Quote:
Originally Posted by fatherchronica
Club Cruseros members can supply all the information you need and right across the street is a restaurant that when we were there had a fish taco lunch special that was really cheap and really good.
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I think the restaurant/bar you remember was El Cayuco. It was torn down last year, the rumor is that Marina La Paz will use the lot for expansion parking.
El Cayuco did have excellent fish tacos for lunch. Now I have to walk all the way over to Claro Fish for lunch, about 6 blocks. With all the good
food in La Paz, walking is a good way to work off the calories. Beware of the streets and "sidewalks".
Other than on the Malecon, when walking or driving one needs to keep his wits about him - the surfaces are rough and uneven. Sidewalk dropoffs aren't uncommon,
parts of La Paz are a little hilly.
I've used Sergio for SS welding on my boat. He is very good, but a bit pricey. Malcom's SS shop behind Lubricante Peninsular is another shop for offboat SS work, and is close walking distance from both Marina Cortez and Marina La Paz. Ernesto's SS shop is a drive, but lower prices yet.
Besides Berkovitch, the Abaroa
family has several
boatyards next to Marina La Paz. Berkovitch is at the entrance to the bay, and is a ways out of town, so having a car, or Uber/taxi will probably be necessary. Berkovitch also has a boneyard of various salvaged
parts and assemblies, so you might find useful components there at
salvage prices. Club Cruceros runs a swap meet every first Sunday of the month, so you can sometimes find salvaged parts there.
There are several
marine chandleries, but prices are typically high as they need to pay a nearly 20% duty to
import goods. You are allowed $500 of duty free imports while flying or driving in.
Don't forget friendly haggling and negotiating just about in any transaction. First asking
price is usually adjusted for gringos, and especially us "rich" boat gringos. Look at it as sport, rather than an absolute rigid requirement, most Mexicans are friendly and don't respond well to rudeness or pushiness. The cost of living for First Worlders is pretty low in the first place, except for things that aren't produced locally.
Don't be surprised when people you pass on the street say bien dia, or wish you provecho as they pass your table in a restaurant. La Paz has grown to be a city of nearly a quarter of a million, but still has the feel of a small town in some ways. Make new friends and don't just hang out with boaters.
There are big box stores (Walmart and Home Depot) when you need them.
It seems that the local police have been given back policing duties here in the last couple of months. Prior to that, the Federales and Mexican Marines patrolled the streets in pickup trucks with mounted light machine
guns. Their patrols were ubiquitous. The waterfront areas always seemed very safe to me, much safer than in many cities in the US.
We'll see how the change in policing goes - so far so good.