Friday, December 17, 2010

La Paz again 12th December 2010

Had a very quick ride up a duel carriageway back to La Paz, about a 60 mile journey, and arrived back at the Pension California around noon. We wanted to spend the weekend in La Paz so we could join in the celebrations, and once we had done our washing and general household chores, Jill set about cooking us a meal with more vegetables in it than we had seen in the last month. We are both having problems with the Baja food. I don't know if it is pure Mexican or Americanised Mexican but there is very little choice for vegetarians. You get cheese, rice, beans and tortillas with lettuce and tomatoes in various combinations and that seems to be it. Finding potatoes in Loreto was a gastronomic delight, that hasn't been achieved elsewhere. They grow lots of vegetables here as can be seen in the markets, but it doesn't make it to the restaurants. Hopefully I'm loosing some weight, which I could do with doing, as I don't look forward to eating (unless of course Jill is cooking). Jill ventured to some meat yesterday that came on a huge skewer, (with rice, beans and tortillas with lettuce and tomatoes). She said it tasted like eating her flip-flop with a texture to match, while I had cheese with rice, beans and tortillas with lettuce and tomatoes... again. So full up from a '1 ring wonder' we went in search of the festivities with Kat, who we had met at the hotel. About 10 blocks to the west was the Church of Our Lady of Guadeloupe, a modern concrete structure in tradition church style, that had a feel of 'work in progress', draped in huge Mexican flags. Outside there was the hustle and bustle of a market with some very fancy footwork from different dancers. Inside the church there were a group of Indian dancer in very exotic costumes doing an amazing dance. All seemed a bit pagan to me but who am I to judge. This was followed by a group of singing guitar players who did great harmonies both with their voices and their instruments. The traditional hymns then took over as it got to midnight and we walked back to the hotel via the malecón. The 12th of December is Mexico Day as The Lady of Guadeloupe is the patron saint, and we had been told there would be celebrations. There was a political rally and live rap music extolling the virtues of a candidate, but that is all we could find. A bit disappointing really. So instead of lots of people partying, here are some pictures of the sculptures. Walking around you have to be constantly mindful of every step, otherwise walking off the pavement with a 4 foot drop to the road or falling down a 3 foot hole where a tree has been dug out are all very possible. Here is one such danger. Packed up on the Monday morning and caught the ferry for the 6 hour journey to Topolobampo on the mainland at 1500 for a cost of 2390 pasos. Having strapped the bike down Jill fell asleep listening to her Spanish Book. We really enjoyed our stay in La Paz and now it seems that a new adventure is about to unfold with the Mexican mainland.

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