Cruising Log of La Paz, Mexico (I)
Cruising the Sea of Cortes from the La Paz Moorings® Base
1. Travel
to La Paz
Flew via Los Angeles (LAX), connecting with Alaska Airlines- a Mexican
carrier based in La Paz. Possibility to investigate: charter flights
direct from New York to Cabo, then use a rental car or taxi to get to
La Paz.
It
was a long trip!
2. Provisioning
We generally do our own provisioning (everywhere), & just buy bottled
water & drinks from Moorings®, to save on lugging the heavy stuff
around town. Moorings® have a provisioning store at the Marina, and
there is also a combination ship chandler/fishing supplies/supermarket
at the Marina. There are a few supermarkets in town, the best (apparently)
being the "CCC" which is a taxi ride away. We did most of our
perishable shopping at CCC & topped up with odds & ends at the
Moorings® store, which has a pretty good selection & prices seemed
pretty reasonable. Once you leave La Paz, however there is pretty well
nowhere to buy anything, except perhaps some fish or lobster from local
fishermen. I suspect store bought bread will not stay edible for long
unless you keep it on ice. You need to plan on drinking a lot of water
- we (2 adults plus 2 kids) planned on 1 gallon per day - and it was not
enough - we had to buy another 6 gallons in Porto Escondido. You can drink
the water in the tanks, but our preference is not to, if we have an alternative.
Moorings® put 2 blocks of ice in our freezer, plus 1 bag of ice cubes
- the blocks were still intact (albeit reduced) at end of 2 weeks - but
we did motor more than we would have liked!
In a recent post Jerry asked.... <<
For those of us going to La Paz,
can you include information on provisioning.
<< Did you do your own, or did you have Moorings® do it? If
you did it yourself, how far did you have to go, etc.? Are the grocery
stores open in the evening or should we allow one full day before the
start of the charter to provision, etc.? Are there locals or other things
to see in La Paz that we should take in while there?>>
I'm afraid I don't know how late CCC stays open - I'll try to find out.
On our charter start day we did the chart briefing, bureaucracy, boat
check out & provisioning mostly in the morning (hectic!!), and left
the dock sometime mid afternoon - bags unpacked on the cabin sole. If
your plans allow a full day for local visits & provisioning before
start of charter you will be less stressed than we were - we had a full
day available, but used it to relax & enjoy the swimming pool, etc.
There are several close by anchorages (on the mainland) which are fine
for a first/last night. A realistic plan for the second day would be to
sail to the beach at north end of the mainland for a lunch stop, and then
sail north to one of the several anchorages on Espiritu Santo or Partida,
continuing on day 3 to Isla San Francisco/Evaristo area.
3. Bureaucracy
Before you leave La Paz:
No longer do you have to
clear out with immigration or check out with port captain.
You need only call port captain on VHF and inform of arrival or departure
except for international arrival or departure.
IF you intend to go further north than Agua Verde (e.g, so you can
replenish water so you can engage in extremely bourgeois luxuries
such as taking
an occasional shower you also need to request clearance to the
Loretto Port Captain's area of authority. For a 7-day charter you
probably
don't
need to do this, but if you have 2 weeks it's probably better to
have the clearance, even if you don't end up going there. There
is no cost
for this clearance, but you need to request it from Moorings®, and
you will need to repeat the La Paz bureaucracy mentioned above when you
get to Porto Escondido (& if you want to do this on a Saturday
or Sunday you have to have $140 overtime payment in your hot little
hand
too!!).
5. Fishing
I use very basic gear - a hand line & a trolling lure, but I have
had good results, particularly in the San Jose Channel. You need to buy
a fishing permit, which you can get at the Moorings® provisioning
store for a few dollars. Best time for fishing seems to be early morning
& early evening. You know the food is fresh (I had my doubts about
the chicken we bought at CCC & I had an upset stomach for 3 days at
start of trip). You can also bring fish back to USA without any problem
- the sports fishermen bring back large coolers packed with fish fillets!
6. Navigation
Navigation is straightforward with few hazards, but charts are inaccurate & have very little detail.
7. Other Things
To Do & See
7.1 Whale Watch
February should be good for gray whale watching. These behemoths inhabit
a couple of lagoons on the Pacific coast at that time of year. You may
see whales in the Sea of Cortez in February (we have seen them in both
our trips), but they are generally at some distance, whereas the gray
whales can apparently be petted from the "panga" boats. According
to Moorings®, it is possible to "do the whales" in one day,
with an early start (4 or 5 am) by taxi from La Paz, breakfast en-route,
whale watching, lunch & return same evening.
7.2 Sea Lion Watch
A large colony of sea lions can be visited at Los Islotes at the north
end of Isla Partida. You can swim with the sea lions, but there have been
reports of aggressive bulls confronting snorkelers, so it's up to you
if you wish to take the risk. There is another colony of seals (or sea
lions?) on one of the few navigational hazards.... "Seal Rock"....between
Isla San Francisco & Evaristo.
7.3 Hiking/Walking
Probably nicer in February than in July!!!! There are apparently some
nice trails near Moorings® base, and at Isla San Francisco & Isla
San Jose (Cactus forest). There is also a nice walk between the Evaristo
anchorages – where you can observe one of the local industries -
salt evaporation. A large area is subdivided into salt evaporation pools
- interesting!! Closer to La Paz there is a nice trail across Isla Partida
at the El Cardonal anchorage, and our personal favorite is Porto Gato
(or Los Gatos) which has beautiful sandstone rock formations & sand
dunes to explore.
7.4 Dinghy Exploration
There is a lagoon/mangrove swamp on Isla San Jose, which looks well worthwhile
to visit. Apparently it is possible to go clamming in the lagoon, so that
may be a bonus too.
7.5 Beaches/Restaurants
Some beaches are not as attractive up close as from a distance. The local
fishermen have a tendency to fillet their catch on the beach & leave
everything but the best cuts for nature to dispose of. There are also
some mangrove areas which are very bug infested. There are some nice sand
beaches at Porto Ballandra (close to La Paz) including one with a nice
sand dune for the kids to play on. This anchorage receives mixed reviews
in the cruising guides - Moorings® doesn't recommend it for overnight,
but we stayed overnight there with no problem - it shallows rapidly to
the east, however, so caution in anchoring is advisable. It is also the
site of the famous "Mushroom" or balanced rock. On the northern
end of the "mainland" – before reaching Isla Espiritu Santo,
Partida & all points north, there is a nice broad beach with a few
restaurants and commercial activities such as PWC rental, "banana"
rides & suchlike. It is nice for a lunch stop & for a farewell
frozen Margarita Grande before heading away from civilization.
back to top