Something nice about La Paz: No beggars, rose salesmen or mariachi bands coming around while you eat, or zealous salesmen hitting you up as you pass by on the sidewalk. Touristy here? Yes, but in a relaxed, laid back kind of way.
We had the most beautiful breakfast today (the cook, she is a wonder!) blue corn tortillas stuffed with red-orange potatoes and chorizo, topped by green avocado and white sauce and cheese. Beautiful.
Even better, Gail was not hungry so I got double!
Long, slow breakfast chatting with the other guests, all of whom seem to be leaving today. Our hosts are very gracious as well, and it is a beautiful, but cool morning.
We headed out walking the town, as it is a windy, cool day (thus, not beach weather. Bummer.) to visit the old town area, cathedral, and finish walking the malecon. We have our books to spend some time in a cafe people watching.
There are a lot of gaudy Christmas decorations all over, lights on the lamp posts, Santa Claus, and so on. Yesterday, we had an interesting discussion, where Benjamin's disgust about Santa Claus became really evident. He does not approve of such blatant consumerism being imported and taking over, when Mexico has such wonderful and varied traditions of its own. That is the conversation in a very very small nutshell. He had a good point.
However, as an American, I have to agree with the posts circulating on the internet, and officially state for the record that I resent, RESENT I tell you, the liberal- socialist- commie- hoppy war on Christmas! Keep the CONSUMERISM in CHRISTmas I say!
Buying is the reason for the season!
We set out, up the street.
The first cathedral, the new one in town, is tucked into the typical residential neighborhood on Revolucion Ave. simple homes, weed strewn yards, exposed wires and plumbing to cause code enforcement headaches, graffiti... And then, behind the concrete wall with the green-eyed Jesus and alien-green skinned Virgin rises the new copper dome. The church is obviously under construction, exposed rebar, bare concrete vaulted ceiling, rough pews; not at all like a European cathedral.
We stop by the local Hertz office. No help. Damn them.
We wander slowly back down to the Malecon where a stiff breeze blows in, and stop at Perla for two Margaritas Especial, guacamole (chunky with cilantro leaves and onions chopped in) pico de gallo and chips. We are right on the waterfront, not sitting in the sand, but not in the cool wind either... like Goldilocks, we are "Juuust riiiight!"
Something nice about Mexico: the cheerful, bright colors.
Something that gives me headaches in Mexico: the clashing, gaudy colors.
Same coin, two sides, I am looking at the edge.
So while we eat, watch, read and write, we are thinking about how to deal with the rest of this trip as far as transportation.
Option one: just bite it big time and rent the cheapest car currently available, for about $1000P ($80 USD) a day.
Option two: Gloria can get us a private cab and driver for $600P for a day, and we can fill in travel days with local bus transportation and walking on the non-exploring days.
Option three: sit in the room and cry like a baby.
We are thinking option two will work best, though not the most convenient, certainly the best compromise.
Damn Hertz.
So, we are going to have to plan out our week.
We slap down the pesos and make it one block before Gail is sidetracked into Lolo's Yogurt. We are entertained by disco-ized American pop-rock tunes.
Something fun about Mexico: the music options.
Something headache inducing about Mexico: the loud LOUD volume at which all music is pumped out. No subtlety here.
Edge of the coin.
We walked up the street to the old cathedral, which was smaller, built around 1860 so it is completed, and laid out in the traditional cross shape. Jesus and the Virgin Mary were surrounded by golden christmas trees and blinking white lights. There it is again: taking the "X" out of X-mas. The attached church store, like the cathedral stores in Europe, was filled with religious trinkets including a new one: green plastic, glow in the dark crucifixes.
We are walking down the street when a guy about three store fronts ahead of us steps out of the doorway and focuses on Gail. We walk up, he eyes her, smiles, and in his smoothest voice says to my vegetarian wife, "We have hamburgers!"
"Ewww, poor dead cows!" says she, obviously turned on by his proposal.
Nice thing about Mexico: the over zealous municipal police who actually stand at heavily used intersections, blowing their whistles to stop traffic so we can cross the street.
Bad thing about Mexico: the over zealous municipal police who cruise the streets all evening with their emergency lights going, for no reason but to show off and induce panic.
The coin.
Sitting on the edge of the Malecon; it is raised about ten feet above the beach, so we are dangling our feet watching a blue boat stuck in the mud flats, blue grey sky growing dark. The one person we know in La Paz, "Stroke Man" from the bus, comes up to say hi. Small town, this. Speaking of Stroke Man, I asked Richard about health care, and sure enough there is the $250 option, but that is one option and, while it works, it is the wait in line type care. There are other options, which he briefly outlined. Did you know if you move to Mexico to retire and take up their health care, you lose Medicare? Me neither. Did you know Medicare does not cover you in foreign countries? You need to get special supplementary care. Huh.
Seems much easier and cheaper overall under the European system.
One last note for now. The stop signs, "ALTO" they say, but no one is listening. They don't even slow down. Today at a 4-way ALTO the guy in the lead slowed down... not stopped, just SLOWED DOWN in heavy traffic and the next two cars behind him just got in the opposing lane and PASSED him. In the fricking intersection! At a four way ALTO.
The coin.
I see the edge.
Happy Holidays to everyone!