Visualize an enormous bay so calm that every pink and purple stratum of the sunset sky is mirrored. Water so clear that visibility is often 100 feet, revealing pirate wrecks and passing whales. Wilderness islands where snorkelers frolic with friendly, unafraid sea lions. Smack in the very heart of downtown La Paz you can stroll the longest, most beautiful seaside walk in the world. For almost three miles, this main-street malecon edges the clean, sandy shores of the Sea of Cortez.
Tourists pause on the shaded benches to savor ice-cream cones and gaze at the sea.
Mariachis and troubadours wander among the outdoor tables and splashy umbrellas. It remains an almost perfect mix of Old World Mexico and New World amenities. Long ago, the city could probably have outstripped Acapulco, Cancun, Ixtapa and Cabo San Lucas as a tourist destination simply by forking over its waterfront to the international hotel giants as these other cities have. But it didn't. The most valuable piece of beachfront property in Baja remains untouched by high-rise greed.