La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, is not what we are lead to believe it to be. It isn't necessarily dangerous, but if you come to La Paz believing it to be what it is not, you may be in for a disappointment at the very least.

As far as sailor's destinations are concerned, La Paz is touted as a place where sailors dreams begin, as the initial jumping off point for all sailors from north America. But the reality lies in the stories we are told as to how the dream began, when an American sailor came to La Paz with a dream, as many who come to La Paz do themselves.

But this man's dream, while initially a life of freedom on the seas as a sailor, became a more ambitious dream. His dream of sailing off into the sunset turned into a naked pursuit of profit, as he went from making pangas to opening the first marina and then on to found the most corrupt organization in Mexico, the private corporation which acts as the nation of Mexico's formal port authority.

For people who come to La Paz with a dream of sailing, this affords a better explanation for the exorbitant pricing of the marinas than does the presence of so many mega-yachts. The expense of La Paz isn't because of several greedy marina operators. No, I'm afraid the cost of marinas in La Paz is due entirely to the greed of the man who created API, which, believe it or not, owns all land under water and even the first 20 meters from the high tide mark. And API is a very corrupt private corporation.

Of course there are sailors who do just fine here in La Paz. But they do so because they have put themselves under the umbrella of protection – and the submission and conformity it requires – of what some call the “gringo mafia.” Kiss a little ass and you don't need to worry about pesky things like visas, tips, work permits, taxes, or even obeying the law.

It's a great racket, but if you aren't in it, it makes life hell down here. Club Cruceros, the manifestation of the gringo mafia, personified by retired boaters who have lived ashore for years, is an entity not legally able to operate in Mexico, yet controls everything socially and beyond, including the illegal broadcasts of the radio net, including the incriminating statement in the script something to the effect that we can't legally sell, so we “trade for coconuts” - an obvious admission of conspiracy to evade the law.

But there are some problems of course. Being in the racket, you have to stay in with the right social groups or you could find yourself on your own, facing all those pesky Mexican laws. And the racket can't last forever, especially not with what it has done to me and my efforts to respond. But the worst thing is if you come to La Paz and try to exist outside of the gringo mafia. It can be done, but it requires you integrate with the culture, and do things how they are done here (hint: not the way gringos do it, nor the way the law is written...so your observations are as good as my own.)

I am not discouraging anyone from participating in the Baja Ha Ha (I'll do that in person). But I do want to offer a warning: if you come to La Paz expecting anything other than what is described here, you are in for a disappointment. Instead, understand what La Paz is, and make your decisions about coming and staying here based on just a bit more truth about La Paz than perhaps you are aware of.

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