Leg 7: Sea of Cortez — La Paz and the Inside

The Sea of Cortez is where you stop rushing.

We spent nearly two months working our way up the Baja side — Los Cabos, the East Cape, La Paz — and we barely scratched it. The water is warm, clear to 40 feet in the anchorages, and alive in a way that makes the Pacific seem quiet. Whale sharks at Isla Espíritu Santo. Sea lions at Los Islotes who will swim up and bark at you from three feet away. Mobula rays launching themselves out of the water for reasons no one fully understands.

La Paz became our base of operations. It's a proper Mexican city — not a resort town, not a gringo enclave — with a malecón, a fish market, chandleries, a decent internet connection, and the best ceviche we found on the whole trip. We stayed five weeks in La Paz between early December and late January, working remotely during the day and exploring the anchorages on weekends.

The Sea of Cortez is a loop that takes most boats a season. We did a compressed version — Cabo to La Paz and back to the crossing point — which meant leaving things on the table. We'll come back.

Highlight: Whale sharks at Isla Espíritu Santo · Base: La Paz Marina, 5 weeks

Distance: ~180 nm total · Time in region: ~8 weeks