Tuesday, January 27, 2015

C IS FOR....

CABO SAN LUCAS

Cabo, as most of us call it, was a small Mexican town at the tip of Baja, California, the peninsula on the west coast of Mexico.

I say "was" because it is no longer as small as it was when we first visited it about 35 years or more ago. On the map above Cabo is right at the very tip of the peninsula and San Diego just above the border in the top left hand corner. Cabo has become a popular tourist spot especially for cruise ships and for those who want to do some fishing in the Gulf of California. It also has a good number of resort hotels, but the main obstacle is how to get there.

You can fly Air Mexico from San Diego or you can drive the length of the peninsula.  When we flew there the plane came down very low and we wondered where the runway was.  Suddenly we swooped over a cliff and down to the runway below.  Exciting! Back then the airport was just a series of thatched roofs with tables inside.

If you decide to drive, it is 760 miles.  Today there is a half decent road, but still you have to watch out for loose cattle, unorthodox driving and don't drive at night or pick-up hitch hikers.  You may also be stopped by police toting rifles, but mainly looking for people carrying drugs.  Remember, in Mexico you are guilty until proved innocent.  Our boys went to Baja quite often years ago, as helpers with those driving the Baja 500.  That's when they were into off-roading with their trucks.

This was the photo we took of Cabo last month.

Today, I wouldn't think about going across the border, though many do.  We are just too aware of the drug problems and immigration tangles nowadays.  I'm so glad we got to do it all those years ago before all the illegal activity.  It is fascinating countryside and Gray Whales can be seen in the winter off the coast as they make their way down to the lagoons where they give birth before returning back up north again.

On our original trip, we let our boys go fishing all day out in one of the pangas from a nearby community with a couple of the local fisherman.  (I can't believe now that we would let them do that alone, but it was different times).  They came back triumphantly with a hammerhead shark, which our youngest had caught (at about age ten). It was bigger than he was!  Such excitement!  Somewhere we have a photo of him holding it up, but don't know where it is right now.  That was before computers and I haven't put the multitude of our old photos on the computers.

Recently, Cabo received the full brunt of a hurricane and had much damage in their tourist area as well as their city.  They have been scurrying to get everything put back together for the tourist season.  Our cruise ship stopped in at Christmas time and things were already put back together. Tourism is a vital resource for the locals.


The very tip of Cabo San Lucas in December.
Beautiful blue skies and calm seas.

This is my entry for ABC Wednesday.  Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and Roger Owen Green and their worthy team of helpers.  To see more fascinating entries, please click HERE.

14 comments:

Wanda said...

What a great tour guide you would make. I learned so much from your post, and that last picture is so beautiful,

Years ago Don went to Baja with a Mission group taking dental equipment. But that was years ago and so different. I wouldn't go over the border now for any price.

snafu said...

It looks and sounds a lovely place to visit - once. Maybe not such a great place nowadays. Pity drugs are causing so much misery everywhere.

Roger Owen Green said...

I've been an hour down the coast, but not that far south. Maybe some day; my sister lives in SD.

ROG, ABCW

Unknown said...

Beautiful pictures and thank you for sharing. I have been to Calif, but never down to Mexico. I am like you now tho, wouldnt want to cross over, due to all the drug problems...sad.

Trubes said...

Such an interesting post and wonderful pictures.
Thanks for sharing it with us. Beautifully written too!

Best wishes,
Di,
ABCW team.

Linda said...

Sounds like a fascinating place to visit-- especially when you're on s cruise ship.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

you were brave to catch the caterpillars. Today, I was cleaning my Chinese cabbage, and saw a small pencil thin one, I squashed it, and soaked my veg in salt water.

Reader Wil said...

I enjoyed reading your post about your wonderful holidays with the family.Watching the whales must have been a great happening! I once saw them in New Zealand.
Have a great weekend.
Wil, ABCW Team.

Gattina said...

Looks like a very beautiful place ! It's a pity that with the time the controls have increased so much or for terrorists or for drugs !

A Colorful World said...

Cabo is beautiful. We live in Tucson and never go into Mexico. When we lived here before in the early 80s it was no big deal to go into Mexico, but things have changed. In spite of that we are thinking about taking a cruise down to the Baja Peninsula next summer (not as far as Cabo, I don't think though). I'm less worried about being safe on a cruise (the thing I'm really worried about is everyone getting sick! Boy has that happened a lot in recent years!)than driving down into Mexico. We'll see how everything goes. :-)

Anonymous said...

Chris, thanks for visiting my Zentangle post. I always color outside the lines! I have a deep desire to see Cabo as well as other locales in Mexico... many friends moved there in years past and they love it. Thanks for lovely images that stoke my wanderlust! Fellow pastor's spouse, Amy

claude said...

Very interesting, Chris !
The last photo is very beautiful.

Black Jack's Carol said...

The photos, the commentary, the striking blue of the ocean.. this is the closest I may come to seeing Cabo San Lucas and it sure was a beautiful visit. (I have few regrets in life but one is that I've seen so little of the world.) I am left with an impression of the adventurous childhood your sons had. Though even the killing of a fish makes me sad (and I, the granddaughter of a fisherman), so I was (not so) secretly happy you didn't share the photo of the shark, the fun and excitement of that outing is what stays with me after reading the post. And wow! Gray Whales! That would be the icing on the cake!

Black Jack's Carol said...

I'm back :) Love the King's Singers! How wonderful that you have such a collection of their recordings. I often think it would be great fun if you and I were neighbors.