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Peace in La Paz |
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WORK IS CRAZY. I’ve got to find some peace. I pull out my map of Baja California Sur. La Paz jumps out at me. La Paz literally means “the peace” in Spanish. Perfect.
The shortest flight from San Diego is nine hours. Not so peace-inducing. I search for flights out of Tijuana. Aeroméxico has one, just an hour and forty-five minutes——and a hundred dollars cheaper. On my way to the airport, I’m afraid this will be an adventure in itself. It turns out to be disappointingly easy.
My escape will include fishing and scuba diving. The place that offers these and a bed is the adventure resort Club Cantamar (clubcantamar.com). It’s run by the Aguilar family. Fabion, who picks me up at the airport, is the brother of the wife of the cousin, or something like that. The resort and ferry terminal sit all by themselves, a scenic, 20-minute drive from the bustle of downtown La Paz.
At 6:30 p.m., I catch a shuttle to town. Summer days are so hot, little happens until well after sunset. I spend my time wandering down the busy main drag, Paseo Alvaro Obregon, with restaurants, bars and tourist shops on one side and a bay, beach and large promenade on the other. I take my cantina nightlife seriously, but it appears the locals are just getting started when I take a taxi home at 1 a.m.
DURING A LA PAZ SUMMER, you can get sunburned before breakfast. Today is no different; bright sunshine wakes me before my alarm clock, set for 6 a.m. I meet my fishing captain, Juan Carlos Portillo, of Baja Pirates Fishing Fleet. He has brought along his 10-year-old daughter, Patrice. I ask her in Spanish if she is going to become a fishing captain. and she responds enthusiastically, “¡Si!” Our boat is a modern, 20-foot fiberglass beauty with a 150-horsepower engine and live-bait well.
The resort is quite close to the fishing area. In no time, a trolling rod is screaming as a colorful dorado fish takes to the air. Dorado are dark green with blue edges on top and bright yellow on the bottom and are as delicious as they are beautiful. They put on spectacular aerial shows as they fight.
After catching more dorado, there is no action for a while. Then Portillo says, “These conditions are perfect for big dorado.” The words hardly fall silent when a reel starts whining with a hookup. This dorado is different, staying deep as I fight him. He finally takes to the air; turns out he weighs more than 40 pounds.
It’s a fulfilling day on the water. Our catch is good. And conveniently, back at the hotel, all the fish are cleaned and stored in the freezer until departure.
The next day, at 8:30 a.m. we set out for diving. Dolphins abound as we travel to three very different sites, including a large shipwreck. The water is amazingly warm and clear. The fish are abundant and colorful ——more so than in any doctor’s office fish tank.
Another popular dive site, Los Islotes, is a group of very small islands whose pancake-layered red rocks are covered by white bird guano——making them look like super-size birthday cakes. In just 20 feet of water, I have separated from the other divers. A couple of feet in front of me, a giant bull sea lion is enjoying an afternoon siesta. He naps with one eye open. He knows I’m here but disregards me. I keep my distance but look on in fascination.
And then it occurs to me that both the sea lion and I have found perfect peace in La Paz.
Jeffrey Lehmann is host and producer of the Weekend Explorer TV series, which airs all over the world and on 210 PBS stations in the United States.
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