip out of moderate breezes. This makes dighy rides uncomfortable at times. We paid 15 pesos (about C$1.40) a day to use the dinghy dock at Marina de La Paz, which also let us properly dispose of our garbage/recycling/used motor oil and take on fresh water. However there is a fee to use the harbour, which is about C$1/day.

We'll be cruising locally for the next few weeks.