Araiza Palmira Hotel La Paz

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Well, this afternoon we noticed that Blackie's neck has a serious laceration.

We'd heard of Bajadogs, is a non-profit rescue that aids injured or ill dogs. So we got in contact with them and headed out to their property. It is a 20 minute drive off hardtop road. Baja desert, dust and cactus. And lots of lizards. So we ...

... cove, played catch with Tanka, and watched a group of small boys thoroughly enjoying their huge, shallow play area.

We pulled out our chairs and drank a few beers and just kept sighing... so peaceful.

For dinner, Paul cooked up some milanesa (thin steak) for beef tacos with onions, jalepenos, garlic, beans, rice & avocado... hmm-hmm good!

... you lounge under) for getting your mix of sun and shade. The beach was covered with shells and was a beachcomber's paradise. The turquoise water and sandy bottom was quite inviting, although a wetsuit was best for this time of year. It was also always easy to grab a drink or two to take down to the beach. It was great sitting there taking in the sun and warm breeze while enjoying the ocean's beauty and listening as the waves ...

... was seeking a few pointers. Unfortunately, her camera battery died about four shots into the dive. Marylou and I took a few photos ourselves but honestly, this site wasn't that great for photos. I did find some interesting coral and anemones, but that was about it. The site does support quite a bit of fish life, however. The visibility really was poor there though, and it reminded us very much of a dive back home. I'd put viz in the 15-20 foot range ...

... to form. After an hour surface interval, the conditions were only going to get worse. It was a unanimous vote to move on to the next dive site. Our next site was a short distance away and was called the Old Sea Lion Colony. The land mass apparently used to be the home of the sea lion colonies of Los Islotes, before they struck it rich and moved further north to the suburbs. No word on if they will be back now that the economy has gone sour ...

... receives visits from quite a few different kinds of whales at various times of the year, to include orcas, pilot whales, gray whales, blue whales and then the non-whale whale shark. What I mean is that the whale shark isn't really a type of whale. The curving, protected bay made for a great dive site on the mixed bottom of rock and sand, while looking for rays, eels , jawfish and many other creatures. I spotted my first ...

... serenading the patio with refreshing acoustic music, Eli and I have our first disconnect. Still settling into each other and the trip, we're starting to get the feel for what it's all about for us and what that means for our joint trip. Partly fueled by my not having easily or fully transitioned from my time in Santa Cruz, taking a little time apart the following day allows us to find our space and reconnect. Not wanting to dwell in La Paz ...

... into the centre of La Paz as there was no sign of the bus. We had asked to be dropped off at the Spanish school where we wanted to take lessons, but the taxi driver dropped us about 15 blocks outside of town at the wrong language school. We had a long hot walk with our backpacks...and I was quite happy that we have not yet seen the taxi driver as I am still upset about it!!! We finally got sorted and are staying at a great hostel, with a kitchen and internet. It is ...

... this is. Not just the Island, but Baja in General, with the sights and sounds of this culture being fully evaporated by my husband and I. Just then the captain took a Sharpe turn toward the open water at a fairly high rate of speed. We all held on assuming we had a change of plans for the end of our tour. In the air we could see hundreds of birds soaring ...

... two very popular activities here. We jumped on a bus to Ensenada.


By chance, I had picked up a flyer for a hostel called El Sauzal whilst in San Francisco. I had only used it to write a phone number on the back, but I still had it in my backpack and, now that I read it, it sounded like a nice place. We decided to go there for our first stop in Mexico.


The bus travelled down the highway for three hours or so in the mid afternoon and terminated at the large town of ...