La Paz/Baja
About La Paz
La Paz, which is 40 minutes away by car, is the capital city of Baja California Sur and the fourth-largest municipality in Mexico in terms of geographical size, with a land area of 20,275 square kilometers. La Paz is a modern city of about 250,000, with an active cultural life and many good shopping areas, supermarkets, hospitals, banks and the Manuel M·rquez de LeÛn International Airport. The city has maintained some of the charm of an old Mexican seaside town, unlike some modern developments on the southern tip of the peninsula. There are plenty good restaurants and cantinas to discover. However, the city is a historic landmark as well as a tourist center.
La Paz has a dry, warm and sunny climate with relatively little rainfall and more than 300 days of sunshine a year on average. Temperatures range from the 90s (Fahrenheit) in the summer to the 60s in the winter. The city receives cooling via breezes from Bahia de La Paz and the Coromuel winds.
History
The area now known as La Paz has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years. The explorer and conquistador Hern·n CortÈs discovered the area in 1535 and named it Santa Cruz. His attempts to start a colony there failed, but explorer Sebastian Vizcaino arrived there in 1596 and renamed the area La Paz (which is Spanish for “The Peace”).
Several writers have featured La Paz in their books, including John Steinbeck (The Pearl, The Log from the Sea of Cortez) and Scott O’Dell (The Black Pearl).
Getting there
The road from La Ventana to La Paz is a spectacular drive, starting from the beautiful beaches of Ventana Bay, then crossing the immense valley of Los Planes, cutting through a huge forest of cardon cactus, and rising up over the mountains to allow for incredible views of La Paz harbor to the north and Ventana Bay to the south.
Baja California Sur, Mexico
Our resort is located a few miles from the village of La Ventana, a coastal town on the Sea of Cortez in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Baja California Sur covers the southern half of the Baja California peninsula (below the latitude of 28 degrees north), with an area of more than 28,000 square miles and a population of more than half a million. It officially became a state in 1974.
European explorers first arrived at the area in the sixteenth century. However, it’s estimated that the state has been inhabited for 11,000 years; four distinct ethno-linguistic groups of natives were already living there when the Spanish arrived.
Today, Baja California Sur is renowned for its tourist resorts, its natural riches, its mixture of desert and small coastal lakes, and its water sports. Our resort is located in the municipality of La Paz, the fourth-largest municipality in Mexico, close to the state capital of La Paz.
The Sea of Cortez
The Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California, separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexico mainland. The Gulf has existed for more than five million years and covers about 62,000 square miles of surface area.
In addition to the water sports that we provide, the Sea of Cortez is predominant for fishing and has a history of sport-fishing world records. The Sea is home to a large number of marine mammals, some of which are endangered, and a large spectrum of endemic animals as well as migratory species. With more than 900 islands, the Sea nests thousands of seabirds as well. Humpback whales, California grey whales, leatherback sea turtles and manta rays are only a few of the unique fish and mammals that live in the Sea of Cortez.
