over the past few weeks, we have spent some time in la paz, mexico, mostly because we dock here and embark/disembark guests each week. because these are a turn day for us – the day when guests disembark at 8:30am and new guests embark at 5pm – we don’t have much time to get off the ship and explore… it’s mostly just a few hours in which to grab a coffee or an ice cream from la fuente.
but yesterday i had the opportunity to explore la paz in a little more depth than just the malecon (main beachfront road). it was my day off, and since we are in lay days, we are docked here for the week. i left the ship around 10:30 in the morning and just walked. i headed up the hill beyond the ship, toward the cathedral and through the market streets. i didn’t stop for much, just looked. past the cathedral, the bustling city “centre” disappears and the roads become more car-centric and there are more businesses instead of shops. i stumbled upon the museo regional antropologia e historia – a very small and apparently unfinished museum of the area. i wandered in and was asked to put my name and where i am from down. no charge to enter, either, which was good because it only took me ten minutes to go all the way through! there was a small exhibit on the mayans, who were never really in this area… but maybe that was a traveling exhibit? from there, they had a level dedicated to the prehistory of the area… unfinished… but mostly models of cities being built, sabertooth tigers and a few other random things. the next floor was all images of some cave paintings near mulege, which you can read more about here, and that was pretty cool. i had to ask where they were though, because they didn’t have any signs posted anywhere on that level. it too looked unfinished. the last floor was about the later 1800s and early 1900s – the missionaries coming in, the building of the loreto mision, and also about the mining that took place. i hadn’t known that there was mining around here, but it was apparently a very big part of their economy.
i enjoyed learning just a little bit more about my temporary home, and like i said, i stopped to talk to the senors at the front to ask about the cave paintings. one chose to sing “american woman” to me as well. i love this place (ha!)
after my little museum adventure, i kept wandering. i was about 10 blocks west of the waterfront at this point, and i headed south toward the end of town. la paz is like an oval, so the further away from the water that i was, the less i could go in either north-south direction. i found my way up and down a few more streets before passing the arthouse. i started to go in, and the sign did say “abierto,” but i changed my mind. too bad too, because when i went back in the afternoon, they were cerrado.
after lunching back on the ship, i made some chocolate cupcakes and then headed back out. i had REALLY wanted to make cupcakes, and while they turned out a little funky looking, they were delish. i topped them with a homemade peanut butter frosting and some caramel…. mmmmmm.
anyway, my afternoon trek was nicer. the weather had warmed up a bit (not that it was *cold* in the morning…) and the sun was out and the wind was not as noticeable. i headed the opposite direction, aiming for a florentine style duomo in the distance. i wasn’t exactly sure where it was, or for that matter what it was, but i thought it would be a adventure. i am still not entirely sure what it is, because it was under some kind of construction and the doors were bolted shut. again, i walked. up and down the streets, not really caring where i went… just looking at everything. i saw a roller rink, an ACE hardware, a workshop that made elaborate tombstones, several grocery stores, lots of schools and a bridgestone tires. when i realised that i was kind of back where i had been in the morning, i went back to see the arthouse, but like i said – cerrado. that was too bad, but hopefully i will have a chance to visit it some other time. i decided to head toward the water. the wind had picked back up and i was kind of hungry, so i decided to head to a little bar i kind of like and get some guac and chips, and a glass of wine (hey it was my day off!). i took a seat on their upper level, facing the malecon and the water, and i read my book while mindlessly eating guacamole… like you’ve never done that… i made my way back to the ship when i noticed several coworkers running along the promenade.
i’m really happy that i took this chance to explore la paz, and i have decided that i really like this city. there were so many cool houses with courtyards full of plants – succulents, cacti, palms, etc – and i loved that. it reminded me of greece a little bit, and i know that that’s something i definitely want in a house: a huge courtyard with tons of plants. the other thing i noticed about la paz is that away from the waterfront, there is really nothing. i came across so many abandoned lots, most with a lot of trash and junk piled up in it, a lot of houses that were smashed in, and a lot of old, beat up cars in empty lots. (on the car note – i also saw a lot of old bugs.. if they had a shiny new paint job, they’d be gorg retro). i can’t begin to describe another city that reminds me of la paz, and that makes me happy – this place is unique. heart.