Starting the long journey home

Today felt like the beginning of the end of the trip, even though we don’t fly home until tomorrow. After the typically scatty breakfast service at the Posada de las Flores, complete with stale pastries, it was time to retrace the drive to La Paz. We loaded up the car and set off, stopping to fill up with petrol on our way out of Loreto.

We stopped briefly too at the Mirador and were rewarded with the sight of dolphins in the bay below us.

Then we followed the winding mountain road to Ciudad Insurgentes. At the junction there it’s a left turn for La Paz but we turned right to park up in the town centre and have a look around.

It’s a completely non-touristy town but we found plenty to photograph on either side of the main road – colourful buildings, passers-by and the odd quirky detail. We also bought a cold drink and crisps in a small supermarket and rather cheekily used the loos at a service station!

It was too early to think of eating our snack and in any case Chris, as our driver, wanted to get more miles under his belt before another break. So we drove until about halfway between Insurgentes and La Paz and then found a spot to pull off the road.

We ate our crisps and drank our drink, then got out to take some photos of the run down building and large cacti. We’d taken quite a few before we realised that what we’d taken to be an abandoned home was actually being lived in! The fairy lights winking from a decoration in the covered porch gave it away – oops!

Back in the car we completed the rest of the drive uneventfully and navigated (my job!) successfully into La Paz and to our base for our final night in Mexico, Hotel Catedral. This was a nice modern hotel opposite its namesake cathedral. We were able to park outside and check in a little early.

We got on to their WiFi to check the result of Newcastle’s Cup match against Blackburn, to find it had gone to extra time. We decided not to sit over our phones following the action for fear of jinxing it, so went out in search of ice creams on the Malecon and to reserve a restaurant for this evening. When we got back to the hotel Newcastle had won on penalties, so our tactic had paid off!

We sorted our bags a bit, checked messages and relaxed in the room until dinnertime. We treated ourselves to a bit of a splurge dinner at Sorstis, a restaurant serving mainly Mediterranean food in a pretty courtyard, recommended by my Virtual Tourist friend Al. The service was friendly, the wine, a Chenin Blanc from Baja Nord, was excellent, and the food all good, though my tuna main was a little too salty.

Back at the hotel I got a few photos of the cathedral which was beautifully lit, and we then got ready for an early night.