Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
April 2007

 

It's like a dream. On our return trip, we went from 80-degree beach weather to a winter storm. Were we really THERE?

This was our first trip to Mexico. I found a number of things annoying, not the least of which were the incredibe sloth and inefficiency everywhere, and ubiquitous but subtle expectation of tips.

The Cabo airport, despite being pretty new, needs work. Nice new buildings. But very long lines for customs, and very inefficient processing of incoming tourists. All the floors are tiled--tile is everywhere--and hard as a rock...my feet were killing me. Upon entrance, we waited in a line (imagine that!) to get our passports stamped. Next came the line where we waited for our luggage, which took forever. Next was another line to go through customs with our luggage. They have a really screwball system where your luggage is scanned, and then you press a big button. If the traffic-light-like system lights up green, you can pass through without a luggage inspection. If it comes up red, you take your luggage to a table where your luggage is searched. <shrug> Only in Mexico???

When we exited the plane in Cabo, there was no jetway (no big deal, since those are expensive and the weather there does not warrant them). Instead, there was a line of locals, all in uniform, lined up to "direct" us to the proper door. They could have done with a third the number, and with a rope, perhaps less than that. I mean, good heavens, was someone going to take off running into the desert?? Seemed kind of silly to me.

On our return home from Cabo I counted at least a dozen "officicials" mostly just standing around. We were told to line up to get on the plane, then kept there for 30 minutes waiting for the adjacent plane to finish loading. Oh...my feet!!!

Even our guide on the way to Todos Santos remarked, "Mexican construction...an 8 hour day....three hours work and five hours of rest".

I have to say, though, that the Mexican workers we have here in Summit County are for the most part very hard workers in (you've heard this before, I'm sure) jobs that virtually no US citizen wants.

And there was Isabel, at the "Bella California" restaurant at the resort. I wish we had her here in some of OUR restaurants! She gave me lots of practice with my Spanish, and, unlike some, was easy to understand.

One of the most insulting things we encountered was the $3.50 per day optional "tip charge". This was purported to go to the support staff in the resort...those who mowed the lawn, did the maintanence, etc. Give me a break! Isn't that an expense that the RESORT should pay?? Totally bogus, in my opinion, and we DID opt out of it, even though it required a signed special form to do so. I wonder how much of the tip charge actually went to the employees, and how much went to the coffers of the Canadian company that actually OWNS the resort? We did leave a daily 50 peso (about $5) tip for the lady who cleaned our room.

Our return to the USA was a pleasure...high tech and almost no waiting except for luggage. Despite what some of our news channels are saying, we're definitely doing something right!

The vacation was a real "trip", in more ways than one! Will we return to Mexico? I'm thinking...not right away. It's not that the country is bad. It's not...just different. But getting in and out of the country is a pain. I think our next trip to warmer climates may be to Hawaii.

 

Here is a short .avi movie taken by the beach.

 


First evening, first experience with one of the restaurants at Villa del Palmar. The place had wonderful food if you wanted to pay
for it. Cheaper food, less quallity. This evening I thought the food was bland, and was not impressed. However, later in the trip we
had a wonderful, but far more expensive, meal of steak and fresh lobster. Definitely memorable, both for the food and the check!
Pictured here are Ken, Cora and Mary. Ken and Mary are good friends of ours...we've traveled together a couple of times now.

 


I discovered a new "favorite beer": Tecate Light. Margaritas are ubiquitous at the resort, even though technically the margarita is
not a Mexican invention. Nevertheless, with fresh fruits and premium liquors, they're great. Everyone has a drink in hand at
(nearly) all times. Must be the highest concentration of American alcoholics in the northern hemisphere. <g>

 


The resort itself was great. The landscape was meticulously maintained, but one had to remember that palm trees are not native
to Baja California, and only grow well when watered by man.

 


This picture was taken from Ken & Mary's balcony. Gorgeous view, but for some reason the resort must think that music with a
REALLY heavy Latin beat must be played from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Ken & Mary got tired of it, and wound up
having to close their door to keep the noise out.

 


The lobby. Wow. Lots of Latin employees, all potentially very helpful, standing around. Awaiting tips, I think! <g>.

 


The top of the whale slide. By no means the only whale we saw during this trip, but the only one there day after day.

 


Cora and Mary dickering with one of the hundreds of beach vendors. She bought a beach bag which turned out to be very useful
while we were there. These vendors have special deals for everyone. As you walk along the beach, you learn very quickly to say
"no, gracias". It gets tedious after awhile, because a lot of them are selling the same stuff, mostly straw hats, jewelry, baskets
and other stuff not exactly essential to life. What a way to earn a living.

 


Boats in the marina. Must be a lot of fishing going on!

 


More over-the-top architecture. Gorgeous, but totally artificial given the desert climate. It's an oasis of tourism.

 


Now THIS is more typical. Taken from a lunch venue in Cabo. Locals drive like maniacs. No way would I rent a car here, much less a motor scooter (Vespas were available). Notice...no windows. Not necessary. There were garage-door like closures for the times when the place was closed. I had a taco plate...beef, fish and lobster tacos. Mediocre at best, but the two-for-one beers made it "okay". We were offered a guitar-accompanied serenade twice by guys walking along the streets looking for tips. Unfortunately, the tacos came with lettuce, which raises a red flag in tourist minds, since the lettuce is washed in water which can be questionable. And, indeed, I did contract some kind of stomach bug which lasted for days. I didn't see Montezuma's ghost anywhere, but his revenge was clearly lurking about. Thank heaven for Imodium!

 


The big boat is the "CaboRey". Eighty-two bucks per person, lobster and prime rib served. Nice boat, but there were far better
deals to be had. We saw whales...not sure THEY did!

 


Typical morning view. Almost every day brought a different cruise ship to port. They'd come in during morning's first light and depart
before dusk. The French military ship stayed for four days and then left. Not sure WHAT it was doing there.

 


Sunrise, taken from our deck.

 


Cora and Mary, among others, on the beach. The only thing unusual about this picture is the absence of beach vendors.

 


Okay now...THIS is the way to go. A private yacht...the "Piano Bar". I wonder if the airport had a corresponding private jet??

 


The building(s) in the background is/are our resort. Our room was among the palms on the far right of this picture. An interesting
arrangement on the beach. No beach vendors were permitted beyond a rope stretched along the beach in front of the wall, and
certainly not above the wall. Bottom line: if you didn't want to be bothered with them, stay above the wall!

 


One of the highlights of the trip was the "sunset cruise" in a decently-sized boat. The boat went out along these rocks, then around the
bend, to "Land's End", which is, literally, the farthest point south on Baja California. If you were to take a boat from here, and head
directly south, your next land would be in Antarctica.

 


"Lover's Beach". The beach over the rise is "divorce beach". How romantic. We thought about taking one of the ubiquitous water
taxis to this beach, but heard that during mid-day, there was no shade or water. Sunburn city.

 


The famous "arco" (arch).

 


Seals! Very cool.

 


One of my pet peeves: tourists holding their cheap digital cameras at arm's length to compose (if they're really paying attention to
the picture's composition) their picture...and extending their cameras and arms into my field of view. Unfortunately, advances in
motion stabilization allow this horrible practice and prevent blur in the images. The cheapest of digital cameras don't even include
an optical viewfinder, so the touron has no choice but to compose the image this way. Not happy about this turn of events!
If you buy a digital camera, be sure it has an optical viewfinder!!!!!!!!!!

 


The sunset cruise: There be whales!!! This one was a baby humpback. His/her mother was nearby.

 


Even the captain sounded excited, and the boat followed the twosome for a half hour. By early April, most whales
abandon the area for feeding grounds up near Alaska. But evidently there were a few stragglers. This one is the baby, again.

 

 


And this one, no telephoto lens...he was THAT close.

 


We had several days of very heavy surf...waves as high as 12-15 feet were breaking close to shore. Strong swimmers were having
a ball. Ken & Mary saw a wave runner try to go over one of these crests, only to have the wave flip him and his craft completely
over, injuring him and putting the wave runner out of commission. And the noise...when these waves would come in and collapse on
themselves...sounded like a cannon shot. Very cool.

 


There were mostly three kinds of people on the beach...fat old farts, well-to-do families, and people with the means to look like
this and still be so YOUNG!

 


This guy was playing in the big surf, and actually surviving it.

 


Here, he's diving into the on-coming wave just before it collapses onto his head. Yikes.

 


On the way to the small town of Todos Santos...cactus and one of the many beaches on the Pacific side of Baja. With very few
exceptions, these beaches are very dangerous for swimming due to the undertow caused by breaking waves. Nobody in Mexico
can own a beach, but much of the land immediately adjacent to the beach is owned by locals, and is fenced off (in parcels
of an acre or two).

 


Lunch in Todos Santos. Chilis rellenos...poblano peppers stuffed with fresh shrimp and cheese. To die for!

 


Along the main drag in Todos Santos. The street is a bit decieving...many streets are not this pristine, nor is it litter-free along
the highways. Personally, I thought this was disgusting....such beautiful terrain continually littered with old tires, all kinds of
plastic detritus, and pieces of wind-blown plastic bags caught in trees.

 


But flowers were everywhere in towns.