Nov. 20, 2012, Tuesday, at anchor, Bahia de La Paz

The day starts bright and early, about 7:30, with the sound of mariachi music from shore.  Looking across the water, we can see people gathering all along the Malecon.  Yesterday was a holiday but today is the parade.  It is interesting that when we get on the radio net at 8am, no one knows much about the parade, or seems to care.  The announcements shape our day.  There is a coffee hour at 9:30 at the Club Cruceros club house at La Paz Marina.  We can meet people and find out about getting a slip and a ride to the airport.  The at 4:00 there is a welcome party for all of the HaHa boats.  Tomorrow is a Thanksgiving dinner at one of the other marinas.  I will be on the airplane but Alan is going.  He is assigned to bring salad so we need to find a grocery store today and buy lettuce and tomatoes.  If we get a chance, I would like to see the parade.  Alan does not care about it but I am a sucker for marching bands and horses.

We head off across the bay with our bag of trash from the last week.  All of that un-packaging that I did in San Diego has paid off.  We had one bag of trash in Cabo and now one bag of trash here.  The compostible stuff we shredded and dumped at sea when we were well off shore.  After a fair amount of hunting we find the club and tie up the dingy and spend an hour exchanging stories and finding out about the city.  It seems like a really nice place.   Unfortunately the marina is full and since it is the high season, expects to remain full through March.  Alan is sure that he can get all of his projects done at anchor and does not really need a slip.  I suspect that he will want shore power at some point to use large power tools.  Oh well, I guess he will have to sort that out himself. 

It’s funny how much I want to be sure everything is OK before I leave.  We have not been apart for this long since he got out of the army.  It is going to be an interesting experience for both of us.  All of those business trips he took, he never had to think about things like where to stay and what to eat, groceries and cooking.   Everything was all taken care of and all of his expenses were paid back. 

The main grocery store is 9-10 blocks away from town.  As we set out to walk, we run into the staging area of the parade.  Remember, the bands started playing at 7:30 this morning.  It is now 11:00 and the end of it has not even started moving.  I can’t resist, so we abandon the idea of groceries and follow the parade instead. 

It looks like the whole town is in the parade.  There are dozens of military units, horses, dancing groups in costume.  There is an announcer towards the middle of town.  My spanish is not that good but she seems to be extolling the military might of the groups and “la gloria del paiz”.  The reviewing stand is packed with generals and each group stops to perform which explains why the whole thing takes so long but no one seems to be in a hurry.  Bands not only play but stand on each other’s shoulders to create pyramids  One group has a climbing wall on a truck and solders climb up one side and repel down the other.  The rescue group has one of their group strapped into a parachute and, whenever they get space, they run down the street trying to inflate the chutes and lift the person up.  There is never quite enough wind or quite enough room and she only gets pulled up to her toes, not airborne, but they keep trying to loud cheers from the spectators.  By the time the parade ends, we have walked all the way to the other end of town.

The parade route is lined with pushcart vendors selling all kinds of interesting looking food.  First we get an order of churros.  We skip the ice cream and shave ice carts and candy but there is one that I am very curious about.  Something is put into a cup and loaded with toppings.  I can’t quite tell what it is but it is very popular.  Time to give it a try.  Turns out to be a concoction called “tosti-elote”.  First a snack sized bag of tostitos is cut open lengthwise.  Then fresh warm corn kernels are pilled on top of the chips.  Then come the toppings; mayonnaise, onions, hot sauce, cheese and lime.   With a highly dubious look at each other, Alan and I dig in as the vendor and his buddies look on.  It turns out to be quite good, and extremely filling.  And so we stroll back along the boardwalk to the club where we can sit and relax and wait until it is time for the party.

This was the official “Welcome Baja Haha Cruisers to La Paz” Party.  It was really fun.  It was held at a restaurant right on the beach so we just rode the dingy up onto the sand and stepped out to the party.  Lots of food, lots of drinks, lots of speaches by all the local dignitaries, mariachi singers, folklorico dancers and finally dancing to a really good band. 

Sometime late at night we stepped back into the dingy and headed on back to Rhapsody for my last night