Baja, Mexico: La Paz (Day 5: 12/25, Thursday, Part 1 of 2)

What better way to spend Christmas day than digging toes into sand, far, far away from the impositions of family and employment?

After a number of abortive attempts at beach-going, we've finally landed at Playa Tecolote--but first things first: breakfast.

We anchor at La Terraza, whose primary charm is in its location, on the malecon, an open terrace where gringos seem to congregate, and where I can watch Eric partake in his morning cigarette and coffee from the safety of my seat.

Despite the previous night's lobster-induced groaning, I'm starving, and I quickly demolish the exotic concoction of crusty bread, butter, and jam--what flavor is it? I can't stop chewing and swallowing long enough to determine a fruit source.



For breakfast, I settle on a papaya shake and ropa vieja, here, the shredded beef I first stumbled upon in Catavina, and eggs. It's essentially a(n unattractive) beef and egg soup into which I drag my scraps of tortilla, and delicious.



The papaya shake, on the flip side, has a spicy second wave to it that's a little disconcerting. Shit, I shrug, and drink it anyway.



And then we're off. The beach is lovely and empty, and we set up on two plastic beach chairs in front of Palapa/Panga Azul. Across the pale green water is Isla Espiritu Santo, what LP describes as "a chunk of southern Utah's canyon country floating on the sea" and what Eric has been creaming his panties over ever since we first spotted it. Something about the iron content in the rock making it that distinct and purportedly rare, rust-red.



What can I say to chronicle the perfect bliss of this day? In between sprints to the water, it's Pacifico after Pacifico--or is it the reverse?

And a concession to the day: a tiny sand-woman with a shell brassiere.

And then it's lunchtime: a table is brought out by the waiter, and camarones diablos...



a whole fried fish...



and more alcohol...

so I'll spare you the photographs of a) me tongue-kissing the fish carcass and b) the entire skeleton clenched in my mouth like I'm a demented, drunken sea lion.