My father, Bob Caid and I decided to do a fishing trip to La Paz, BCS, MX. He had been there many, many times over the years. In fact, so many times that the taxi drivers recognized him and stopped him on the street to say "hi". We stayed at the Los Arcos hotel, arguably the nicest hotel in town. We got up way early the next morning and boarded the van for the 90 minute drive to Las Arenas (the sands) to board a little panga and go fishing. Sadly, the weather had other ideas. The wind was blowing hard enough that it was impossible for the open pangas to head out to sea. So we waited on the shore to see if it would calm enough for us to go. It did not. So, we returned to the hotel and took a nap (it was still 7am). When we got up, we decided to rent a car and do a road trip to a town south of La Paz called Los Barriles. Los Barriles is perhaps 100 km from La Paz. The photos below tell the story.
Lighthouse at Las Arenas. The wind was blowing hard.
Waiting to see if the wind dies down. It did not. We cancelled our fishing, rented a car and did a road trip south of La Paz to Los Barriles on the gulf coast.
Dead cow next to the road. No question he had been hit by a truck. Livestock is an everpresent driving hazard and must be avoided.
True cobble stone streets in Triunfo.
The beach at Los Barriles. Note the many fishing boats.
Hotel Palmas de Cortez .
Cardon cactus north of Los Barriles.
View from the hotel at Punta Pescadero.
A very odd tree at Punta Pescadero. Note the roots.
One of the oddest things about baja is the desert flora that goes right to the water's edge.
Pitahaya cactus in bloom. The buds are edible and were a mainstay of the indian diet.
Stone bridge near Triunfo.
Mission San Bartolo with approaching storm. A classical back country mission.
Isla Cerralvo as seen from Las Arenas. Note the water clarity.
The fishing pangas.
Salt Flats at Las Arenas.
A Needle Fish. Named for obvious reasons.
150lb tuna. This took 90 minutes to land. I was trashed and barely able to pick it up.
Bob catches a wahoo.
Captain Juan Maldonado cleans our catch in La Paz bay .
A view of Los Arcos Hotel (the arches). Named for obvious reasons.
Personal contact info: bcaid "at" san "dot" rr "dot" com Read the email address and form it yourself. Link not included due to spam email address harvesters.
All photos and narrative text Copyright (c) Bill Caid 1977 to 2004
All rights reserved.