father of mine, tell me where have you been

throughout my journeys, i have been lucky enough to have one, the other, or both of my parents come visit me wherever i am. this time around, my dad came out to visit us here in la paz and we had a whirlwind of a trip while he was here, running around like mad and seeing at least a bit of everything that the region has to offer.

he flew into san jose del cabo, which is about three hours from la paz, but much easier (and cheaper) to fly into from the US than la paz. we decided to take advantage of being down there the afternoon he flew in and wander into san jose del cabo, which i'd heard was much less resort-y than cabo san lucas. the airport of "los cabos" is actually cabo san lucas and then tourists are bussed into san jose del cabo, about thirty minutes to the south. there are actually two exits from the airport - one for these guided trips that are headed to the resorts, and one for the "individuals". amusing.

so we drove into san jose and drove towards the coast and ended up at this beautiful little estuary and beach. the beach drops off suddenly, so there were huge waves crashing in. the water was warm, so we decided it was still the gulf and not pacific water.



[san jose del cabo beach and mountains]


[bird, dad, ivan]




[palms estuary]


the historic center of san jose was surprisingly nice - your typical centro with the church, municipal palace, culture center, gazebo and lots of nice tourist shops and restaurants. quaint, clean, with lots of character. we were basically the only people there wandering around, which makes me feel so bad for the store owners.





our wanderings around la paz were fairly limited and only in the afternoons after work. we visited the typical landmarks - the church, the center, along the malecon. dad said that la paz reminded him of tucson in a way. however, the truth is that i'm not the best tour guide - my knowledge of la paz and the history is really quite limited. we did enjoy wandering through the exhibit at the casa cultural, seeing the loteria exhibit, and the mix of "normal" with "tourism" thats here near our house.



[church and statue of the famous balandra rock (photo credit: dad)]


[casa de la cultura de la paz]


[playing at tour guide]


[sunset drinks]


on the way home from work on friday, we were chatting about what to do that evening and decided to head over to near-by todos santos (a "magical pueblo") and have a bbq on the beach. we (ivan and i) love todos santos - it's a great little escape from la paz. it's a bit of an art escape and absolutely tiny. unfortunately it's "low season" (read: too hot for tourists), so none of the galleries were open. however, it's very historical and beautiful and fun to wander around. we got to the beach just as the sun was setting and the (almost full moon) rising. the moon was bright enough that we were able to bbq, eat, sit, and chat until long after the sun had set. a lovely evening.









the one thing that we had planned on doing was going kayaking in the beaches and coves near la paz. we rented three kayaks and headed off to the famous balandra beach, north of la paz to spend the day kayaking around, exploring the little coves and beaches, the mangroves, and enjoying sea, sun, and sand.



[balandra beach]


[the famous balandra rock]


[take two (photo credit: dad)]


the day was absolutely amazing and lovely. we had clear blue water, explored, wandered. i need a kayak.



[urchin]


[hidden beach]


[clear blue water, ivan and dad kayaking]


[crab!]


[sky, mountain, mangrove, sea]


[mangroves]


[the life is good car]


and then, the morning my dad left, we left early and enjoyed our drive back - stopping at el triunfo and then trying to figure out how to get into la sierra de la laguna (the biosphere reserve in the mountains near la paz). we ended up at a place called miraflores, where apparently you can start walking in, but there don't appear to be marked trails. we wandered up a wash for a few minutes and marveled at the greenery of the mountains.



[la sierra]


[up the wash]


[soooo green]


[standing water!]


we had a great time and did so much exploring :) baja has so much to do and see and it was great to have the excuse to go see more! thanks daddy :)

silver mine ruins, church, tiny town

as you round a bend on the highway south towards los cabos, climbing into the sierra, you are greeted by this view:





welcome to the town of el triunfo, an old mining town that boomed, and then busted. when silver and gold were found in the mountains in baja california sur and then a big mining company moved in in the mid-1800s, people streamed into the area, causing the population of el triunfo to climb to around 10,000. the mine has since closed, making this place a bit like a ghost town.

now the town is quite small, with a population of only a few hundred, but has great charm - cobblestoned streets, old beautiful buildings, crumbling brick walls, a church, a music museum, and mine ruins.



[center square]




[empty frames]


the music museum is a collection of pianos that were brought into el triunfo during its hay day. culture and music was apparently a favorite of the people who came here and the fun fact of the day is that at one time, el triunfo had more pianos per capita than any other city in mexico. the museum is quirky - a collection of old pianos (dating from the late 1700s!) up to more modern electric organs.



[entrance to the museum]






the church, nuestra senora de guadalupe, is from the same time period, around the mid-1800s. i love how its painted, in brighter colors than most missions. the inside is fairly bare, with a dark-beamed ceiling and it sounds like bats live somewhere in the rafters.









the mine's old smokestack dominates the sky and local landscape. it's around 40 meters high and still looks absolutely perfectly constructed. the rest of the old mine buildings - a processing plant, basically - are mostly destroyed and in ruins. makes for a fun place to explore and wander around and marvel at once was ...













the details of the town are great. for example, this beautiful door with carvings that show the history of the town





el triunfo is a wonderful escape and historical place to explore. there are little shops with local products, including fresh-made cheese, a bakery with freshly baked cochitos (pig cookies), and woven baskets.