We arrived at La Paz on February 3, 2022, at Campestre Maranatha located just on the outskirts of La Paz. It’s a beautiful campground with 30 amp power, water, and dump. They also have areas just for dry and tent camping. It has a huge pool, several bathrooms with hot showers, a laundry facility, community campfire pit. Just too many amenities to list them all. This campground is used by churches, schools, and families for many different activities. In our travels here in Baja and Baja Sur this RV Park is the most cared for. Campestre Maranatha is staffed 7 days a week until 9pm, the staff is friendly and helpful, speaks English and works hard to make the campground beautiful and it shows.
There is a coffee house/restaurant on the property called Exquisito that has good breakfast and lunch menus and of course sweets, lots of cakes, cookies, and a lot of different coffee drinks as well. Open until 10:00 pm late-night snacks. How convenient is that?
We took a city tour of La Paz from a local tour company. One of our stops was at Bravo Public Market. The official name is Mercado Municipal General Nicolas Bravo. Several vendors sell just vegetables and fruits, some vendors sell meats, or seafood, cheeses and lunch meats, pork, and pork rinds. Several restaurants/kitchens serve different kinds of food on countertops. It’s an amazing place, fun just to walk through.
We also visited the Mision of our Lady of the Pillar of La Paz Airapi Cathedral, located in the old downtown area of La Paz. This Mission is best known as Our Lady of Peace Cathedral or La Paz Cathedral. This mission was founded by the Jesuits in the eighteenth century. It currently serves as a Catholic Church. The current temple was built in the second half of the 19th century, under the orders of Bishop Francisco Francisco Escalante y Mor
This building was used as a government building for 100 years from 1881 to 1981. It is currently a Library.
We were looking for a hair salon one afternoon at one of the many malls in La Paz and came across this unique whale. The head and tail are on the opposite end of an outside corridor.
The Malecon here in La Paz is amazing! Along the Malcolm, there are various sculptures. Through these sculptures, you can learn a lot about the history and the culture of this area. This boardwalk is family-friendly with a variety of children’s playground areas. There are bike paths that run the length of the Malecon which is 5.5 km long. On one end of the Malecon is a skateboard park and at the other end of the boardwalk is a BMX bicycle park. There is so many restaurants to chose from. From steak houses to pizza parlors and sushi restaurants and everything between.
Want a souvenir? or a Cultured Pearl necklace? La Paz is known for its Pearls. In fact, in 1883 an astounding pearl was found inside a gigantic mother pearl oyster. The size and shape of lemon fruit. The Pearl was originally named “La Perla de La Paz”. This giant pearl was given as a gift from a local wealthy family to the King and Queen of England. Years later, Queen Elizabeth II traveled to La Paz to see where the beautiful giant pearl from her Crown came from.
Perlas De Cortel is continuing the rich tradition of pearl harvesting at their pearl farms located here in La Paz. They specialize in half pearls, called “Mabes.” The pearls grow inside the live oysters. When harvested they do not need to be polished to show their natural beauty. These half pearls are cultivated for three years before being mounted in handmade jewelry, thus continuing the legacy of the jewels of the Sea of Cortez.
Rick so generously bought me one of the most beautiful handmade pearl neckless from the Perlas de Cortel storefront at the Malecon. It’s something I will always treasure. Thank you, my love.
Right off the Malecon is a restaurant called La Peregrina. They have both in and outdoor seating. We sat in the outdoor area. We ordered a Guacamole Appetizer with chips and a Sea Food entree for two, which had a big variety of tasty goodness.
While in La Paz, we went on a Whale Shark excursion. We boarded the boat at the Malecon and headed out into the bay. It was a great day for a boat ride and enjoyed being out with nature. The Whale Sharks are amazing! These pictures were taken from our GoPro videos. To see a full video, check out our Instagram page at rickandfaithtravels.
While I was at the Aviva Hair Salon getting my hair cut and colored, Rick went on an adventure of his own.
My Hairstylist Elizabeth is so sweet and speaks very good English. English is her 2nd language. Elizabeth did a fantastic job on my hair. I just love it. Thank you, Elizabeth
Rick scoped out the area by the salon and found a restaurant for lunch. Rick also found a cool church to take pictures of. The church name is Sanctuary of our Lady of Guadalupe.
We loved La Paz. There is so much here to do and see but it’s time to see more of Baja before our 6 months VISA is up. Will be back in a week or so.
Time to hit the road, next stop Todos Santos.