Monday, June 1, 2026

Knowing this was our last day, we moved slowly, lingering over each moment before returning to Nirvana in La Paz. Rather than rushing, we savored the relaxed pace that had made Todos Santos such a delightful escape.

For breakfast, we walked to the downtown Jazamango Café where we enjoyed excellent coffee, fabulous food, and a dining experience immersed in lush gardens and artistic décor. Adding to the charm was one of the employees' adorable puppies, who wandered about the restaurant "helping" with various tasks. Cyndi and Cathy, our pool acquaintances, were dining there as well, so we stopped by their table to say goodbye.

As we prepared to leave, the puppy bounded over and enthusiastically jumped up to greet me. I tried to catch her paws to keep her from scratching my legs, which she apparently interpreted as an invitation to play. Before I knew it, my wrist was in her mouth! Fortunately, it was all puppy exuberance rather than aggression. I quickly found a ball to distract her, and she happily raced off. It wasn't until we had left the restaurant that I realized I was bleeding from a couple of puppy-tooth punctures. John was concerned, but after thoroughly cleaning and bandaging the wound, everything seemed fine.

Our drive back to La Paz was largely uneventful, aside from a stop to add air to one of the rear tires. We hoped the low pressure wasn't the result of our off-roading adventures from the day before. Since we still had the rental car, we decided to do some provisioning before our upcoming journey home.

I have been on a quest to find what may be the holy grail of grocery shopping in Mexico: half-and-half. It sounds ridiculous, but it is surprisingly difficult to find. By this point, I had checked three different stores without success. Today I added two more to the list before finally striking gold at the Chedraui near the marina. My theory is that they stock it because they cater to a larger tourist and expatriate population. Whatever the reason, victory was sweet!

As part of our provisioning mission, we picked up Eric and Amy and made a pilgrimage to Sam's Club - another first for us. We loaded up on meat and other supplies to prepare meals for the trip home and considered the outing a complete success.

While John and Eric headed to the gas station to refuel containers with diesel, I returned to Nirvana to unload groceries. The afternoon heat was oppressive, with temperatures in La Paz reaching 95 degrees - nearly fifteen degrees warmer than Todos Santos. Yet another reminder of why we are looking forward to heading north.

Later, naps seemed like the only sensible response to the heat. The remainder of the afternoon and evening passed quietly. We enjoyed a chicken tamarindo dinner aboard Nirvana, watched a show, and reflected on our wonderful mini-vacation. It was a simple ending, but the perfect way to close out a memorable getaway before turning our attention once again to preparations for the journey home.