So we had a fun but hectic few weeks in La Paz, getting things organized, having some parties with friends, working on the boat, doing a big food shop etc.
Steve went back to San Diego to take care of a few things on the morning of the 21st. Greg an old crew who came up with us on Karaka from Golfito Costa Rica to La Paz 2 years ago came to La Paz from Dallas Texas for a visit and stayed from November 21st to December 3rd almost the whole time we were here. It was great to have him back on board with his ukulele and all his classic songs. Greg and our filmmaker Simon came in at the same time on the night of the 21st. I’m not sure how much I mentioned about this or if I had even mentioned it at all but Simon is a Slovenian film maker from Berlin, Germany who caught an interest with Karaka and has been in communication with Tom, Kim and myself over the past year or so. He has successfully raised enough funds to come and join us for the passage to Costa Rica as a crew member and start the filming of “Karaka: The Seed of Change” for more information please visit his site by clicking here. He has also set up a page for Karaka merchandise if you are interested in a Karaka t-shirt, mug etc. and all proceeds go to supporting the film.
So we are constantly a full house on Karaka now with Tom, Kim, myself, Eric, Dylan, Simon and Greg. It can get a little crazy organizing rides to shore and co- ordinating rides back etc.
So when I was in La Paz at the end of October before heading up to Puerto Escondido to meet everyone, I bought a orange Necky Zoar 14ft sea kayak for $6,000 MEX which is about $460 CAN/USD. It was a pretty good deal but unfortunately it had to stay in La Paz for a month until we arrived. Now I have it and can make trips to shore on my own without worrying about the dingy and lock it up under a palapa (beach shelter) or a catamaran. I’d usually take my 4 part paddle with me to be safe since that is an easy item to steal.
A few days into our stay in La Paz, Tom and I encountered 2 more kayaks for sale from a nice guy named Allen from Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada who had sailed down with them on his boat. They were Delta Kayaks, same brand as the kayaks I used for my big 50 day kayak expedition on Lake Superior back in 2008 except each kayak was only 12ft long instead of 18.5ft. These were particularly appealing to Tom and myself. He had brought down 4 total and wanted to sell two of them and was making a catamaran out of the other two. The kayaks were in good shape and a good fit for Karaka along with the other 14ft kayak the little leaky sit-on-top, a foldable paddle board the aluminum dingy and an assortment of other stuff. They are the Delta 12.10 model and are great for storage on sailboats but are still great in surf, great for week long kayak expeditions and were all around great kayaks. The thermoformed plastic is something I wasn’t crazy about after some problems with cracking when they are stored in below freezing conditions for long periods of time. We didn’t have to worry about freezing so we were in good shape. He wanted $850 each which was a lot of money but a great price considering their condition and the fact there wasn’t anything close to this available in Mexico and if there was there is like an 20% tax or something on bringing things like kayaks and equipment across the Mexican border but since Allen sailed them down we were clear. Tom and I sat and chatted about this for a while. It was a big decision because we had to put a lot of money down but we decided to buy one each and now that we had 3 decent sea kayaks on board we could offer some kayak tours/trips with couchsurfers, friends of other travelers we meet in different places we will travel with Karaka for a good deal and soon enough recover our money for the boats and perhaps make a little extra to help pay for some boat costs, food etc.
The thought of buying these kayaks stressed me out more than it should have but when it was all said and done it felt good to have them.

I spent a lot of my time in La Paz hanging out with my friends Eduardo and his brother Alex where I got to practice my spanish and share some good meals and get away from the craziness on board. These boys were originally from Monterrey in NE Mexico but have recently in the past few years lived in La Paz. I spent a lot of time with Alex as he helped me out with some Mexican bank problems, showed me around town etc. I learned a lot about customs in Mexico and the Christian faith. They helped me out so much while I was in La Paz, I just can’t thank them enough but I really enjoyed spending time with them.
I also met up with some other friends from my previous visit in La Paz 2 years ago, met some new people and went to a variety of events including a traditional te mescal (sweat lodge), an organic salad making class, open mic nights and a few other good get togethers on the boat and in town.