Baja California Sur, Mexico

The first stop in Baja California Sur was the capital city of La Paz.  The first night at the small, boutique Hotel 1880 was a tranquil one with dinner and drinks.  Rising early in the morning the next day, I was off with our guide, Manual, and my friend, Gretchen, to Efecto Arena.  Once there we watched a presentation on coral reefs.  Specifically, why they are important, how we can protect them, and what Efecto Arena is doing to restore them. 
  After the presentation, we donned wetsuits and waded into thigh deep water to prepare small pieces of coral for the process of restoration.  Our little “coral seeds” planted, we put on our masks, snorkels, and fins and watched our teacher, Ivan, place the coral samples in their first location to grow.  Then, we swam to the coral garden where the coral starts would be moved to next, once they had exhibited sufficient growth.  The final home of the coral restoration process we did not get to see, as there are various reef destinations farther asea where they eventually go to hopefully thrive.

After lunch at a local restaurant with traditional Mexican cuisine, we met up with local artist, Uli Martinez.  Uli, with the help of a fellow artist for translation, Rebeka, took us on a tour of the murals of La Paz.  Most of the murals were designed and created by Uli, but there were several from other local artists.  Uli shared with us the stories behind the murals.  He had created his murals from the stories of La Paz locals (aka Paceños).  Not only had he incorporated their stories into his designs, there were many murals where he had invited the locals to come and help him fill them in (think paint-by-number).  What a true community experience!  The individual, intricate murals with images inside of images made for artwork that could be taken in for hours on end, to explore every detail. 

 
After a few hours of finding murals around the city and hearing the stories behind them, we had a brief respite to wash off the heat of the day.  Then, we finished our day with dinner at Nim, a delicious restaurant with wonderful ambience.  We shared a few dishes so that we could sample an array of items.  Manuel, our guide, was friendly with many of the staff, and they instantly made Gretchen and I feel like part of the family as well.

La Paz blew me away.  I was harkened back to my days of living in Playa del Carmen, on the other side of Mexico.  The kindness and mindfulness of the Paceños was abundant, making it feel like a city I’d like to return to again and again.