December 19, 2015. Lost in La Paz

CAMPGROUND:  Martin Verdugo's RV park.  Many permanent RVs, some with palapas.  Decent bathrooms and showers.  Wifi. Full hook-ups. Part of a hotel with pool, beachfront, and tiki bar.  A little crowded. $24/night.  4 stars

LOCATION:  Los Barriles, on the Baja Peninsula about an hour NE of Cabo.  On Sea of Cortez.  

WEATHER:  Cloudy.  Highs in 70s

We awoke to the sound of Mexican Christian music blasting from a boom box.  A group of teenagers is having a retreat here.  Not a great wake-up call.

We unhooked the Airstream and went in to La Paz to explore and to see if we could find another RV park for a return trip here.  La Paz is the capital of Baja Sur state.  It is a large city of 200k+.  We drove downtown along its beautiful waterfront, lined with restaurants and luxury hotels.

Ferries and cruise ships dock here.

We did not find any other camping.  We also decided that we won't return here to stay, as it is such a big city.  We will have to pass through the edge it again, though on our way north.

We hooked up the camper and tried to head south.  We tried to follow instructions from a guidebook to follow a bypass, but missed the turn (unmarked).  We were in heavy traffic.  We pulled over, and I ran to a gas station to get directions.  A nice guy told me we were going in the opposite direction, but gave excellent instructions on how to get back on the highway.  While I was in the gas station, a random guy stopped to practice his English on George and to tell us to make a u-turn......not a good idea in this traffic and narrow streets.

We had a short drive of 65 miles to our destination of Los Barriles, right on the coast.  It was through the mountains again, on a winding road.  We stopped at this little roadside restaurant.

Gringos don't come here!  For $4, we had 2 beers, more than we could eat quesadillas, and the best refried beans we have ever had.

We found the RV park and unhooked.  Before deciding how many nights to book here, we drove around, checking out the town and tried to find other RV parks to compare.  The town is full of gringos, as we learned it is a popular wind surfers' destination.  We did find another spot where we will stay after 5 nights here.  It is right on the beach, and as we were standing there, whales swam by and gave us a show!  Wow!

Back at our park, we strolled down to the tiki bar and had margaritas as we watched the sunset.  We started chatting with a gringo from Alaska.  After comparing notes about where we had visited there, we realized that he had been our guide when we flew on a seaplane to watch bears catching salmon.  I remember him vividly, and remember how he had talked about spending winters in Baja.    What a small world!  

DINNER:  More of the scallops.  Sautéed them in butter with garlic, basil,  and tomato paste.  Served over rice.  Yum!