It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool again.”
― John Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez
JACQUES COUSTEAU famously described The Sea of Cortez as ‘The World’s Aquarium’.
The legendary French oceanographer, marine biologist and broadcaster was captivated by the pristine waters between Baja California and continental Mexico, which enjoy one of the world’s unique ocean environments, considered by some to be the most biologically rich body of water on earth. Today more than 850 species of marine life make their home in its temperate waters and this unspoiled setting draws divers, eco-tourists, naturalists and whale watchers from around the globe.
And fortunately for us, it’s all just a few short hours away.
Cousteau was not the only foreigner beguiled by the area. John Steinbeck visited La Paz when it was just a sleepy fisherman’s village and was so enchanted that he made it the setting for both his 1947 novella, The Pearl, as well has his classic travel yarn, The Log From The Sea of Cortez.
As a fan of sea life, sailing and Mexico, I had long been intrigued by La Paz and this past Easter finally got it together to take a family trip down there. After a 140-minute flight from LAX to Los Cabos followed by a two hour drive north, the first thing I noticed was that these days the town is anything but sleepy. Its sprawling outskirts now comprise the fourth largest municipality in Mexico, thanks mainly to migrants from the mainland, drawn by its higher-than-average daily wages. But once you’ve negotiated the gritty outskirts and reached the town’s historic seafront, the old magic of the town can still be felt, like a distant echo from Steinbeck’s days.
We were staying at the CostaBaja Resort & Spa, sitting just out of town at the northern end of La Paz Bay and part of a posh complex which includes the CostaBaja marina. The hotel boasts an open and airy floor plan with a motif that accents the area’s marine majesty. Our rooms were spotless and spacious with a modern design that incorporated an enclosed shower in the middle of the room – a nice touch for me but one which required a bit of choreography for our teenage son and daughter, who loved having their own room and the serviceable – but not very fast – wi-fi. Snapchat just won’t wait, family trip or no.
The hotel boasts two good restaurants. Mosaic is a convenient choice during the day and really hits the spot with a groaning breakfast buffet replete with both local and American choices. We particularly enjoyed the hotel’s signature breakfast juice mix of cucumber, parsley and cactus – the perfect eye opener no matter how many margaritas we had enjoyed the night before. And then there is Steinbeck’s, the resort’s signature restaurant accenting local fish and seafood cooked over a mesquite wood grill. It also boasts my kind of education – tequila lessons no less, where you can enjoy some of the finest examples of Mexico’s national drink while savoring lush views of both the adjacent marina and the resort’s golf course. Indeed Steinbeck’s bar became our nightly retreat for before dinner drinks and instantly joined a small group of my favorite watering holes anywhere in the world.
For those who prefer to wile away the heat of the day at the pool, CostaBaja has a compact but immaculate piscina with a swim-up bar, serving inexpensive snacks sourced from local seafood. We loved the mixed seafood ceviche and the quesadilla jammed with freshly-caught octopus for about $8, while my kids preferred to decamp to the resort’s Beach Club, a short golf cart ride away, (but out of sight of the parents), to enjoy the club’s infinity pool and private beach while ordering drinks they could charge to their room. How very grown-up….
Service everywhere at the hotel was prompt, friendly and courteous, and everyone spoke excellent English. Special mention should also go to the resort’s lap pool – which was kept at a bracingly chilly temperature and became my preferred way to cool off and burn some calories after a few hours by the pool.
For those visitors who are inclined to separate themselves from the outside world, the CostaBaja resort certainly has everything you need; the marina right outside the hotel was full of both gin palaces (which is what we sailors call expensive motorboats) in addition to well-equipped and maintained sailboats, usually owned by the sizeable contingent of American retirees who make the Sea of Cortez their second home. Upmarket restaurants and stores line the marina, including two very serviceable restaurants, the Odayaka sushi restaurant and the Marina Azul, where we enjoyed one of the best meals of our visit.
Hangin’ with The Griz…
But La Paz is really all about the water. There are some 900 islands and inlets in the Sea of Cortez, with 244 now under UNESCO protection as World Heritage Bio-Reserves and the Isla Espíritu Santo group, which borders the northeast portion of the Bay of La Paz is rightly considered the crown jewel. Giant manta rays, whale sharks, colonies of sea lions, pods of humpback, blue, sperm, fin and seasonal migrating gray whales are very common sights. Its warm, translucent waters, along with its fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling and kayaking are considered world class and as is so often the case, making the most of it is all about who you know. A quick drive along the town’s Malecon (seafront) revealed myriad local operators promising to take you fishing, snorkeling, kayaking or diving, and of course the hotel itself had plenty of options. But we were lucky enough to have an introduction to a larger-than-life American expat whose local expertise turned our trip from enjoyable to truly memorable.
Mike ‘The Griz’ Ritz is a towering, bear-like man (hence the nickname) whose love of fishing was spawned when he was just a tyke fishing with his father in Montana. Mike has lived in Baja for 30 years and is a tireless booster for the area. He is best known to outdoor enthusiasts for his TV shows Adventures South of the Border, Chef on the Water and Discovering Mexico, which air on Hunt TV worldwide and MegaCable in Mexico, Alive TV Outdoors and WCTV in the USA. Mike is also a regular host of Baja’s FishTalk radio, sharing his unrivaled knowledge of the local conditions, and enjoys taking visitors for some some of the best fishing they will ever enjoy. Mike is also the proud proprietor of the Mangrove Inn Baja just a couple of hours north at Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos on the Pacific side, which offers some of the best gray whale watching spots in Baja during the migration season. (www.mangroveinnbaja.com)
Mike treated us spectacularly well, filling us in on the best spots to visit, (both on the water and off), and even giving us the services of his boat and his superb skipper Enrique for one memorable day which included swimming with whale sharks in the plankton-rich waters just across the bay from our hotel. These gentle giants lumber through the shallows at an easy pace, allowing visitors to enjoy their majesty up close and personal for minutes on end. To be within just a few feet of these wonderful creatures was an experience neither myself nor my children will ever forget.
But that was just the beginning. Later Enrique took us to frolic with playful sea lions at the marine reserve on nearby Espiritu Santo island, before visiting one of the most magical and pristine beaches imaginable, which our family had completely to ourselves, with the dramatic backdrop of the arid and stark desert for which Baja is rightly famous. Later we visited the magnificent Balandra Beach – boasting a whole bay of crystal clear thigh-high water – as well as the abandoned oyster farms which briefly made the La Paz the world’s biggest pearl producer at the turn of the twentieth century. All in all it was a day full of jaw-dropping moments and unforgettable experiences. Thanks to Enrique and Mike for probably the best Good Friday I’ve ever spent…
No bad meals here
But what about the food? Well, we ate out every night and never had a bad meal. Most visitors stick to the restaurants on the Malecon, the pick of which is the Bismarkcito, – a sprawling seafood establishment whose rear wall is dominated by a large portrait of the famous (or infamous) German battleship from which the place draws its name. My son had shrimp enchiladas, I had grilled marlin and my wife had the biggest lobster I’ve ever seen. With four desserts, plus coffee and a couple of cocktails the bill came to $100, which by California standards is a bargain. Another good bet on the Malecon is the Fubar Tailhunter Salon, the most overtly-American joint we found in La Paz, but which serves a plentiful and tasty Mexican American menu with excellent service for around $50 for four.
But sticking to the Malecon alone would be a mistake. La Paz is known for having one of the most varied restaurant scenes in Mexico and as usual, straying off the beaten path reaps dividends; we also enjoyed the Rancho Viejo (three locations, we recommend the one on Manuel Marquez de Leon just off the Malecon) for the Molcajecte de Arrachera, a truly delectable mix of marinated beef, nopal cactus, and cheese melded in a heavenly sauce served in a piping hot stone bowl ($55 for four). The budget-minded also must not miss El Mural, a tiny but delightful pizza joint serving thin crust pizzas with a Mexican twist, each big enough to feed two. Dinner for four, with drinks, $30 (corner of Oaxaca and Belisario Dominguez) Also great for those on a budget is Mariscos El Tio (Calle Bellosario Dominguez and Constitucion) a good choice for an inexpensive lunch, serving fresh seafood quesadillas and ceviches, plus unbeatable asada tacos served with a large tupperware box containing hot sauce, salsa, lime wedges and slaw (all fresh from the kitchen). Lunch for four, $20. Slightly more upmarket but still an excellent value is Athena’s, one of two highly-rated Greek restaurants in town. The four of us enjoyed succulent chicken souvlaki, melt-in-your-mouth braised lamb and Greek salad and very quaffable retsina for about $65. (1243 Francisco Madero) Sit on the lovely outdoor patio if you can.
But hands-down the best meal we enjoyed during our stay was at Azul Marino in the CostaBaja marina, a four-minute walk from our hotel. Under the imaginative leadership of chef Cristina Kiewek this waterside hideaway has earned a sterling reputation for its stylish modern cuisine. I started with a cool and spicy Gazpacho de Andalusia appetizer followed by an intriguing thin crust Huitlacoche Pizza. For the uninitiated, Huitlacoche is corn smut – a blight caused by pathogenic fungus and named by the native Nuahatl people by combining the words for excrement (uitla) and pig (cochi). I had heard of its virtues before but had never seen it on a menu. It was a combination of nutty and earthy and sweet and really worked well with the tomato-based pizza sauce. The rest of the family played it safe, ordering beef tenderloin, which came in an unctuous red wine reduction with baby potoatoes and green onions, a juicy pork tenderloin with creamy mashed potatoes accented with blue cheese and a spaghetti bolognese – my son’s go-to dish whenever confronted with a complicated menu. Add two desserts (crepes with nutella and vanilla ice cream with caramel), a margarita and a glass of rich, earthy Vino de Piedra, (a Mexican blend of tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon) and the bill came to a very respectable $85. Expensive by local standards but good value in Santa Monica. Service was prompt and professional too. And the location, overlooking the boats snoozing quietly in their slips, could not have been better.
In sum, La Paz still remains a charming Baja alternative to party-central Cabo San Lucas. The weather is almost always beautiful, the seas are warm and teeming with life. If activities on or in the water are your thing, it’s hard to imagine anywhere better. The people are friendly and the price is right. Best of all, you don’t have to get on a 12-hour flight to enjoy it. It’s perfect for a weeklong trip from Los Angeles. And while you’re there, say hello to some whale sharks, they are guaranteed to smile right back at you…
IF YOU GO:
Getting There: Alaska, American, Delta, United, US Airways and Aeromexico all fly daily to San Jose del Cabo airport. Round trip fares start around $305. From the airport, it’s a 100-mile drive to La Paz. The British Weekly recommends BBB Rent A Car (www.bbbrentacar.com), for their fleet of late model sedans and minivans. Run by two expats, Israeli Sagi Walk and American Gary Greene, BBB is just minutes from the airport and makes the rental experience painless. BBB stands for ‘bueno, bonito y barato’ which translates as ‘good, clean and inexpensive’ – which it certainly was on all counts.
Where to stay: CostaBaja Resort is the best hotel in the region by some distance with friendly and efficient service. Rooms around $200 for a double. wwwcostabajaresort.com. Other good choices include the Hyatt Place La Paz (across the marina channel from the CostaBaja resort), or the centrally located and charming Hotel Perla. A budget-minded choice in the center of town which is also awash with old world charm is the venerable La Posada San Miguel (double room with a/c are is around 300 pesos – $20 at 15pesos/dollar).
Useful websites:
For more information on Mike Ritz and adventures south of the border, visit www.asobproductions.com; www.facebook.com/asobonline or on Twitter @mikethegriz
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