La Paz to Mazatlán
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We took a couple of rest days in La Paz in order to refocus and to enjoy the delights the city had to offer.
More or less since we planned the tour we had known we would cycle down Baja. However our plans never developed beyond that point. When we were planning, the idea of cycling through America and then down Baja was as much as our brains could handle. Consequently, once we arrived in La Paz we have had to start thinking about what we will do next and where we head.
We found out through our dear friends Sarah and Jago, that Sarah had relatives in Canada who were going to be on holiday in la Paz. We got in touch and had a wonderful day out with Kevin and Gill. We had no idea what we wanted to do so they took us on a mystery tour. We went over to La Ventana for a coffee, swim and lunch. We were taken aback by their generosity as they treated us to all of this. We went back into town for an ice cream on the malecon (promenade) where we met Anna and Sandra two other cyclists that Kevin and Gill had met on their way south.
The next day was super exciting. We had both been treated to cash gifts when we left work and had saved it up waiting for something significant to spend it on. We decided that a day swimming with whale sharks would be a suitable activity.
We went out in a small boat and quickly found the sharks basking in the shallow waters of the bay. We dropped off the side of the boat in a shorty wetsuit, with flippers and snorkel gear and swam as fast as we could to try to keep up. Their colouration is striking with the patterns of dots on their upper side. Each one is unique making them identifiable. They were relatively small even though at about 4 or 5 metres they seemed quite big to us. They can grow to over 15 meters but they leave the bay before they get to that size.
The head that appears at the end of this video clip is mine.
Also in the bay was a humpback whale that was rolling around and showing off it's flippers. We got a nice close look at it and the dolphins that were playing alongside it.
Also included in the day was snorkeling around a small reef alive with colourful fish of all shapes and sizes. My favourites were needlefish. Not only that, there were sea lions bobbing around in the water.
Lunch was provided on a pristine beach with white sand and turquoise water. Heavenly.
Our last day in La Paz was spent savouring cultural delights. First up was the art museum.
Followed by the regional anthropology centre which charted life in the area from pre-history, through Spanish conquest, revolution and independence.
The second half of the day was spent riding out to the ferry terminal to get the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlán. We boarded without trouble at 16.00 in readiness for departure at 19.00. There is free food included in the price which was served before the boat had even left port. (I'll leave it to you to imagine the quality of free food on a Mexican ferry)
Lovely ride through Mazatlán to the apartment where we are staying. (Huge huge thanks to the relations of my biking friend, John Fettis, who are letting us use their apartment).
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