It's difficult to describe something you've barely experienced, but our impressions based on our first week in La Paz are all positive. Our interactions have primarily been within the marina, a few restaurants and marine stores, and with all the wonderful friends we made along the journey. With that caveat, I'll do my best to address the questions we commonly get from friends and family.
We have found the people to be wonderful. The cruisers, the x-pats who went there X-number of years ago and never left, and the Mexican people we interact with in the marina, and in town. In a word - all are super "friendly"! They are so patient and accommodating, it's amazing! Nobody's flipping an attitude, and vibe seems to say "enjoy yourself". Very cool. Second is the work ethic of the local tradesmen. Hard work just seems to be the norm here. Their tools are primitive sometimes, but they offer no excuses, and do amazing work considering.
Lastly are the cruisers. Always willing to help anyone who asks, and go out of their way to share information freely. The eight o'clock morning net on the VHF radio is just one example of this.
So what do we miss most? You might think weather, but you'd be wrong. We really miss the people and the cruiser's culture. The cockpit happy hour parties and impromptu dinners were very special to Jody & Me. We miss Mike & Judy aboard Honu, John & Julie on Myla, Dave & Becky on Tranquility, and so many others.
One morning some Marina workers started chipping the surface off our dock. By the afternoon, our dock looked like this...
Two days later, that section of the dock looked like this...
The work ethic of these people is amazing!!