Baha Mexico

[bastonjock]

Hi Guys

Looks like my wife is dragging me off to mexico on a business trip late October,golfing is not my thing even if we are staying at the Hilton with a private golf course,ive seen a mac for hire out of La Paz for $140.00 a day,time will be a constraint as we have 3-4 days in "Cabo" which is right at the bottom of the peninsular,then im thinking of hiring a boat for 2-3 days of exploring before i head back to cold wet and windy England.

Does anyone have experience of the Southern Tip of Baha?

[pokerrick1]

A little - - - been to Cabo 10+ times - - - the waters around there (Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Cortez) can get pretty rough in the afternoons. Marlin fishing is good when in season. Last time we were there (last November) we rented a car and drove to La Paz (couple hours each way - - - not a bad drive and some parts very pretty). La Paz is a VERY protected harbor and also a good sized town.

You can certainly rent boats in Cabo, but I would prefer La Paz for that - - - is it possible for YOU to drive to La Paz early AM, rent the Mac for the day - - - maybe stay overnight yourself, and drive back to Cabo next AM. I wouldn't make that drive at night (only because of the getting lost possibilities). Mexican road signs sometimes aren't the greatest nor the most visible.

Feel free to PM me with specific questions - - - and you'll get more replies here because lots of our forum members have sailed Baja. In 2008, we lived in San Felipe (120 miles south of Mexicali on the Sea of Cortez).


Rick

[Chinook]

I agree with Rick about the Cabo area not being a very advisable option in a small boat. The Pacific swell somes in strong at Cabo, and the waters there are totally exposed. The La Paz area, however, offers outstanding cruising opportunities. There are several sizeable islands a short distance out from La Paz, which are classified as national parks, and they are very scenic and well worth visiting. A good and economical option for getting from Cabo to La Paz is to take the Baja bus. The service is excellent, and the buses are very comfortable. Air conditioned, comfy seats, rest room and a movie on video screen, in Spanish of course. The bus station in La Paz is quite close to the waterfront. The station in Cabo is a ways out from the downtown area, but they have good local bus connecting service. Cabo is very touristy, and heavily impacted by cruise ships. We enjoyed La Paz a lot more. The bayside malecon offers extensive waterfront walking opportunities.

[bastonjock]

Thanks for the input guys,we fly out on the Sunday from the UK,then we have untill wednesday in Cabo,Cabo itself looks a bit commercialised for my liking but from what you are saying,ill probably head up to LA PAZ,im thinking of maybee hiring a boat for a couple of days.
We wont be able to escape the crowd untill Thursaday AM,so its looking like either hiring a car,or getting the bus to LA PAZ and hiring a boat,explore around LA PAZ and then leave sat back to the UK

As yet i dont know what route we will be flying,that out of my control so there will be more questions guys.

What food should i try? ive never been to Mexico. do any of you guys know of a place for great deals on boat hire?

[Chinook]

Try Marina Costa Baja (costabajainfo@BellPortGroup.com) for charter boat options. They are the newest marina in the La Paz area. Very upscale. Another good possibility would be Marina de La Paz (marinadelapaz@prodigy.net.mx) (www.marinadelapaz.com). We stayed at this marina and the facilities are very nice. It's also located right in the heart of La Paz, within easy walking distance of the bus station. Lots of great restaurants within easy walking distance also. You may have heard lots of stories about the water in Mexico. Not to worry at the restaurants. Bottled water is served and used to make ice cubes and the shaved ice in your margarita. I'd stay clear of street vendor food stands, however. Dining down there is delightful, and a lot of places have great live music. A $3 or $4 dollar equivalent tip to the musicians will guarantee some excellent entertainment. Puerta Ballandra, with it's famous mushroom rock, as well as Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida have lots of great anchorages to explore. Just be aware of the corumel wind which often comes up out of the west. Virtually all of the anchorages are open to the west. A real highlight is Los Islotes at the north end of Isla Partida. There is a major sea lion colony there, and the sea lions are accustomed to swimmers. It's really exciting to snorkel with the sea lions.

[bastonjock]

rick did you find any great little restaurants down there> id like to try real mexican food along with the music etc

[pokerrick1]

On the Malecon at both Cabo & La Paz (La Paz again is better and great walking along the water) there are several Mexican restaraunts featuring local food and music - - - but I can't name any.

Rick

PS BTW- - - even though I lived there for six months - - - I don't and never have eaten Mexican food (and I mean NEVER ONCE in my life)

[baldbaby2000]

For our anniversary my wife and I and some friends chartered the 100 foot schooner Talofa out of La Paz. I don't know if it's still there. I think a Mac would be great out of La Paz. Lot's of sandy island beachs you can pull up on. Keep track of the tides though.

[pokerrick1]

What tides

Rick

[elvatoli]

What kind of customs and immigration regulations do you have to go to Mexico ?
It is different if you go driving or sailing ?
What kind of paperwork do you have to make ?
What can you bring into Mexico, like liquor, food, medicines, etc. ?
Wha can you bring back into US ?, Driving, sailing ?
Any knowledge will be appreciated. Since we live in the East Border, here there is no experience about it, because we dont have as much sailor as the west border.

Thank you
Hector
RGV, TX

[bastonjock]

ive Just got back from cabo and La paz,i did not have the time to find a boat for hire.We were staying at the cabo Hilton and it was more or less free including meals and night outs,it was all very controlled and for four days we went on group adventures,im really mad at myself as i picked the fishing trip which turned out to be a dissapointment there was a sailing trip and i misjudged the info and mistakenly put it down to a walk around an Americas cup racing yacht,the guys who went ended up grinding the winches and racing each other on two Americas cup training yachts,boy am i anoyed with myself,i could have helmed the boat.

Cabo was very clean and the Hilton could have been anywhere in the world,it was another Hilton,very clean very nice very proffessional staff,but it was not the mexico that i wanted to see,it was more of a golden cage.

I hired a car and took off up Highway No 1,we enjoyed the drive to La Paz,my wife was initially dissapointed at first but we booked into the Marina Hotel and i said lets go and explore so we did,i drove south and we found a great little beach and thats when we found out about the sting rays,so my wife did not go in the water.We returned to the Hotel and my wifes worry about crime started to give out as she saw lots of people walking along the malencon .We had two great steaks for dinner at a restaurant close to the North marina.

We explored the area the following day and were directed to a lagoon about 10Km south of La paz,the lagoon ranks as one of my top ten most beautifull places that ive ever visited,the lagoon and surrounding areas look like they are made for a macgreggor ,it was quite stunning.We really enjoyed La Paz as it felt Mexican.

On our return journey we took highway 19 ,the road started off great 2-3 lanes all the way to Todo Santos,the cows on the road were a new experience and so was the highway after Todos,a mixture of tarmac and dirt roads,again it was an experience that we both agreed that we enjoyed very much

[pokerrick1]

You did fine, sans the boat. I'm glad you got to drive to and see LaPaz. The drive there is kind of fun and often gorgeous! At least you've "been there" now!

Rick

[c130king]

Matt,

Next time you get over to this side of the pond you gotta get to DC. I owe you a couple of sailing trips...but we will grill some steaks...no F & C...

Cheers,
Jim

[bastonjock]

i will get to DC one day Jim I did wave at you from the Aircraft it was dark though

[bastonjock]

You did fine, sans the boat. I'm glad you got to drive to and see LaPaz. The drive there is kind of fun and often gorgeous! At least you've "been there" now!

Rick

yup the drive was interesting and with some great views,we did it both ways on HWY 1 and back on HWY 19