Baja California - La Paz, another lazy day in the sun

I slept badly, fear dreams kept waking me up. The incident with the cop had me feeling a bit shaky and unsafe. Over my morning coffee I got on the internet and read many stories similar to mine. There was also a lot of conflicting advice:
- carry a "cop wallet" with a photocopy of your license (he is less in control if he doesn't have your original) and the amount of money you are prepared to use to pay him off.
- never pay the bribe as you are perpetuating the behaviour.
- take down his name and badge number and insist on a ticket (it can be paid at the police station or mailed in).
- foreigners are far more likely to be targeted for traffic infractions than Mexicans
- the Mexican authorities want to stop this behaviour but can't if we keep paying them off.
- nobody wants to spend their holiday, dealing with a Mexican police station and don't know how they will be treated.
- etc etc

It all has made me worried about driving here. Feeling as if the Alamo sticker on the back of the car makes me a target. One of the forums suggests for expats spending a lot of time here its worth not driving your U.S. car but having a cheap Mexican one to drive around.
That having been said I decided that I wasn't going to let this stop me enjoy my stay and drove to the grocery store. I have been stopping at the 4 way stops (in spite of the danger of the car behind me running into me because he doesn't expect it) but now I am stopping and checking all around, not only to make sure it is safe from other cars but also checking for police cars.

After that I was planning on a stay at home day anyway, so here's some pictures of the house;

The living room has 2 comfy couches, bright walls, cushions and art work.

The kitchen has everything you need; coffee maker, microwave, gas stove, frig, toaster oven and lots of dishes etc.

There are 2 bedrooms. I am staying in the blue one. Ceiling fans in both bedrooms and 2 in the living room along with air conditioners. Two bathrooms as well.

The courtyard door opens right into the living room. There is a dining table that folds into a sideboard size piece of furniture.

It is comfortable, efficient and well appointed. Its no sacrifice to have an "at home" day. I took my camera outside with me when I sat in the courtyard with my glass of wine and a Food and Wine Magazine (Dale has some excellent magazines on the coffee table), hoping to get some hummingbird pictures. After a few failures, one little female co-operated.

Drinking from the aloe plant that is in flower.

This is a female but I'm not sure if it is a Costas or a Xantus, both native to this area. There are also Anna's and Black Chins but they all move so fast it is hard to identify them.

She appears to be slightly green on her back. This plant is very popular with the local hummingbird population and I have seen a variety of males and females and colourings.