Sunset in La Paz

After spending several years in Melaque, Mexico, Cathryn and I decided to find a new winter home for next year. We enjoyed our time in Melaque and met new lifelong friends there, but for various reasons we wanted to move on. One being, there are so many other beautiful places in the world we want to see.

Normally, we stay put for three winter months but we left Melaque on March 1st. With every available space in the Chevy Malibu completely packed, we headed north up the Pacific coast of Mexico. With the area around Puerto Vallarta previously explored, we ventured further north to Guayabitos, staying across the Puente de Vida, in Rincon.

We’d been there before and returned to a beach restaurant called Juan’s, for the best shrimp nachos in Mexico. The next stop was Mazatlán, where we spent two nights. We’d been there before too but this time we found ourselves in the middle of Carnivale, one of the largest week-long celebrations in Mexico. Not being much of a parade person, I found the gargantuan floats amazing.

To cross the Sea of Cortez we ventured further north to Topolobampo, where the ferry makes the crossing in about six hours instead of twelve from Mazatlán. Regardless, the sea journey is overnight so we booked a cabin instead of sitting in row seating with a hundred other stirring or snoring passengers.

The sea crossing was uneventful but I could write another whole story on stupid ship rules and how it messed up our arrival in La Paz, Baja California Sur (southern half of Baja) The main problem is they don’t let passengers stay in the vehicle while embarking or disembarking. Cathryn and I were left to fend for ourselves and find each other on and off a ship carrying over a hundred vehicles and probably twice as many people, all speaking Spanish.

I drove in circles while she wandered aimlessly, being directed and misdirected trying to reconnect in La Paz. Other little surprises not included in the ticket were weighing and paying for my car to board the ship, port charges upon disembarkation, and even another thirty pesos for some dude with a garden sprayer to ‘disinfect’ my car before entering a different state in the same country.

Breathing in fresh sea air and basking in the morning sunlight of La Paz made it all worthwhile. Heading north, the Sea of Cortez took on shades of azure and blue I hadn’t seen since Thailand. We were too early for check-in at our Airbnb so we explored the neighborhood we’d be staying in and found an awesome spot breakfast spot for some very creative and tasty eggs bennies.

La Paz was impressive, with the sea and little beaches on one side of the waterfront drive, and shops and eateries on the other. The Malecon runs the entire length of the city, with wide sidewalks and open pedestrian areas or parks, and a bike path running between it and the road. Everything was easily and safely walkable, unlike some of the crazy paths and roads in Melaque.

We stayed in La Paz for three nights, enjoying some of the best food we’ve ever had in Mexico – seafood, meats, and even sushi. The city quickly became our top contender for our next winter home. But there were other places to explore and we moved to San Jose Del Cabo for the next three nights. Driving into the city, I found it a lot bigger and busier than I’d hoped for. But our Airbnb was in a quiet neighborhood away from the traffic noise.

We were close to the historic old part of town, our destination for the first morning walk. We were greeted with cobbled streets and colorful Spanish architecture, leaving us slack-jawed more than once. The streets are lined with little artisan shops and eateries – one bar serving up a burger that was second to none. It’s price was similar to home but we got ripped for $22 Canadian for a margarita.

San Jose has basically become a suburb of Cabo San Lucas, where pricy restaurants and mega resorts have become the norm, taking over almost all public oceanfront space. We found it very difficult to find a nice beach that wasn’t accessed through a private hotel road or property. Knowing and seeing what we did, there was no reason to venture further south into Cabo. It didn’t make our list.

Instead, we drove west and spent a day in Todo Santos, an ‘artisan’ town, about thirty minutes from the two Cabos’, on the Pacific side of the peninsula. We explored the streets and shops and found some great restaurants. It was the perfect town to wander, shop, eat, and snap photos. Unfortunately, the town itself is landlocked and we had to drive some dirt roads to find the beach.

It was an adventure finding the ocean but worth the drive once we saw the offering. Miles of empty beach and blue water as far as we could see, in either direction. We only saw four other people…two on the beach and two coming as we were leaving. Todo Santos was a great place to visit but it didn’t make our list either.

The drive north from San Jose proved just how beautiful the Baja desert could be, it’s every-changing varieties of cactus, winding roads through rolling hills or mountains, and glimpses of the bluest water we’ve ever seen. Sometimes there was nothing for a hundred miles, including rest stops or gas stations. Then we’d come across a desert oasis, with lush greenery and a waterfall. Or a restaurant/flea market that was an old woman’s home, in the middle of nowhere. With good breakfast burritos.

Navy, cobalt and azure shades of blue in the Sea of Cortez lured us into Loreto Bay and the encompassing town. It’s home to the Loreto National Marine Park, habitat for a variety of whales, sea lions, dolphins and the blue-footed booby (no kidding, look them up). At first glance, Loreto looked like any other small Mexican town.

The view from our oceanfront Airbnb changed our perspective on things. Our first night’s dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant really got our attention. The next morning’s walk along the Malecon and beach was impressive. A stroll down the pedestrian street leading to ‘Centro’, the town’s historic core, was interesting. Our breakfast in a little bistro in the main square was about the time we started to fall in love with Loreto.

It’s what they call a Pueblo Magico, a magical Mexican village that offers cultural richness, historical relevance, local crafts, great hospitality, and our favorite part – cuisine. These designated places also offer a variety of things to see and do. It’s also one of the cleanest Mexican cities we’ve visited. Loreto had a great vibe and quickly moved to the top of our list.

From Loreto, we continued north along the Sea of Cortez to the Bay of Conception (near Mulege), where we spent two nights of a sailboat. Click here. See that story for our adventure. We also explored various beaches in the area and learned not to judge a book by its cover when we ate lunch at a roadside taco stand near our floating hotel.

The drive north from Loreto and Mulege offered great desert scenery but terrible pot-holed roads. It was next to impossible to enjoy the landscape while dodging the deep holes, some that could easily swallow half a car’s wheel. The road off the highway leading to our next destination only got worse, forcing me to stop in order to find a path that would cause the least damage.

The town of Bahia de Los Angeles is huge for sport fishing. Our hotel was up the coast a bit, where our ocean view room offered a front row seat to pods of dolphins swimming by. We could never tire of staring at the blue Sea of Cortez. Cathryn added the beach to her list of favorites for shell collecting – the bag in the trunk of our car was growing exponentially.

The drive north and west through more Baja mountains took us to the city of Ensenada, where we stayed a block away from the Pacific coast in the historical ‘Centro’ district, chock full of trendy restaurants and boutiques. We also enjoyed a nighttime stroll along the seafront boardwalk were cruise ships from California visit.

Ensenada was the last Mexican city on our Baja adventure. From there we crossed a small border east of Tijuana but unfortunately our GPS took us into the city. An hour of driving in circles, outrageous border traffic and an anti-Trump demonstration, cost me a $150 bribe to the local police who stopped me for a one way street violation when I tried to avoid the traffic jam. It was either have my car towed or buy them dinner.

Driving along and seeing the huge steel border wall at the U.S. border was surreal. We were worried about all the political nonsense going on north of the border but we were welcomed into America and waved through customs without question. We made our decision while in Loreto and booked a place there to return to next winter.