After a few days in Mazatlan, we were back on the road, heading north to catch the ferry from Topolobampo to La Paz. We passed a number of small villages. Plenty of fruit stands selling exotic foods, and a few people in the street selling parrots they’d caught and placed in tiny cages.
This section of the trip went from miles and miles of corn fields and mango orchards to beautiful desert landscape.
After about 5 hours, we reached Topolobampo and waited a good hour in line to confirm our reservation. We pulled our car around to be in line while we waited- a tip from a regular ferry rider. This turned out to be a great help since we were on the ferry fast, didn’t have to wait in line for our stateroom key. We were on the ferry just after 10 PM, checked out our room- small, with 4 bunk beds that were quite hard. Rooms are not shared- I’ve been asked this a few times already- and we had a private bathroom with a shower in our room as well as a tiny vanity. The rooms don’t have a window, but they are very clean- like a small hotel room.
The ferry’s lobby was almost elegant, decorated with gold tones and mirrors. There was a buffet cafeteria and lounge/bar on the ferry’s 5th floor Plenty of space to walk around outside and admire the sunrise- which we did. Our total ferry time took around 8 hours- including loading and unloading of cars, and 6+ hours of sea-time. We arrived in La Paz and had to separate- 1 person is allowed back to the car to drive it off the ferry and passengers are escorted down a different route where you’re asked about your luggage and possibly searched. Most of this crew do not speak English but it’s easy to follow the crowd. Once you’re through this little check point, about 30 minutes later, you have to walk out to the street to be picked up by your car. There are also buses that leave from here.