REVOLUTION DAY AND THANKSGIVING IN LA PAZ

November 19, 2018

I had wanted to go to CrossFit on Monday morning, but my blister had not healed sufficiently for me to walk the six miles there and back.  I awoke early and lounged in my bunk, reconciling my checking account and attending to correspondence.  After a shower and a cup of postum (my doctor had forbid me to drink coffee), we all walked up the hill for breakfast at the Olimpia Café, where we ran into Max from the previous June’s bash crew.

The Cafe Olimpia

The Olimpia offered a great breakfast special with coffee and orange juice for seventy pesos (about $3.50.)  Being on a diet, I begged off the chilaquiles but still had eggs scrambled with bacon, a tortilla, and beans.  The Ha-Ha crew lived to eat and were bad influences.  With nothing particular to do, we strolled back to the boat.  Then we gave Scout a thorough scrubbing while our neighbors began a day of partying in celebration of a fellow cruiser’s sixtieth birthday.  It was typical of my generation that a fellow, having attained the age of sixty, greeted his buddy with a hearty, “Dude, let’s party.”  They drank bloody Marys and supervised our labors.

By the time we had finished washing and drying Scout, it was time for Harvey to leave and check in to the hotel where he and his wife would be spending the next week.  The Ha-Ha crew was thinning out.  Those of us who remained spent a lazy afternoon.  Harvey returned for happy hour and then we all headed for dinner.  We had intended to go to Chino’s for tacos but they were closed on Mondays.  We went to Bandido’s instead. 

Burgers Grilled in the Engine Compartment of a Truck

Bandido’s is an American style burger joint that plays fifties rock-and-roll and cooks their burgers on a grill mounted under the hood of a pick-up truck.  They had tables scattered around a pleasant grove of palm trees lighted with rope lights.  Some of us ordered burgers but I stuck to my original plan and got carne asada tacos.  The meat was tasty and I enjoyed the tacos, although they were more American than Mexican, being loaded with shredded lettuce and cheese.

The "Polka Dot Trees"

Being Jules' and Mike’s last night in La Paz, we had to make one last trip to La Fuente, the ice cream shop known affectionately as the "Polka Dot Trees" because the original location was fronted with trees painted white with colorful dots.  A second location had been opened quite close to Marina de La Paz.  I broke down and joined them for ice cream.  We sat on the terrace and enjoyed the view of the Malecon.  The ice cream was of higher quality than the usual Mexican ice cream.  It was more expensive but the portions were (too) generous and still cheap by U.S. standards.  It was a holiday and families were out strolling.  An exercise class was performing their routine on the beach across the street.  It was a perfect evening.

November 20, 2018

Cafe from Which We Watched the Parade

Jules and Mike were leaving on Tuesday morning, so I skipped exercising and stayed behind to share coffee with them and see them off.  While the previous day had been the official Revolution Day holiday, Tuesday was the actual date of the revolution and La Paz was holding a parade.  After we saw the rest of the crew to their taxi, Greg and I walked up the Malecon to a coffee shop where we got breakfast and sat at a table overlooking the parade.

Red, White & Green  Eye Shadow

Every School Marched in the Parade

Every school and sports team in La Paz was represented in the parade, most of them dressed in red, white, and green costumes.  There were dancers and drill teams, drum and bugle corps, and small boys kicking soccer balls.  We watched from the coffee shop for awhile and then walked back down the parade towards the boat.  The parade finished with local horsemen in their finery and women riding sidesaddle.

The Youngest Participants

All the Sports Teams Were Represented

The boat seemed empty with the crew gone and we rattled around the rest of the day. Greg restored his gear to its proper places.  I practiced the guitar.  It was a very quiet day.

Girls Riding Sidesaddle

November 21, 2018

La Paz at Sunrise

Having been lazy for a few days, I got up early to run.  I was early enough to catch the end of the sunrise and the sun painted the clouds pink.  I kept stopping to take pictures in the lovely light.  I ran to Marina Palmira and most of the way back, stopping to walk after I had completed four miles.  The Malecon was crowded with walkers and joggers.  Dogs had been banned from the Malecon, but I encountered a few rebels with their canine friends.  Fortunately, it was not gringos flouting the law.

The Bandstand on the Malecon

We relaxed most of the day but needed to go to the grocery store, as we were out of almost everything.  We took a taxi to the Chedraui and stocked up on food for that night’s dinner, Thanksgiving, and our upcoming trip to the islands.  We got back just in time for a michelada in the cockpit before Harvey and his wife, Helen, arrived for dinner.

We all shared cocktails and chatted in the cockpit and then Harvey cooked the rest of the wahoo and some zucchini with grated manchego cheese.  Harvey rubbed the wahoo with Cajun spices and we served it with tortillas to make tacos.  We had a nice time and managed to stay awake until 9:30, which was very late for us.

November 22, 2018

I got up a bit late but still walked to Marina Palmira and back, since it was Thanksgiving and I knew I was bound to overeat.  Greg was baking corn muffins for the Thanksgiving potluck when I returned.  He had some nifty silicone muffin cups that he was eager to try out and they worked beautifully.  We passed a leisurely morning and I eventually cut up the remainder of Harvey’s wahoo into hors d’ouvre-sized squares to take to Thanksgiving.

A Big Turnout for Thanksgiving

Our neighbor, Steve, was practicing his ukulele and he and I played a song or two before it was time to head over to the La Costa Restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner, which was scheduled to begin at 2:00.  Turkey, gravy, and cranberry sauce was provided and the side dishes were provided by the attendees.  There were 180 people for dinner.  We shared a table with the crews of Seychelles and Magic Dragon.  There was plenty of food, although they were short on pumpkin pie and what was there wasn’t very good.  This was probably fortunate, as I escaped with eating only a small key lime bar for dessert. 

The Spread at La Costa for Thanksgiving

We spent most of the afternoon eating, drinking, and relaxing over the table.  By the time we returned to the boat, we wanted only to nap.  We slept until after sunset and never felt the desire to eat another meal.  Instead, we sat in the salon and watched three episodes of Better Call Saul on Netflix.  It had finally sunk in that we were alone.

November 23, 2018

Having stayed up late the night before, I slept late on Friday morning.  We spent most of the day lounging around the boat, waiting for the carpenter and canvas people to arrive.  Greg had had the straps on the sun shade replaced and one was too short.  We had been anticipating the carpenter since Monday, but had yet to see him.  He finally stopped by in the late afternoon, but still had nothing to show Greg.

Steve from Ahelani joined us for happy hour and we chatted until well after dark.  Then Greg and I walked up to Chino’s, a taco vendor a few blocks up the hill from the marina.  Chino’s made excellent beans.  They were full of pork and tasted somewhat like pork and beans without the sugar.  They were probably the best beans I had ever eaten.  We had tacos al pastor to go with them and were happy they had horchata and jamaica to drink.  They made a nice change from the ever present agua mineral and limonada that were most restaurants’ non-soda choices.

Man-Eating Sea Lion

Walking back, we passed the dive shop at the marina whose fiberglass sea lion moved about the porch and posed in amusing positions.  On this evening, he was reclining on a bench, apparently digesting an unwary diver.

Back at the boat, we watched another few episodes of Better Call Saul, both of us eager to see what would become of Jimmy, the most sympathetic amoral lawyer in television.