LA PAz - A Favorite mexico destination
The greater La Paz area offers many leisure activities such as boating, fishing, off-road recreation, snorkeling and more. The lifestyle is a bit slower down here which most from north-of-the-border find a welcome relief. Friends have told me that it was a great place to catch up on their reading and personal projects. Write that book you’ve had in mind or develop that business idea you haven’t had the time or focus for. Gazing at the beautiful sky and scenery and sipping a cool drink is a wonderful way to come to a personal revelation, hatch a new idea or simply provide respite to an agitated mind.
EAT & Drink
La Paz is a large city and the center for most products shipped in or out of the southern peninsula. Therefore you will find many types of cuisine from Mexican to International cuisine to fast food chains. La Paz is a big fishing community so naturally seafood is on most menus especially the at the tourist establishments. Among the most popular dishes are clams cooked in their shell, fish tacos, tamales, lobster and marlin. Local restaurants will prepare your daily catch for you for a little extra.
Though there are numerious restaurants to recommend, a few are worth mentioning here: the two Bismark restaurants are seafood favorites, Adrianas on the maleon is wonderful for music and sunsets, and the top of the Seven Crown Hotel offers views and fine cuisine. Of couse, on the driniking side of things, many delicious and refreshing drinks are available from margaritas to tequila surises to cervesas.
SOCIALIZE & Golf
Although La Paz is a bit sleepier than Los Cabos, there are still many nightlife opportunties and other chances to soialize. La Paz has several bars and nightclubs, mostly along the malecon area. You'll find talented mariachi's walking around in search of someone to pay them to play their music. The bars in La Paz are a good place to relax with friends and tell tales of amazing fishing stories. Closer to Casa Tranby, there are a few gathering spots along the highway in El Centenario, including Club Marlin on the beach - a favorite among the ex-pats of the neighborhood.
One major golf course is now under construction and four more on on the way.! With its growing ex-pat community of golf enthusiast, the La Paz area will become one the prime golf spots in Mexico.
Shopping
La Paz has many shops and marketplaces in and around the downtown area and along the malecon. Shops like the well-known Artesanias La Antigua California sell local handicrafts and those from mainland Mexico including textiles, leather handbags, silver jewerly, art objects, paintings and wood carvings. There is much fashion shopping and several department and electronics stores in downtown. A unique store, Colibri, can be found not far from the main plaza and features wonderful handicrafts and muebles rusticos. A bit further into town one finds the multi-cineplex featuring first run movies in both Spanish
and English and the massive Sorianna supermarket and general merchandise store, a great place to find just about anything.
Excursions
There are many wonderful option for excursions outside of La Paz. About an hour drive down Highway 1 on the west cape you'll find the charming town Todos Santos, where you can shop for original artworks and a variety of mexican handicrafts. A number of unique and tasty restaurants and boutique hotels make Todos Santos an excellent choice for either a day-trip or an overnight trip.
La Paz serves as the perfect launching point to explore the hundreds of miles of off-road trails throughout the mountain ranges of Baja. These unspoiled areas offer some of the most spectacular exploring opportunities for off-road enthusiasts. Remote mines, caves, wildlife and complex desert flora are there for your enjoyment. Guided desert tour excursions are available.
Of course, the outlying beaches have much to offer. Balandra and El Tecolote beaches are a scenic and interesting 40-minute drive from Casa Tranby and well worth the effort.
You can just relax or take advantage of the many activities and boat tours offered at Tecolote. El Tesoro beach provides a closer fine beach destination with a restaurant featuring delicious almejas naturales (a tasty clam dish).
Learn Spanish and enjoy culture
There are six universities in La Paz that include a state-of-the-art medical school, technical university, and traditional university curriculum. La Paz has the highest level of education in Baja. If you plan to visit Mexico frequently, for business or perhaps as part of a retirement plan, then taking a Spanish course in Mexico could be one of the best investments you make in your personal-development. Besides learning a foreign language faster and more effectively than you could do at home, you'll have lots of fun, meets interesting people, and enjoy the privilege of mixing learning with pleasure on your visit to Mexico. The best way to learn is through immersion, when you're walking in the street, you'll see adverts and signs in Spanish, the people around you will be talking Spanish, the radio you listen to and the television you watch - will also be in Spanish, and all this helps your learning.
Anthropology Museum
Museo de Antropologia is located four blocks beyond the zocalo towards the southeast you will find La Paz's fine Museo de Antropologîa. You'll find a well researched a history on La Paz and Baja Sur. There is also a gift shop adjacent to the building.
Zocalo & Cathedral
The Plaza Constitución (known locally as Jardin Velazco) is located downtown only four blocks from the bay. This main square or zocalo is a great place to sit and relax as the world passes by. The local cathedral, built in the 1860's is on one end of the zocalo.
