A local taste of Baja: La Paz & Todos Santos
"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair...Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air...."
The lyrics of the Eagles' famous HOTEL CALIFORNIA feel even more special when you listen to the song while driving out of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19 northbound for a day away from the beach crowds in Cabo. It is best to leave town early to take full advantage of a free day ahead, or better still, to opt to overnight in LA PAZ, Baja California Sur's attractive capital city. The so-called "Todos Santos Cut-Off", as Highway 19 is sometimes referred to, is a lot quicker but also slightly more crowded than Mex Highway 1, but offers a totally different Baja experience than our East Cape Escape described last time. The Highway first gradually ascends to overlook almost all of Cabo San Lucas, with new and pending developments mushrooming on all sides, attesting to the unrelenting urban growth of the Cabo region. There are also off-road biking and four-wheel-driving facilities for the bold and daring, as then at a slightly higher elevation, MEX Highway 19 gets closer to the Pacific coast, with intermittent dirt road turn-offs to nearby coastal refuges and beaches.
After about an hour we reach what can only be described as a true oasis in the desert - TODOS SANTOS - since the 1960s THE place for disenchanted California hippies and nowadays a slightly commercial yet dignified tourist attraction, and a true gem of local culture on the desert peninsula boasting art galleries, attractive cafes, restaurants and yes, the famous HOTEL CALIFORNIA. In either direction en route to or from La Paz it is worth stopping over to have a drink or meal in the peaceful patio of the Hotel and to enjoy its unique ambience, harmony and spirit. The mandatory gift shop of course is there too - and in the back, how else could it be, we hear the famous Eagles song. One can only feel sorry for the staff working there having to listen to it ad infinitum on a daily basis. The village itself is also neatly maintained, and connected to San Lucas and the South by regular bus service for those without a rental car or other modes of transportation.
The journey then continues away from the Pacific coastline East and North-East in the direction of the Sea of Cortez and Baja California Sur's capital LA PAZ. What a privileged geographical position, right by a natural harbor, facing East and offering some of the nicest Sunrises in all of Baja. The city is a refreshing change from the commercial overdevelopment of the Cape. With a population of about 250 000 and rising, it is significantly more urban than the South and the hub of all administrative, business and local cultural activity for the South of Baja. So despite urban growth and development, the pace is significantly less frantic and its dimensions more human and tasteful than in San Lucas or San Jose. As the home to the University of Baja california Sur, it also boasts a young and diverse student population, which adds to the invigorating energy of La Paz. And then there is the Boardwalk - what a gem of a seaside promenade! The "malecon" is neatly maintained and follows all along the natural harbor of the Bahia de La Paz making for wonderful walks in the evening and mornings - the latter boasting great photo ops for sunrises. Yet slightly away from the Boardwalk, LA PAZ also has interesting niches and corners ready to be discovered, including some of the quaintest cafes and restaurants in all of Baja, some with peaceful patios neatly adorned or lush with vegetation.
LA PAZ is also a great hub, however, to discover even more remote locations in the vicinity, particularly to the North and Northeast in the direction of the actual sea of Cortez. Leaving behind the city and some of its industrial port installations, the scenery turns arid and desert-like again with wide open spaces and intermittent gigantic SAGUARO cacti. Yet always nearby is the sea, adding a picturesque component of blue water and blue skies to the variety of yellows, browns and occasional greens of the desert landscape. Passing the port and beach of PICHILINGUE, with nearby PEMEX installations and FERRY service to the Mexican mainland, we then truly disappear in the emptiness of the desert to visit one of the nicest beach areas in all of Baja - Playa de la BALANDRA - consisting of various smaller beaches in a truly spectacular desert ecosystem of a Bay with high and low tides and unspoilt desert and coastal landscapes. Although clearly set up for tourism, this is a place to seek solitude and quiet - and to enjoy its very unique scenic composition of desert-meets-sea. I admit I have always been a true lover of desert landscapes, but my profound affection for the soothing and subtle beauty of desert and sea with its concomittant sense of solitude, reflection and self-discovery, has grown ever stronger ever since witnessing the beauty of Balandra and Southcentral Baja.
The lyrics of the Eagles' famous HOTEL CALIFORNIA feel even more special when you listen to the song while driving out of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 19 northbound for a day away from the beach crowds in Cabo. It is best to leave town early to take full advantage of a free day ahead, or better still, to opt to overnight in LA PAZ, Baja California Sur's attractive capital city. The so-called "Todos Santos Cut-Off", as Highway 19 is sometimes referred to, is a lot quicker but also slightly more crowded than Mex Highway 1, but offers a totally different Baja experience than our East Cape Escape described last time. The Highway first gradually ascends to overlook almost all of Cabo San Lucas, with new and pending developments mushrooming on all sides, attesting to the unrelenting urban growth of the Cabo region. There are also off-road biking and four-wheel-driving facilities for the bold and daring, as then at a slightly higher elevation, MEX Highway 19 gets closer to the Pacific coast, with intermittent dirt road turn-offs to nearby coastal refuges and beaches.
After about an hour we reach what can only be described as a true oasis in the desert - TODOS SANTOS - since the 1960s THE place for disenchanted California hippies and nowadays a slightly commercial yet dignified tourist attraction, and a true gem of local culture on the desert peninsula boasting art galleries, attractive cafes, restaurants and yes, the famous HOTEL CALIFORNIA. In either direction en route to or from La Paz it is worth stopping over to have a drink or meal in the peaceful patio of the Hotel and to enjoy its unique ambience, harmony and spirit. The mandatory gift shop of course is there too - and in the back, how else could it be, we hear the famous Eagles song. One can only feel sorry for the staff working there having to listen to it ad infinitum on a daily basis. The village itself is also neatly maintained, and connected to San Lucas and the South by regular bus service for those without a rental car or other modes of transportation.
The journey then continues away from the Pacific coastline East and North-East in the direction of the Sea of Cortez and Baja California Sur's capital LA PAZ. What a privileged geographical position, right by a natural harbor, facing East and offering some of the nicest Sunrises in all of Baja. The city is a refreshing change from the commercial overdevelopment of the Cape. With a population of about 250 000 and rising, it is significantly more urban than the South and the hub of all administrative, business and local cultural activity for the South of Baja. So despite urban growth and development, the pace is significantly less frantic and its dimensions more human and tasteful than in San Lucas or San Jose. As the home to the University of Baja california Sur, it also boasts a young and diverse student population, which adds to the invigorating energy of La Paz. And then there is the Boardwalk - what a gem of a seaside promenade! The "malecon" is neatly maintained and follows all along the natural harbor of the Bahia de La Paz making for wonderful walks in the evening and mornings - the latter boasting great photo ops for sunrises. Yet slightly away from the Boardwalk, LA PAZ also has interesting niches and corners ready to be discovered, including some of the quaintest cafes and restaurants in all of Baja, some with peaceful patios neatly adorned or lush with vegetation.
LA PAZ is also a great hub, however, to discover even more remote locations in the vicinity, particularly to the North and Northeast in the direction of the actual sea of Cortez. Leaving behind the city and some of its industrial port installations, the scenery turns arid and desert-like again with wide open spaces and intermittent gigantic SAGUARO cacti. Yet always nearby is the sea, adding a picturesque component of blue water and blue skies to the variety of yellows, browns and occasional greens of the desert landscape. Passing the port and beach of PICHILINGUE, with nearby PEMEX installations and FERRY service to the Mexican mainland, we then truly disappear in the emptiness of the desert to visit one of the nicest beach areas in all of Baja - Playa de la BALANDRA - consisting of various smaller beaches in a truly spectacular desert ecosystem of a Bay with high and low tides and unspoilt desert and coastal landscapes. Although clearly set up for tourism, this is a place to seek solitude and quiet - and to enjoy its very unique scenic composition of desert-meets-sea. I admit I have always been a true lover of desert landscapes, but my profound affection for the soothing and subtle beauty of desert and sea with its concomittant sense of solitude, reflection and self-discovery, has grown ever stronger ever since witnessing the beauty of Balandra and Southcentral Baja.
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