Large colourful letters spelling out La Paz
Art,  Mexico,  Monday walks,  Photographing Public Art,  Street art

A walk around La Paz (the Mexican one, not Bolivia!)

May 21, 2024 / 39 Comments

Sometimes on a trip it’s important to take the pace down a notch. In the end it doesn’t matter if you squeeze in every sight or miss a few. By rushing around you can fail to really appreciate where you are and to notice the smaller details that distinguish one place from the next.

Man lying under a beach umbrella
Chilling on the beach in La Paz

We had planned a couple of nights in La Paz, in Baja California Sur, in order to take a trip to Espiritu Santo Island, an excursion that most visitors to the region are keen to undertake. The island is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, famous for its beautiful scenery, endemic wildlife and water activities, especially snorkelling.  But neither of us are keen snorkellers (I enjoy it in theory but sometimes struggle to manage the mask etc.) and we had two more boat trips planned for later in the week. Plus, La Paz looked like a pleasant place in which to chill and we felt the need to do just that. So we cancelled the island tour and instead spent much of the day on a leisurely wander around the town. Join me please for a Monday Walk with Jo.

On the Malecón

Bronze sculpture of a fat bird by the sea
Dove of Peace, marking the Gulf of California’s listing by UNESCO

We started with a walk along the sea front or Malecón, photographing the many sculptures all themed around the sea, and the pelicans and other seabirds. I’ve shared some of the latter previously so here’s a gallery of the sculptures.

Street art

After following the Malecón for some distance we turned inland, walking a few blocks from the sea in search of street art. We found plenty, as well as a great coffee in a little café/art gallery.

Museo de Arte de Baja California Sur

We reached the Jardin Velasco with its shady palm trees. On one side is the Museo de Arte de Baja California Sur, in an attractive building facing the cathedral across the square.

Road sign and large white building
White building and palm trees

The Museo de Arte de Baja California Sur

It was free to enter although we were only allowed to take photos with our phones. I was surprised at how modern the interior looked. I found a lot to enjoy among the different artists exhibiting, most of all a huge mural by Victor Cauduro called The Color of Time, with four sections themed around periods of the region’s history.

Inside a modern building with curved walls
Group of nine small photos of people in traditional dress photographed from behind
Photo of a woman next to a ruined house
Oil painting, semi abstract of sea and beach
Painting of early people in a desert
Painting of a priest baptising an man in a desert
Painting of a man with a horse and cart
Painting showing a modern street scene with tourists
Large mural with desert scene and modern city street

Nuestra Señora de La Paz

Afterwards we popped inside the cathedral, Nuestra Señora de La Paz, which is relatively plain but had some interesting touches, inside and out.

Cathedral, palm trees and other buildings
Taken a few days later from the roof terrace of a nearby hotel
Relief sculpture of a woman praying
Tile mosaic image of a saint
Sculpture of the Virgin and Child on a wall
Sculpture of a kneeling angel
Sculpture of two men and a dove

We then spotted an attractive shop, the Casa Parra Gallery, featuring arts and crafts by local artists and others from elsewhere in Mexico. The owner was friendly, and I couldn’t resist buying a little glass hummingbird which reminded me of those we’d seen at the Mirador Hotel. She wrapped it really carefully in layers of tissue paper and we just had to hope it would get home in one piece (we did!)

We rounded off our walk with ice cream at La Michoacana on the sea front, which was very good. So no cake Jo, but hopefully the ices will compensate! And there’s enough public art in this walk to please Natalie too I hope.

Glass shelf with painted ceramic skull
Wall of a building with image of ice creams and fruit

Art and ice cream!

And did we regret missing out on the boat trip? Not in the slightest!

I visited La Paz in February 2024

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