Yesterday we took the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan. Our second trip on Baja Ferries. Totally different experience. This ferry was much older and not as “luxurious” as the previous. Also, seemed to have less space for the passengers. However, there was a very nice deck on this ship named “El Parque” with a mix of Joplin, Mexicana, Marley and Rap music. Much more entertaining than the Adam Sandler style movies dubbed in Spanish playing inside.

El Parque was just like being in a park with the folks milling and enjoying the air and sea.

Enjoying El Parque

There was quite a mix of folks on this ship, including many truckers, Mexican and Gringo vacationers folks on their bicycles and motos. We had dinner with Jesus from Michocan. He has a medium sized truck and spends a month at a time selling flower posts made in Michocan up and down Baja. When he has sold them all, he heads home.

Lovely sunny late afternoon launch from La Paz.

We had breakfast with a Mexican Christian Church Pastor (we never got his name) who was heading to Mazatlan to visit his girlfriend. He really had an interesting story of living in the streets, being in a bad accident, paralyzed and abandoned by his family and finding God and becoming a preacher. He is no longer paralyzed.

The Pastor

Then there was the Canadian couple visiting Baja on their motorcycle who 18 months ago, sold everything in Canada and moved permanently to San Miguel de Allende. They are happy as a lark.

A good time to catch up on reading.

We also met a young guy from Seattle, a go cart national champion, on a 3 week trek in his old Mercedes to visit a town in Guatemala (he does not know the name but will find out before he gets to Guatemala) where his high school class had taken a trip he was not able to take and also tour the country. He only had two weeks left to get to Guatemala and then to Phoenix. He had no map and no route. We all told him he needed to make tracks, Jim texted with him today and he has made it to southern Mexico and will I expect cross into Guatemala tomorrow. He just might make it!

Perhaps because this is such a long crossing (19 hours) and most folks spent the daylight hours in El Parque, there was much more camaraderie.