We have been settling into La Paz and getting to know the area for the past few weeks. We are finding La Paz to be everything we hoped for and more. It's big enough to find everything we need, but is small enough not to feel the hustle and bustle of a big city. There are multiple marinas in La Paz, however we chose Marina de La Paz for the proximity to the town and the amenities. We have nice facilities here at the marina which include a restaurant and bar, laundromat, dive shop, convenience store, and restrooms with nice hot showers. Also, the internet is AMAZING!! The marina is in a safe, gated community. We have multiple marine chandleries within walking distance, which is helpful because we are always in need of something: from battery terminals to zincs. The Malecon begins a block from the marina and stretches over 3 miles along the waterfront. We can report that rollerblading and roller-skating are alive and well here in La Paz. There are some very serious participants, like REALLY serious! We routinely joke that we should pick it up as our new past time.
Along our journey to La Paz, me met Simon and Aaron on SV Kudra back in Bahia Tortugas, about a month ago. Since Bahia Tortugas, we have found ourselves in the same places: San Jose Cabo and La Paz. We have been getting to know Simon and Aaron the past month and have had fun exploring the town, researching, and talking about our future plans.
Last week we planned a trip to the Puerto Ballena area on Isla Espiritu Santos (Holy Spirit Island), specifically Ensenada de la Raza, which is about 28 nautical miles from La Paz. We wanted to do a little exploring and read positive information about this location in our guidebooks. We had an amazing sail to the island, only motoring for a minimal amount of time. The Raza cove offers turquoise water, a small beach, mangroves, and a reef along the northern edge. There was great anchoring here, with a nice sandy bottom. As soon as we anchored, we started seeing large turtles popping up all around us. We took a dinghy ride to the beach as the sun was setting and enjoyed seeing lots of fish, turtles, sting rays, and birds. A couple hours later our friends on SV Kudra arrived.
We spent the next day exploring the Raza cove; paddle boarding, snorkeling, and taking the dinghy to the next cove over to Caleta Ballena, which is a small anchorage, only big enough for one or two boats.
Isla Espiritu Santo has been a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site since 2005 and a National Park since 2007. The island is designated as a national protected area, which explains the healthy reefs and sea life in around the island. Other than some small pesky flies, we really enjoyed our time at Raza.
After staying two nights, we headed back to La Paz. The tides and currents can be a bit tricky, so we do quite a bit of planning for when we are coming and going.
There are multiple coves, beaches, and anchorage on Isla Espiritu Santo and we plan on visiting them all!!
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