Beautiful port, 10 stunning beaches, and if you need excitement, it's got a rep as a party town. The world's largest population of grey whales have their breeding ground along here and are effectively protected. And they're friendly! Two evenings in a row, a whale pooped its head out of the water, gave me what I can only describe as a look of curiosity and then pivoted like a submarine and disappeared. Or early morning, the light breeze of Mexico in my face, I've seen a whale jump out of the water, sheer grace in motion. I watch them and I yearn, that just maybe, there is a certain beauty still to be observed.

I always stay at the incredibly cheap Hotel Yeneka. The lobby has whole skeletons of whales and . . . you couldn't make it up, a stuffed monkey driving a bright blue Model Ford.

The waterfront caters to every appetite, with taquerias on every corner. Fish is readily available and delicious and you can sit under massive palm trees and sip Margaritas that sneak up on you like a sunny day in a Galway winter.

The beaches are breathtaking, and behind you are cacti-littered hills. The sea is usually smooth as glass and there's an air of peacefulness in La Paz. After my last gruelling book tour, I headed for La Paz and the first evening I found a tiny pearl on the boardwalk. I think Steinbeck would have smiled. I lobbed it hard and high, out among the whales, where it belonged.

Pearl among the sublime.

Ken Bruen's latest novel, 'Priest', published by Bantam Press, is out now.