Had considered driving. 23 hours from San Diego to La Paz and another hour to La Ventana. Could be a fun roadtrip with Jay but, well, 24 hours.
Decided flying would be a better option. Easy enough to cross through CBX direct to the Tijuana airport connection to La Paz and rental car from there.
Route 125 Parking was $7 a day, shuttle included. Tijuana airport. Two hours in the air and we were walking down the stairs onto the tarmac and then into the small La Paz airport... and finally up to the car rental desks.
MEX Car Rental promptly had us on a shuttle to their off airport location. Michelle had the paperwork done in less than 10 minutes and we were on our way.
As we entered downtown La Paz I realized that with all the prompt service I hadn’t used the WiFi at the airport to open Google Maps on my phone.
The trick with Google Maps, if you don’t already know, is that once you have directions you can leave the WiFi service area and the phone will use GPS for your location. However, if you don’t open the map first then you will have GPS coordinates on a blank map. I didn’t worry, how hard could it be to drive south?
Had lunch. Exceptionally unextraordinary tacos and a cerveza. A little sightseeing at the waterfront, some groceries and stocked up on agua and then… we are heading south. Sunset. Darkness. South?-ish.
2 hours of attempting to retrace my steps from my first visit where I had hitch-hiked to La Ventana (a whole other story). 3 times asking directions, and came oh-so-close. Back in Downtown La Paz.
A quick Chai at a coffee shop with WiFi and I’ve got Google Maps ready to go. Walking out we stop in a beautiful church and savor the savior ritual, leaving before the tithe is requested of course.
Two hours and a few donkeys later we are in LV.
La Ventana:
If you have any plans to visit LV I couldn't recommend a better place to stay than the Snook Hacienda. True, the water pressure in the shower was a little lacking but was more than made up for by the hospitality and general positive attitude of our hosts.
We were greeted with coffee, breakfast, and Micheladas in the morning.
Aaron took us down south to Bahia de Los Meurtos (Bay of the Dead). To get there you must enter the private Gran Sueno Resort, where they have tactfully renamed their beachfront to Bahia de Ensuenos (Bay of DayDreams).
We all share a gigantic plate of nachos (Thanks Freddie) and have a taste of top shelf tequila. A half game of pool. Snorkeling. Coral Reefs. Abundant sea life. Highly recommend.
Relax. Siesta. Date night at Mariscos El Cone. The best seafood soup I’ve ever had. The tortilla chips come with Salsa not Pico de Gallo.
Aqua Caliente and Margaritas:
Greeted with smiling faces and coffee again in the morning. Skipped the Micheladas. Made a stop at Palapas Ventana and then Thursday morning Farmers Market. Bought a large block of homemade aged goat cheese for 100 pesos and, I must say, was probably one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.
Took a roadtrip to Aqua Caliente a hotspring/township west of Santiago, half way between LV and Cabo San Lucas. An amazing hike with many waterfalls and cool water pools, and as the name suggests a natural hotspring. Also, a few snakes, but they seemed friendly enough.
On the drive back it began to rain. Downpour. Cats and Dogs… but really it’s the cattle you’ve got to keep an eye on the road for. Made it back to LV safe and sound. Had a few drinks inside and fell asleep to the sound of the rain.
The next morning greeted us with a brilliant sunrise… and the usual great coffee. A good day for a walk on the beach. Met some rescue puppies named Wallace and Haymitch. If you are wanting a puppy, please, please consider adopting from Bark for Baja.
Rest of the day was for relaxing and chatting with friends.
Ready for the evening at Playa Central for their Amazing Spectacular Magnificent Circus Show. A Vaudeville experience with great performances of burlesque, juggling, aerial silks, cyr wheel, doubles bicycle, and general entertainment.
Audience participation was actively encouraged. Also, the margaritas were not to be missed.
Hindenburgs and Home:
The wind had picked up so Aaron and Jo were booked for early kitesurf lessons. We had breakfast at Palapas Ventana Resort and watched the Hindenburgs in the bay. We said our goodbyes.
Slowly made our way back to La Paz. Stopped at Taqueria El Fogon for lunch, a great little local taco shop.
Dropped off the rental, shuttle to the airport, plane to the border, walk through the CBX, another shuttle back to the car, and home.
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(The whole other story mentioned earlier):
To understand this story we need to go back a few months to Aaron's trip back from Australia to California. He arrived in San Diego during a financially difficult time for the both of us. I had driven down from Oceanside, not so far but not so near either, and the truck was on an empty tank of gas. That wouldn't have been an issue except I was also on an empty tank of bank account. I picked him up and drove to the nearest gas station and had hoped he would offer to pay for the fuel. He didn't, so I asked. It got awkward. The rest of the trip there was some tension, as we were still both broke, but also wanting to have a good time with Sunday Bloody Mary's.
Fast forward a few months to my first trip to La Ventana. I fly into La Paz, still low on funds, but why would that stop me from travelling, right? So, I am in La Paz and trying to travel as low cost as possible. Aaron doesn't come to pick me up because he is low on money and can't afford the fuel. I remember the incident when I picked him up and decide that I'm not going to offer to pay... so, I come up with the idea of taking a bus. I just don't know where the bus is, or how to go about getting a ticket, or, well, anything about anything.
So, why not just hitch-hike? I'd done it in my youth and it had always worked out. Well. Yeah. Hitching Mexico is a bit different than hitching rural America. I am walking through a neighborhood with my thumb out to passing cars... and looking around I realize that it's a little rougher than I would like to be walking through. I see a large group of Federales. They look intimidating in full tactical gear and automatic weapons, but they are less intimidating than the neighborhood I'm in, so I walk up to them and ask how to get to La Ventana. They don't speak very good English and my Spanish is mierda but they explain mostly with pointing that I should call someone to come get me. I explain I don't have mobile service. They look at me like I am crazy, which, in hindsight, after hearing the murder and gangwar stories, I can see why. Anyway, the commander gives me his mobile phone and I call Aaron. But, it gets awkward, and I decide to go back to town and find the bus.
Now, I'm standing in the parking lot of the supermercado and it's dusk is quickly approaching. Suddenly, I see South Dakota plates on a van. I walk up to the van as it parks and as some gringos get out I spring on them with the desperation of a determined man. They are going to LV and would be happy to give me a ride, just after we pick up some groceries and plants and other essentials to bring back to LV. As we talk they tell me about the neighborhood I was walking in and that if I had ended up there at night, most likely it would have ended up there permanently. They were wonderful people though, he was a freediver and she was a kiteboarder if I remember correctly.
And, that's it. I was dropped off in front of Playa Central and met Aaron and had cerveca's and we forgot all about our awkwardness with finances, and it was a wonderful fun story. Oh, I do remember the driver of the van telling me a story. He told me about a time he was freediving and had ended up below a school of hammerheads that were circling a convection current. He had no choice but to swim up in the center of the them. He said it was the most beautiful experience he had ever had.
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