Plus, the La Paz cruisers' community is well established with a few long-term wingnut residents colorful characters; very congenial and willing to help newcomers and transients alike with all their cruising-related needs. Come for the lively all-day chatter on VHF 22, stay for the marine hardware that you won't find again until you get to Panama. Hang around the dinghy dock at Marina de La Paz long enough, and you'll tap in to the days Imelda arrives to sell her homemade tamales and rellenos, when the nice German lady sells her down-home bratwursts and sauerkraut (hint: Saturdays, back gate), and where Les The Bread Guy has his European-style bakery. It's all just like mama used to make, and worth every peso.
Thanksgiving of '08, we anchored in La Paz harbor near their municipal dock, and in 2 days had filled our propane tank, jerry-jugged some water, did laundry, shopped for fishing tackle and marine hardware, jerry-jugged some diesel and gasoline from a nearby gas station, used the Internet in a local coffee shop, and loaded up on provisions, all by dinghy. In 48 hours we were done with our chores and outta there, back to pristine anchorages in nearby islands. It can be done that quickly in La Paz.
This winter things were a bit more complicated. We had a lot of time-consuming projects on our list, such as some minor repairs to the main sail that needed a professional's touch. We had to tweak our visas and vessel registration documents. GB had a pesky gum infection that had developed after an otherwise uneventful root canal in Mazatlan and now he needed a dentist, stat. And as long as we were waiting around for all these and other things to come to fruition, MS decided what the hey, why not take the test to get a Ham radio license? Thus it came to pass that we laid at anchor in La Paz harbor, across the sandy shoals in the spacious El Mogote anchorage, for over 2 weeks this December. Which for the likes of us is a very long time to stay in one place. But if your boat must stay put while things get done, La Paz at Christmastime is a pretty good deal. La Paz is a cruising hub and you're guaranteed to meet old friends here and make some new ones.
The Baja winter weather was how we like it - cool, generally sunny, with only the occasional brief blows of wind and chop from the north. We got to hang out with new cruising friends - including Hello World, who we'd just recently met in the flesh, and the generous folks on Two Can Play; and we got to get reacquainted with other friends, including Anna and Gary on Trumpeter, who we'd last seen all too briefly in early July up in the northern Sea. Trumpeter invited us to spend Christmas Day with them, and I'm here to tell you they are excellent hosts who know how to celebrate a holiday. They had an open-boat sort of thing going on, everyone in the anchorage welcome to join in (and there are a lot of boats in El Mogote). The festivities moved along splendidly with good conversation among folks and fine beverages all around. We eased into a classic afternoon nosh in which roast turkey figured prominently - as did boat-grown basil and Agua Verde goat cheese so mild it doubled easily for the finest mozzarella. What a nice way to spend a Christmas: thinking fondly about the loved ones who were not there, and enjoying good times with those who were.
Yes, we got a lot done and had a lot of fun while anchored at La Paz. It's a busy place in winter; and its city lights twinkle in the clear, cool night air across to El Mogote. Sea lions, dolphin and large schools of fish rush through El Mogote's strong currents and shallow depths, trying their best to dodge the diving pelicans, boobies, terns and osprey. It's understandable why cruisers linger here longer than they expect -- but we have promises we've made to ourselves, and now's the time to keep them. It's Boxing Day as I write this, and time for The Fox to move on....m
Been following you guys for a while. I was on a moorings boat in La Paz Dec 26th. Sorry I missed you guys.
How's the dental care down there? Is it cheaper than the US? I need substantial dental work done and have been thinking of going out of the US to get it done. Any thoughts on that?
Posted by: ben | January 02, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Hi Ben - sorry for the late reply, but Internet access is difficult to come by at anchor. Anyway, GB & I have both had dental treatment in Mexico, in both Mazatlan and La Paz, and we've been very happy with the results. We had straightforward, high-quality dental exams/cleanings in Maz that cost 500 pesos each (about US $38). Later, GB had to have the same dentist replace a bad filling with a crown (4000 pesos, about US $308), but had to follow that up with a root canal (2000 pesos, about US $154); and 3 wks. later in La Paz he had to have a peridontal infection under the root canal dealt with (total 3 visits including deep-root cleaning: 1400 pesos, about US $108). Two states, two good dentists, high-quality work, both of them spoke English well.
I'd suggest finding an expat or several, in whatever Mexican city you want to visit for the duration of the treatment(s) you have in mind. Ask for the name of a good dentist with whom the expat has experience - instead of trying to take one of those package-deal "medical tours" that are sometimes advertised. I'd also pick a city you'd otherwise want to visit - like Mazatlan, Guanajuato, etc. - somewhere that has museums, concerts, etc. because you'd have to stay a while. Practically every place has apartments or bungalows for rent, likely with discounts for a stay of 1-2 months. You could even go online to Trip Advisor and ask the forums in your target Mexican city for more info & recommendations. Good luck!
Marianne
Posted by: sailnmuffin | January 10, 2010 at 06:43 PM
hi i did a search for root canal & lapaz & found your blog- who did you see in lapaz? & would you reccommend them? i`m planning to go down in a few weeks(it`s not an emergency yet) thanks don thompson friday harbor, wa
Posted by: don | March 15, 2010 at 10:44 AM
Hey there, Don - thanks for finding our blog! Gary saw Dr. Martha Lorena Estrada, in La Paz at Altamirano 222 between Bravo & Ocampo; local tel. = 125-5304. The whole office speaks English & gringos will find their office very comfortable. Gary got good results.
For other dentists & general services in La Paz, check out the Club Cruceros website & their "services" page at: http://www.clubcruceros.org.
Hope this helps!
Marianne & Gary
Posted by: sailnmuffin | March 16, 2010 at 09:30 AM