Hey gang, it's 5:00 am here in Cabo San Lucas. Excitement combined with my circadian rhythm has had me up a couple of hours now. The weather is exceptionally nice, if a bit breezy. This might be the last bit of internet I have before we board, so I thought I would start the blog here.
Elena and I have had two incredibly relaxing days here. We arrived at Miami Airport about five am this past Monday for a seven am flight on AeroMexico. The seats were the normal sardine style on the first leg into Mexico City. Both Elena and I were worried about making the connection, but we needn't have been. I think it took less than fifteen minutes to clear immigration and customs and then wait a couple of hours for the next leg to Cabo San Jose. The only disappointment was with my phone. It's a Smaung Galaxy S5 from Verizon. Unfortunately, it's locked and I could not get a chip to be able to use it here in Mexico. Consequently, I have it on airplane mode with WIFI turned on until I get back to Miami. The flight to Cabo San Jose was equally as uneventful, but the plane was a lot nicer. After a bit of consternation, we met our ride to Cabo San Lucas and were soon on our way to Dos Mares.
There's an Amerification of Mexico that I'm not sure I like. McDonalds, Burger Kings, a Costco and more American names lined the hour long drive. I come to Mexico to be immersed in their culture. Seeing a Walmart is like seeing a Lion Fish on a Caribbean reef. It just doesn't belong here! I love seeing the fun side of Mexico and hope that we don't change it so much that it loses it's identity.
Our hotel, the Dos Mares (Two Seas) name comes from the fact that we are the bottom of Baja California Sur, where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean come together. Our destination, the Socorro Islands is a bit South and West of where we are now. That's like a 26 hour boat ride if the weather is calm, and this wind has me a bit concerned.
More on that later. FWIW, Cabo is Spanish for 'bay'. Cabo San Lucas is a town built on the cruise ship industry. That means that it's kinda seedy and cheap. I have not seen so many pharmacies and massage parlors in my entire life. We went into a leather shop, which are also plentiful, and as we walked out, we saw across the street, five pharmacies and five massage parlors all on the same block. Buy viagra in one and go visit the other. It's mind boggling and we must have passed 70 or 80 of these kinds of places. Like other places in Mexico, the merchants are pretty pushy. They've got America beat with their free enterprising! They will chat you up so they can get a share of your American Dollars. They hate the word 'No', but that's alright. If you haven't picked up on this yet, this is a bilingual city. English speakers will have little problems getting around. It's like Miami only reversed! We ate at Pancho's for breakfast and dinner, and at both of the Crazy Lobster's locations for lunch yesterday and today. The eating and tequila are excellent. Walking around Cabo San Lucas was definitely fun. We even rode one of the bike Taxis. I probably should have taken more pics, but here's my favorite building:
The Giggling Marlin
Does Cabo San Lucas have it's faults? Certainly. There's a level of decay here that most would find unacceptable. There's squalor and nice side by side. There's also the seedy side of things and that makes few of us feel comfortable. Here's the view across the street from our hotel:
In spite of the faults, there's some stunning scenery around and we're going to leave this all in another hour and a half for the Belle Amie. We certainly had fun here and were able to relax. That being said, I can't wait to get on the Bell Amie!
Elena and I have had two incredibly relaxing days here. We arrived at Miami Airport about five am this past Monday for a seven am flight on AeroMexico. The seats were the normal sardine style on the first leg into Mexico City. Both Elena and I were worried about making the connection, but we needn't have been. I think it took less than fifteen minutes to clear immigration and customs and then wait a couple of hours for the next leg to Cabo San Jose. The only disappointment was with my phone. It's a Smaung Galaxy S5 from Verizon. Unfortunately, it's locked and I could not get a chip to be able to use it here in Mexico. Consequently, I have it on airplane mode with WIFI turned on until I get back to Miami. The flight to Cabo San Jose was equally as uneventful, but the plane was a lot nicer. After a bit of consternation, we met our ride to Cabo San Lucas and were soon on our way to Dos Mares.
There's an Amerification of Mexico that I'm not sure I like. McDonalds, Burger Kings, a Costco and more American names lined the hour long drive. I come to Mexico to be immersed in their culture. Seeing a Walmart is like seeing a Lion Fish on a Caribbean reef. It just doesn't belong here! I love seeing the fun side of Mexico and hope that we don't change it so much that it loses it's identity.
Our hotel, the Dos Mares (Two Seas) name comes from the fact that we are the bottom of Baja California Sur, where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean come together. Our destination, the Socorro Islands is a bit South and West of where we are now. That's like a 26 hour boat ride if the weather is calm, and this wind has me a bit concerned.
More on that later. FWIW, Cabo is Spanish for 'bay'. Cabo San Lucas is a town built on the cruise ship industry. That means that it's kinda seedy and cheap. I have not seen so many pharmacies and massage parlors in my entire life. We went into a leather shop, which are also plentiful, and as we walked out, we saw across the street, five pharmacies and five massage parlors all on the same block. Buy viagra in one and go visit the other. It's mind boggling and we must have passed 70 or 80 of these kinds of places. Like other places in Mexico, the merchants are pretty pushy. They've got America beat with their free enterprising! They will chat you up so they can get a share of your American Dollars. They hate the word 'No', but that's alright. If you haven't picked up on this yet, this is a bilingual city. English speakers will have little problems getting around. It's like Miami only reversed! We ate at Pancho's for breakfast and dinner, and at both of the Crazy Lobster's locations for lunch yesterday and today. The eating and tequila are excellent. Walking around Cabo San Lucas was definitely fun. We even rode one of the bike Taxis. I probably should have taken more pics, but here's my favorite building:
The Giggling Marlin
Does Cabo San Lucas have it's faults? Certainly. There's a level of decay here that most would find unacceptable. There's squalor and nice side by side. There's also the seedy side of things and that makes few of us feel comfortable. Here's the view across the street from our hotel:
In spite of the faults, there's some stunning scenery around and we're going to leave this all in another hour and a half for the Belle Amie. We certainly had fun here and were able to relax. That being said, I can't wait to get on the Bell Amie!
