The Unexpected Treasure: La Paz, Baja California. Mexico.
I recently took one of those online quizzes to see just how many of the 69 plus iconic places in Mexico I have been to and discovered that I'd visited 16 of those 69 places. That's not bad for a gringa like me. One of the locations on the list was in Baja California and I just so happened to have crossed that spot off of my bucket list on my last trip to Mexico.
I had the opportunity to explore La Paz, Baja California with the La Paz tourism department on a recent "work trip" to Mexico. As I said before, I've explored many parts of Mexico; Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintanaroo, Morelos, Michoacan and beyond, but I'd never dove into the Northern part of Mexico mostly based on the "fear" that it would be too Americanized. After all, Los Cabos is in Baja and everything I'd ever heard about Cabo was that it was all hotels, golf courses, deep sea fishing and deserts. I'd been swayed by the media presentation of the area and I wanted to find out first hand what Baja California was all about.
I arrived in La Paz on a bright and sunny day. The temperature was a perfect 80 degrees or so and the air was dry, after all, it is in a desert. Visiting any place for the first time with expectations is a vacationers nightmare because we find ourselves thinking, "It's not what I expected." "I didn't know it'd be like /this/." Those were all phrases swirling around my head but as quickly as they came to my mind, I shot them out and told myself and keep an open mind.
Desert landscape is beautiful but it's not my ideal surrounding. It reminds me too much of the stark winters of North Dakota where life is pretty much monochromatic shades of white and grey for 8 months out of the year. Deserts can feel the same way, at least to me. Sand, sand and more sand with a few cactus scattered about. It was going to take a lot for me to learn to love this area, even if there was an ocean next to the desert.
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| Love street art. Chili Rage! |
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| School girls interviewing travelers! |
The town of La Paz is a sleepy little town in the middle of the day. Cultural and political murals line the side street walls giving La Paz a very artistic voice. La Paz has a very laid back vibe during the day; travelers are sprinkled throughout the regular daily life activities of La Paz residents without as much of a sense of touristic invasion. Although this is a tourist destination, it does not FEEL that way. Towards the evening, the "malecon" or boardwalk literally comes to life. Groups of runners sprint on the beach, yogi's gather together to enjoy a sunset yoga practice, families sit together and share ice cream as they wait for the sunset, and students ruin groves interviewing "Americans" while completing homework assignments of having to practice their English. As I became more acquainted with this desert/ sea town, I started to see less of the desert back drop that I was so not fond of on the front end of this journey and I started to see more of the life that was La Paz, Baja California.
A large part of what makes Baja California so amazing is it's aquatic playground. Sports fisherman, scuba divers and anyone who loves marine life make this destination their stomping ground, or should I say, "splashing ground." Jacque Cousteau made the Sea of Cortez his aquatic playground because of its varied marine life.
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| Playa Balandra |
One of my adventures was to explore this aquatic playground with a local tour operator specializing in the Sea of Cortez adventures. Our tour operator, RED travel is a local operator that works in land and sea adventures in Baja California and on this particular day, it was all sea adventures! I squeezed myself into a wet suit in preparation for our days adventure and boarded the boat. One of our activities was to swim with the whale sharks. This was a big bucket list adventure for me. Unfortunately, as nature proves to us all the time, it is unpredictable. The whale sharks were not in the bay that they usually lived in. They'd moved on and started their migration so we had to do the same.
The desert backdrop that once seemed so bland to me had come alive against the crystal clear waters of the the Sea of Cortez. Rock formations that looked like God him/herself had molded them created a coastline that appeared to be from a different planet. Although the whale sharks had not presented themselves, we were graced by the presence of Humpback Whales sharing the waters with us. They gently moved their giant bodies out of the water just enough to show us their majestic selves then as quickly as they rose, they went back into their underwater world.  |
| Los Islotes ( Sea lion island) |
En route to our snorkeling with the sea lions at "Los Islotes", I did not want to close an eye for one second because in that second, you could miss magic! Hundreds of dolphins swam in schools and danced on the surface of the sea. Schools of mantarays made their presence and "flying" fish surprised us as they seemed to literally fly across the sea.
We arrived at the Sea lion island where sea lions basked in the sunshine and their sweet, bellowing songs filled the air. Swimming with sea lions is an incredible experience. Schools of brightly colored fish join you on your journey as sea lions dart in and out of your path leaving you breathless. The suns rays illuminate the crystal clear waters displaying coral reefs and a myriad of sea creatures all around. I can see why Jacque Cousteau loved this place. I'd surely fallen in love with it over and over again. 
Our guys at RED travel delivered us an incredible lunch of Trigger fish ceviche and other tasty seafood delights. I'm not a big seafood fan but THIS was incredible. We basked in the sunshine and waded far into the turquoise waters as it was incredibly shallow and one can walk far out into the bay and still be up to their waste. My mind was blown.
On our trip back into the town of La Paz, I couldn't help but feel a bit upset with myself for feeling like I wouldn't be able to appreciate this destination. That was my own fault. I'd let my own preconceived notions of media portrayal and my own manufactured thoughts sway me. I let myself think that because this was a desert destination that I wouldn't be able to appreciate it. I couldn't have been more wrong.
The beauty of travel is that it is always helping us see things in a new light. It breaks down stereo types and preconceived ideas that may or not be true. My initial reluctance to embracing a desert landscape was changed into a full on embrace of the contrast that is Baja California. The desert back drop only magnifies the natural wonders of the Sea of Cortez. The rocky formations and cactus are accentuated by the beauty of the sea and vice versa. It is natures true display of how two very opposite things in life can compliment each other so beautifully.
Traveling to Mexico never disappoints me. It continually impresses me with it's diverse landscapes and geography and it continually lures me in with it's kind and passionate people. As diverse as the states of Mexico are, one thing is a constant: the kindness and cultural integrity of it's people
Put La Paz, Baja California on your radar. Go there. Feel it. Dive into the waters and swim with whale sharks. Learn from those who love what they do. Get to know La Paz. Get to know Mexico, you'll be so glad you did.
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| See the mask?? It's calling for you to visit Baja California! |
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