Sunday, November 7, 2010 – Costa Baja Marina

I can’t explain it, there is no logic, and it’s not as if we are particularly busy, but our time here flies by, even when we are just tied up at the marina. Tomorrow will we head north and turn up the heat instead of the air conditioning. Earl has put the necessary boat systems to bed, and I have done a few jobs, such as defrosting the freezer and cleaning out under the sink, so things will be ready for us on our return on the 8^th of December.

We can now say that we have seen the making of a Guinness world record – the largest burrito in the world was made right here in La Paz last week. It was 2.7 kilometers long and stretched from one end of the Malecon to the other. Many restaurants contributed labor and ingredients. When completed, it provided free burrito for approximately 27,000 people. I expect there was a lot of beer sold that evening.

At long last, the golf course here at Costa Baja is open. This weekend was the grand opening with Ochoa and Gary Player in attendance, along with 400 others. A handful played a round, but others will need to wait at least another 3 weeks for the grass to toughen up before they will be allowed to try. Next week will be the grand opening of the newly remodeled hotel. The nice 8 year old hotel geared to business people has been entirely redone to “5 star” resort standards. Apparently it is lovely inside – we will need to take a tour. It seems to us that the majority of the condos are still unsold, and much of the inner marina is empty. The outer marina where the larger boats are moored is slightly fuller. At least 3 big boats have relocated here from Acapulco. Their Mexican owners are all leaving there because of the violence and kidnappings. I am glad that so far our lovely La Paz has been spared.

We rented a car for a couple of days and did some power shopping as well as going out to dinner to celebrate our 38^th anniversary. We discovered a new little restaurant, La Boheme, where we had lunch. It is housed in an old hacienda and meals are served in a charming courtyard, where we watched little yellow butterflies dancing in among the bougainvillea flowers. We had seen great flocks of these same butterflies out on the sea, some distance from land, while we were cruising. They seemed more appropriate here.

Yesterday we made the acquaintance of Mark and Sue whose 82 foot steel boat, a Cape Horn, are tied at the end of our dock. They took us for a tour of their boat. From my point of view, with its generous public spaces, giant master suite, two large guest staterooms each with its own bath, and enormous engine room, it felt like a 3,000 square foot house. According to Sue, that is probably about right. Earl said it is a ship not a boat. He was impressed with the extensive mechanical and electrical systems including every electronic gadget known to man. Mark apparently loves to work on all of it.

Tomorrow we will pack and trek on north – I can’t wait to see my family.