So when we arrived in La Paz on March 5 we arranged to stay at Marina Costa Baja, located a few miles to the north of La Paz proper. The livin’ here is pretty sweet – for the price of 2006 moorage in Shilshole Marina in Seattle, you get free (and excellent) Internet service, free potable water and pump-out facilities at every slip (shore power is charged separately), free onshore showers, and free shuttle service to downtown and beyond. The docks are new and, amusingly, built by the same Bellingham company that has been/is rebuilding the docks at Shilshole. Restaurants surrounding the marina are pricey but generally worth it – especially Restaurante Gula – and the small chandlery at the marina is better-stocked than most chandleries we’ve seen in other Mexican cities. The marina’s water must be clean because a mated pair of osprey have nested on top of a power pole opposite the marina fairway. 
Because of its location, getting in and out of Marina Costa Baja to cruise the islands to the north is faster & easier than the anchorage or other marinas in central LaPaz. I am not surprised that cruisers come here and never leave; some even stay for hurricane season although I am not familiar with Marina Costa Baja’s
hurricane plan so can’t recommend that, specifically. This first view on the right looks out from the marina toward the big-boat slips and the marina entrance – fuel dock (easiest-access fuel dock we’ve seen in almost a year) is off to the right, where that giant Turkish charter sailboat is tied up:
Here’s a view looking back into the smaller-boat portion of the marina which winds around behind the Hotel Fiesta – the Fox was moored in here. So calm, it looks like a swimming pool (and is about that deep – heh).
GB and I didn’t want to waste any more time in marinas after having spent so long in Mazatlan, so we got aggressive with the boat chores. Aside from the usual boat cleaning, laundry, fueling, and provisioning at various markets in town, GB and I completed the following projects:
Clean & inspect the bow’s knotmeter that had been clogged with sea growth since Mazatlan. Purchase & install dinghy wheels – and buy bicycle pump to inflate tires on aforementioned dinghy wheels. Sewing: repair sun-damaged threads along dodger. Repair 2 small storage bags, fabricate one more small storage bag & one Sunbrella cover for BBQ’s propane tank. Fabricate Sunbrella-and-plastic cover for ignition panel in cockpit. Change oil in engine & transmission. Arrange 2 mail shipments, fail at one. Search for 2 medications, fail at one. Replace depth markers on anchor rode. Clean & wax topsides, polish stainless steel. Change oil in & flush dinghy motor. Dive on & clean growth from bow thrusters & tubes. Whew. This may not sound like much to accomplish in 10 days, but living on a boat in a foreign port, every task takes much longer than it does when you have a house, car and all the conveniences. But, our time here has been well spent and thanks to GB’s hard work the Fox is clean and shiny, ready for cruising the Sea of Cortez.
We did a bit of turismo in La Paz – 
visited their cathedral, municipal mercado, & the regional museum of anthropology; stumbled into a medical-supplies store where I scored the back brace my Mazatlan neurosurgeon had told me to use while sailing; found a barber who gave GB an excellent haircut for 40 pesos (equals less than US $4); and bought some mezcal from a Oaxacan purveyor of fine liquor. Like other Mexican cities, La Paz has beautiful bronze sculptures all over the place – 
I was really taken by this trio of musicians whose bodies were encased in seashells. And check out one of the sand sculptures along La Paz’s malecon:
La Paz also seems to have a thriving construction industry; Costa Baja is part of a resort that is planning a golf course, condos and whatnot on the hills surrounding the marina (so long, ospreys), but this and other development projects sure keep a lot of people working. Still, though, come see La Paz soon if you can – it’s dry & sunny (great for asthmatics!) with lots to do and see and eat. Get you some.
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