Got into La Paz.  Turned out the trip down the “dreaded” channel to the main anchorage wasn’t so bad.  The guide books either exagerated the danger of running aground, or the channel markers have gotten better.  Anyway, we made it without incident.  Deciding where to anchor was a little tougher.  There were a lot of boats since we got there the day before the final Baja Ha Ha party on November 17th was held.  From this point on most of the Ha Ha boats will be spread out.  Some going South and some going back to their respective ports. (Many of us are keeping in touch on the radio nets in the morning.  It’s fun to hear from everyone and know where they are and when you might catch up with friends again.  The radio nets are the cruising equivalent of Facebook!)

Ultimately, after some maneuvering around we found a decent spot to anchor right off the Malecon, which is the main street/area of downtown La Paz.  A little noisy at night as we’re only 100 yards from the restaurants and bars, but pretty fun to be anchored so close to the city and stunning views at night.  (Last night there was a fashion show on the pier.  Complete with music, a stage and ramp for the models.  Very upscale and Ann had the best view in the house with our 14x binoculars.  I got a running commentary of the event while I was cooking dinner.

At the Municipal Pier

View from the pier (Charisma is anchored just to the left)

That's Charisma at the end of the street!

Ann and friends (there are a lot of interesting sculptures around town)

La Paz is a colorful town

Best fish tacos (taco pescado) ever!

This little taco stand has absolutely the best fish tacos ever.  Lightly battered and fried.  Not at all oily, just crisp and fresh.  He puts them in a maize tortilla and then you choose which condiments you want from next to the cart.  YUM!  And, they are only 14 pesos each, which is about $1.40!

You have to secure your dinghy or it might "walk off"

As with any big city, you have to watch the obvious stuff like locking the boat when you’re away and securing the dinghy at night.  There were three dinghies stolen in Cabo while we were all at the final awards ceremony.  We’ve now learned to take down our “Baja Ha Ha” flags when going to one of the events since that makes it obvious that we’re not in the boat.  We also hoist the dinghy out of the water at night and lock it with a cable to the shrouds.  You’d do the same if you were overnight in any other big city.  Turns out the other advantage is the dinghy doesn’t bang into the boat at night like it does in the water when the wind calms down, so we’re doing this now even when out of town as it’s quieter.