On Friday, February 9, we awoke early excited to finally be entering the city of LaPaz. Our early departure plans were delayed due to a rain storm that passed through. We were also eager to be away from a charter sailboat that had arrived at almost sunset the previous night and anchored right in front of us! Don’t they know that the changing winds can swing boats into each other?! We were warned to watch out for these part time sailors!
After the rain stopped, the sun came out and on we went. We attempted to make water using our water maker, but arrived at the channel to La Paz sooner than expected. Oh well, we will just have to make due with 1/4 of a tank of fresh water.
We saw freighters anchored outside of the channel and a small cruise ship docked. As we passed these ships, we slipped into a narrow (but thank goodness marked!) channel and continued on the 4 1/2 miles into the city. There is quite a bit of traffic in this narrow channel and it is quite shallow. One time our depth registered 10 feet!
As we got closer, we saw beautiful villas on the hillside, a water park with a slide right into the bay and lots of beautiful palm trees. We saw our marina ahead. Our instructions were to call on the VHF radio to get a slip assignment. We called, no answer….getting closer to the entrance. Called, no answer…..inside the entrance. Wow, this place is crowded! We drifted over to a long unoccupied dock to call the marina office on the phone. OK, got our slip assignment…ugh…what a narrow slip! Thank goodness the security guard is waiting to grab our lines. Made it to the city of La Paz!!!
After check in and a nice lunch, we walked over to the next marina and visited with our friends, Matt and Nancy on Mastadon. They were with us during the “shoot out” event in Los Cabos. We had picked up some parts and supplies for them while in the U.S. It was nice visiting and finding out how their adventures in the surrounding islands had gone.They also showed us around the city and took us to some of their favorite places.
We spent the next few days wandering through the city as well as the Malecon next to the waterfront, where the entire town was celebrating Carnival.
