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The summer break was approaching fast and not going on vacation didn’t seem right. We decided
on the spur of the moment to visit my Dad and then for more pleasure we wanted to do some diving. As possible site I looked at the northern Pacific, Santa Catalina and the Sea of Cortez. I have always wanted to go
there since I watched the documentaries done by Jacques Cousteau in the 70s. The sea of Cortez is a breeding ground for lots of whales and there are also whale sharks, other sharks and of course sea lions. A lot
of research is done there. Surfing the net I found some “resorts” offering diving excursions, and the time was right as well, not all pf the whales were abundant but the visibility was good and the water getting warm
that time of year. We chose La Paz Mexico. Dana was studying for her exams in Sept. but since she had not seen her grandpa for ages and diving is one of her passions, her boyfriend is the other but diving won, she
decided to go along and study in between activities. Her baggage was very heavy not only because of the diving gear but the books.The trip was full of little problems which ate up a lot of time and
energy. We missed our connecting flight on the way to my Dad’s and he took a joy ride to the airport. We were lucky to get a car when we arrived at midnight. We almost missed are connecting flight in LA on the way
to La Paz because we taxied around the airport of 1.5 hours. The flight waited for us but not our luggage. No luggage, no diving gear, no swim suit. We spent the first day in our travelling clothes hanging around
and trying to find out if there was a chance that our bags would arrive that day. The airlines gave a an emergency pack with a tooth brush but not toothpaste, shaving cream but no razor deodorant and a T shirt. The
hotel was not well kept up, the English stations on the TV didn’t work, the coffee maker was missing cushions for the beach furniture were sparse and very old and the pool was empty. On the way home we last our luggage
again. Diving was disappointing because of the visibility. It was particularly bad for that time of year. This made diving strenuous since you couldn’t see enough to stay oriented and find your way around. A
shark could have been looking over my shoulder and I probably would not have noticed. The hotel was quit empty except for a couple of day when a club was there. It seems the days of the booming tourist industry for this
area are over. The hotel had 10 boats in its fleet and only used one during the time we were there and it was not crowded. |
