Circus Cabo

Cabo San Lucas

Arch of Land's End

Approaching Cabo San Lucas from the sea, it appears idyllic, a calm refuge from the wind and waves. The rocky spine of the Baha peninsula thrusts into the sea like a sea monster returning home. But once we rounded the rocks and viewed the harbor, another vision came to mind...something closer to a circus with water taxis dashing in and around the large private fishing boats jockeying through the docks. Chaotic masses moving about in large and small tour boats, skiffs, and the occasional sailboat looking quite out of place in this powerboat strewn marina. We hailed the harbormaster and were directed to a slip which turned out to be much too narrow for our 16 ft beam. Thankfully Chris is very talented with boat handling and I waved off oncoming boats as we turned around and followed a security lead boat to another larger slip. There we tied up and hooked up to shore power for the first time since Ensenada.

The marina in Cabo is clean, well patrolled, and the facilities are superior to San Diego's transient cop dock by a far stretch. I made use of the laundry facilities and found them to be the best we've encountered thus far.

LoWang hangs out on deck at the marina.

Leaving the marina we exited through one of the locked gates that guard the end of each dock and strolled along the walkway that surrounds the marina in a sweeping U shape. Shops and restaurants front this walkway while street vendors hawk their wares incessantly. Cheap silver (or maybe nickel) jewelry is dangled in front of each passersby while the phrase "want to go fishing?" echoes through the air. Cuban cigars (not good ones) are shoved in front of every man and restaurant owners wave their menus.

Overall we found the food to be average, the prices high (the dollar is commonly used here so no benefit is received from the current 17 pesos = 1 US dollar exchange rate) and the scenery around the marina sad. A large US type mall is adjacent to the marina, selling luxury goods mostly to the cruise boat people. Just on the other side of the fence is poverty. In one direction you can see luxury timeshare condos and in the opposite is a half-built high rise building, abandoned. Perhaps a hotel project that went bankrupt during the real estate market crash in the US a decade ago? The casino and luxury goods contrasting with the ramshackle surrounds give this area the feel of a cheap Mexican Las Vegas knockoff. But the locals are warm and friendly and the natural scenery, spectacular.

We enjoyed some great seafood meals and drank our share of margaritas during Super Bowl weekend before heading out to the anchorage off the beach a little further up the coast. Here we wait for the replacement parts for our Lewmar outhaul car to be delivered.

 LoWang on deck