Day Trip To Cabo San Lucas

Last Sunday morning we took the 7.30 AM "Largo" bus to Cabo San Lucas.  The long route took us through the hills of this peninsula and we were able to see some interesting towns and settlements on the way.

We got off at the bus station about 4 hours later and made the wrong guess about which local bus to take to get to the harbor area.  Soon we were in a residential area with modest houses and bone jarring dirt roads with trails of water running across the roads. Water is scarce here in Baja California, so we figured that the suspicious drainage indicated an inadequate sewage system.  For all of the simplicity of the area Brenda and I noticed that everyone dressed well, in particular the children.

We became somewhat alarmed when all passengers had gotten off and the driver told us that he was not returning to town, but fortunately he was very helpful and hailed down another bus that was returning to "Centro".

We soon found ourselves in a completely different environment. We were back on paved roads and surrounded by glitzy hotels. We spotted a couple of launches amongst the buildings and although there was no sign of water we decided to get off the bus, just as the driver gave us a call. It was no time before we were walking alongside a Marina and being invited to lunch in each of the cafes along the boardwalk. We succumbed to one of the deals that included two beers. Brenda wanted a lemon drink so I was surprised to find that the two Coronas were were served regardless of the fact that I had ordered only one, with the second waiting an ice bucket. It was the first time that that I had ever seen a bottle of beer in an ice bucket.  We  were happy with our meal (generous and "imaginative" [Brenda's descrription] salad for Brenda, burritos for me) and enjoyed the passing parade of more tourists than we had seen in all our weeks in La Paz.

We then did some strolling along the edge of the marina and some of the streets then took a cab to the beach.  In my mind I had expected a desolate beach but instead we found a "fun" very touristy beach full of people and with lots of boating activity.  It was a beautiful beach with soft golden sand hooked to a dramatic rocky hill at the cape.  Brenda enjoyed paddling in the clear water.

We then took a cab from the beach to the bus station and soon we were on our way back to La Paz via the short ("corta") route.  I dozed most of the way to Todos Santos but Brenda saw long stretches of the Pacific coast line on the way.  We arrived at La Paz well before sunset and had a pleasant short walk back to the hotel. The walk was short because a fellow passenger told the bus driver the best place to let us off which was much closer than the bus terminus.

Cabo San Lucas is pure tourist and resort.    One fellow resident of this hotel described it as "Las Vegas meets Mexico".  The atmosphere was totally different from that of La Paz, which is the capital of the state of Baja California Sur and more of a normal working city.  The marina  was full of expensive power boats - I only saw three masts - which confirmed what I had heard about Cabo being a haven for rich North Americans who came down to their boats once or twice a year for their big game (e.g. marlin) fishing.  I recall seeing two ATM's side by side, with one dispensing pesos and the other dispensing dollars.

I've been told that in the 1960's Cabo San Lucas was but a tiny fishing settlement and that most of the population are comparatively recent arrivals who were attracted by the then growing tourist trade.  But the area has been hit hard by the recession, and I can understand the struggles of businesses and individuals to survive economically.  Having said that, I must say that we found businesses very active in their efforts to get us into their premises and on the streets and the beach we were constantly approached by people trying to sell all sorts of trinkets, hats, etc.  They politely accepted "no" for an answer but it did detract from my experience partly because I do not enjoy giving refusals to desperate people trying to make an honest living.

Brenda's Bird of the Day is another dove. This time it is the very small Common Ground Dove and indeed it is common over all of lowland Mexico. It is only six and a half inches long, one of the smallest doves in the world. They seem well adapted to town life and can be found in vacant lots, gardens and open air cafes.