I'm currently sitting in  a deep cove near the north end of Isla Partida called Ensenada El Cardonal.  I left La Paz yesterday after a week at the Marina Fonatur La Paz and came up about 20 miles to this spot.  It was a very quiet and peaceful overnight and today is overcast so I'm going to stay here again tonight and then leave tomorrow for another 20-30 mile jaunt up to Isla San Francisco or Punta San Evaristo. 

Last week, after leaving Ensenada de los Muertos, I went up and around the corner to an anchorage called Puerto Ballandra. It was a great stop and I was there for 3 days before my space was ready at the marina in La Paz. 

The inner portion of the harbor is restricted from anchoring, thanks for the gentle coaching Secretaria de Marina patrol..., and there is a huge shallow sandy cove. I used my paddleboard to get to the shallows a few times and spent 2 or more hours walking across the harbor in ankle deep water and following the shoreline around.  There is a mushroom shaped rock at one of the points that is well known El Hongo. I didn't notice it until the last day on my way out. 

I was a little let down by La Paz. That may have been due to the glowing descriptions I've heard from others or maybe even that I arrived when it was overcast. The approach and entrance to the harbor itself is a shallow marked channel about 20-25' deep.  There are numerous boats anchored throughout the downtown area on both sides of the navigable channel, but there are also quite a few derelicts or semi-sunken vessels strewn about. Some are from last year's hurricane, maybe all. 

The path to Marina Fonatur La Paz is even smaller and shallower.  It was definitely nerve wracking coming in and following a channel of 10' or less.  When I arrived in the marina basin I was seeing 7' (and that was at high tide). The 4.7 was a few hours later near the low tide while sitting in my slip. Definitely not like Catalina!

I logged quite a few miles walking into the main downtown area in search of miscellaneous  parts and such. The main draw for being in the harbor was to see the Carnival celebrations during the week. I walked the entire malecon area while they were setting up and getting started on the first day, then again on Sunday after the first part of the superbowl. It was about 1.5 miles of carnival games/attractions and at least 5 stages for music or dancing.  It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves. The Sunday crowd was pretty dense. 

The Club Cruceros (La Paz cruiser community) had an event at one of the marina restaurants for the superbowl. I walked down, figuring I could meet some folks and watch the commercials.  Turns out the commercials are not the same as the US broadast.  At least I'm pretty sure they're not, otherwise Little Caesar's Pizza spent $100 Million on advertising....

A friend is coming in to Loreto to vist at the end of this month so I'll be slowly making my way that direction for the next two weeks or so. There are a large number of anchorages both along the Baja peninsula coast and the several islands between here and there to explore.