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History & Geographic Location
". . . there was an island called California. . . which was populated by black women, without a single man among them. . . their weapons were all of gold. . . in the whole island there was no other metal. . ."
Garcí Ordóñez de Montalvo
Las Sergas de Esplanián
Mexico is located in southern region of North America. It shares the border with United States to the north and to the south with Guatemala and Belize; to the east is the Atlantic Ocean and to the west is the Pacific Ocean. In the northwest region of the country you find a long peninsula, a piece of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California or Sea of Cortés. This is the Peninsula of Baja California, which, because of its great length, is divided into two states.
La Paz is the capital of Baja California Sur. A bay of enormous dimensions and a small bay, surrounded by beautiful beaches of white sand, protect the city.
The peninsula of Baja California has been inhabitated for more than 12,000 years, but little is known of these first settlers; only cave paintings have been left as testimony of their existence. In the 16th century, the peninsula had only a few semi-nomadic tribes of fishermen, fruit and seed collectors, such as the Cochimi, the Guaycura and the Pericu. Hernán Cortés, motivated by the fantastic stories like that of the Las Sergas de Esplandián, organized the first trip to these lands in 1533. He even directed the second expedition, arriving at the bay on the 3rd of May of 1535, baptizing the land as the Bay of Santa Cruz; but after 2 years the camp was abandoned mainly because the dry soil would not allow cultivation. Finally, in 1596, Sebastian Vizcaino disembarked in the bay, renaming it La Paz and established a permanent camp. The Spanish quickly discovered the richness of the pearls here and thus exploited them almost to extinction. In 1720, the Mission of “Nuestra Señora del Pilar de La Paz Airapi” was founded and in 1974 the territory was changed into a state.
How is the Weather?
In the coastal zone, the weather is dry and very warm in the summer with temperatures as high as 40†C; in the afternoon, however, the Coromuel winds blow, with a soft and fresh breeze from the sea. The winter is moderate with cool winds and minimum temperatures of 10†C, while the temperatures in Sierra de la Laguna, located on Tropic of Cancer, are around 0†C.