Blog from the Sea of Cortez: La Paz

Today was our big day in La Paz: Regreso del Western Flyer a La Paz --- an open house for the city of La Paz, celebrating the return of the Flyer after an 85 year absence. The weather forecast promised hot temperatures (90+) with little wind, so we weren't sure how many people would show up. We need not have worried: our local partners had done their jobs. Hundreds of people stood in that hot sun, in some cases for nearly 2 hours, just to have a chance for a quick tour of the boat. 

The "Flyer advertising the Flyer"

To handle that many people we had arranged for about a dozen local high school students to act as bilingual docents. They accepted the job with enthusiasm and even showed up on Friday for a 90 minute crash course on the boat. We simply could not have done the job without them.

Local students Mariana and Daniel
explaining the science program on Flyer.

A hard-earned ice cream after a
hot day wrangling the crowds.

To me, the students made the day not only because of their energy and good cheer, but because it reminded me why we do this. Many of them told me what a fantastic time they had and that it encouraged them to continue their studies. In particular, one young man was toying with a career in electrical engineering, but wasn't sure whether he would be working for money, or because he loved the job. Today convinced him that he could have both.

I think it's safe to say that we left a lot of goodwill behind at a time when both nations need it.

Damn, what a photogenic boat.
Flyer never takes a bad picture.