Another perfect day in Cabo – June 13, 2006

There’s supposed to be t-shirts that say that for sale at some place in Cabo San Lucas. I haven’t been to CSL (not to be confused with Cote-St-Luc) yet, though. And anyway, I think I’m done with my souvenir shopping. I got two things: an embroidered blouse in the traditional Mexican style, that I think will look good with jeans, and a gift for Hilly which I can’t describe yet since it has to remain a surprise for her. It was Hilly’s birthday while I was away.

Oh, wait. I’m still away. Right. But of course, I’ll only be posting this once I’m back. The cabin I’m staying in does not –alas- have wireless internet access. In fact, I can’t find wireless anywhere except at Pepe’s Diving Center in Cabo Pulmo, 2 hours away. More on that location later. There are internet cafes, and I stopped at one on the road to Cabo Pulmo and pricelined my hotel for the 1 night I have to stay over at LAX. US$65 for the 4 star Westin, in case you’re wondering. Anyway, that’s all done, now I can rest knowing I won’t be sleeping on the floor of LAX (the chairs there have arm rests between each seat, and they don’t have wireless there either).

One small luxury I was able to find this afternoon after my return from the beach was an ice frappucino. Frapuccino? It was practically all I could think of as I sat watching my body toast in the sun, lying across from the Cortez Sea and the Gulf of California. Mmm, iced coffee! That’s when I realized: I will never be able to drop off the grid. Secluded location with awesome view, great. No iced coffee in a number 6 polyurethane cup? Baaaad. I had to go to 4 places to find one, but getting what I want: priceless. I also got to see the row of resort hotels in San Jose and that was when I realized, I wouldn’t want to stay in *that* much “luxury”, comfort, civilization, whatever you want to call it, either. It doesn’t seem like any fun. There were no gringos on the palm tree-lined avenue between the hotels. Only local employees in absurd pant and shirt uniforms. It’s 37 degrees and they look like they should be working at McDonalds! Crazy.

I’m going to recommend the place I’m staying at on Tripadvisor when I get back. It’s 3 cabins and 2 rooms on a garden lot, with a common barbecue kitchen. As of today I’m the only one here so everything is MINE! There are books, and cats, and it’s all run by a lovely Swedish lady called Asa, with the two dots over the first A. I think she’s been here 20 years. I noticed tonight, as I was getting some salt in the open air kitchen (it never ever rains here), that the cement walkway is inscribed:

“Build a resort, destroy a community. Mar 06”.

I wouldn’t be surprised if la Senora Asa had written that into the cement herself. She seems very disheartened that they’re building a marina in her town (we’re in Las Playitas, about 3 kms east of San Jose del Cabo) and a golf course, etc. You can tell already that this place will never be the tiny little town it is today. It’s not even a town. It’s a bunch of houses –some huge and expensive-looking; some huts you can see right through- and a couple of stores. And dogs and chickens and goats. And cats. Oh, yeah, and mostly: a beach that I can hear every evening when I go to bed. Perfect.
Cabo Pulmo: this is the greatest beach. It took me about 2 hours to get there. It’s on what’s called the East Cape, so further North and East from Cabo. Directly facing the Sea of Cortez, unlike Cabo which is at the junction between the Pacific and Cortez. The Sea of Cortez is much warmer than the pacific. Anyway, the place is fantastic. It’s all desert on the way, with huge cacti (mm?) that I took a picture of, and skinny oxen, and I guess the birds I saw hovering were vultures. Really. And then…. Then you see the clear blue green sea, and white beaches. I pulled up through dusty roads and after a disappointing experience at Nancy’s Restaurant (Chicago ex-pat; her place has been reviewed in the NYT; she wouldn’t store my water bottle in her fridge while I ate), parked at the beach. It was the closest I think I’m going to get to a secluded beach worth swimming in. There were maybe 5 other people on at least 1 km of sand and pebbles. Occasionally snorkeling boats would go by on the horizon. There’s a reef in this area. Which makes for great swimming since the waves break further out than in most places I’ve seen here so far. I sat and toasted all afternoon and thought about nonsense. Tried to make sense of nonsense. Tried to give up making sense of nonsense. My conclusion: my vacation might be perfect if at the place I’m staying, El Delfin Blanco, I could have wireless internet. Oh yeah, you can take the girl out of… ahhh