On the date that was bound to be the most tedious and hum drum, I have a perfect day, now on my list of top 5 this trip, quite unexpectedly and unplanned. As I have a whole lot of time to kill prior to boarding the 11pm ferry from Topolobampo to La Paz, I find a beach. Not any beach, but a series of pretty coves and inlets that make up Playa Maviri. Strings of beachfront palapa restaurants line this stretch of the aquamarine Sea of Cortez. The open sea side beaches are for the adults, and the kids swim in the more protected waters across the road running along sand bars and mangroves. Vendors walk up and down the shore with fluorescent bouncy float toys, dogs play in the surf and strolling musicians provide sweet music that comes and goes with the breeze. I’m in heaven as the sticky salty air caresses me.
It’s Sunday, the traditional beach day and large groups of laughing, hugging families have staked out the palapas and set up elaborate picnics. I forget the muggy 96-degrees I’ve left behind in the city, and enjoy splashing through the warm salt water of the eastern Sea of Cortez. Thanks to the stiff breeze, this is the first time since San Francisco I’m not sweating like a rotisserie chicken.
I drive along a sandy point, through rows of tailgate parties on the beach, hearing Madonna, Ranchero accordions, and Inxs simultaneously. A long cool plunge is in order so I walk, walk, walk into the shallow, salty sea, and soak in the sublime body temperature water. I continue my crab walk well away from shore, kneeling on the soft sandy bottom, the water no deeper than 3 and a half feet. “Ostiones en la concha! El mejor!” (“Oysters in the shell. The best!”) blares from a flat gray pickup’s public address system as it rolls down the beach.
Next, I sit at La Isla Restaurante, a few feet from the surf, toes in the sand, and order my favorite coctel de pulpo, a fresh mix of tender octopus, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, salsa and lots of lime. But that’s just the appetizer. At the fabulous Maviri Grill, high energy music pulls me in. The rambunctious 14-piece salsa band, heavy on horns and with a commanding tuba, plays to a rowdy crowd. Soon there are couples swirling and bumping in the afternoon heat.
