Wednesday, 6 August 2014

0073 5th Aug - Todos Santos to Cabo San Lucas

Nice cool and cloudy morning to start with again today, so a pleasant pack up and breakfast temperature wise.  Finish off with a great shower, then leap in the car and turn the a/c on high !! I keep several small bottles of drinking water in the fridge so they are icy cold and ready whenever I need one !

Said goodbye to Pablo in the campsite – Been very pleasant talking with him over the last couple of days.  Also met another long term resident, Patrick, who is an architect in Todos.  Into town for one last use of the bank to build up my stock of pesos, and then it was off round the coast line towards Cabo San Lucas, which is right at the bottom tip of Baja. 

The road from El Pescadoro to Cabo is just basically a new 4 lane highway weaving through passes, always with the Pacific Ocean down to your right.  At El Pescadoro I went down a dirt road to the beach to inspect one enormous development that is in progress, and that also said there was an RV park there.  It reminds me of Dubai in the early ‘70’s – Lots of sand, lots of dirt sandy roads, lots of walls and fences saying “Private – Keep Out”,  and lots of enormous concrete buildings going up – Some already seeming to have stopped half way through due to lack of funds.

The Cerritos Resort Hotel is about the only finished building, up on the headland overlooking the Pacific and the beach, and it certainly is stunning.  But they have cordoned off the beach below for guest’s use only, and the Surf School and other activities that operate out of there presumably have an arrangement with the Resort to operate there.  It may be very nice in a few years time……….

The RV park had one RV in it, and that had Mexican plates, although it may have been a rental.  However, once again I am being a bit unfair because August and September are their low season due to the heat and, next month, storms.  I am sure that in the other 8 or 9 months of the year it could be idyllic down here, especially if you are escaping from an ice bound winter in Manitoba or Alaska or somewhere !!

Then it was on round the coast to Cabo – A few other resorts signposted, but all under construction and primarily the signs were Real Estate company signs, in English, enticing people to “Buy now”. 

And then Cabo really is different !  Completely developed, with Walmart’s, Home Depot, and Office Works (and variations of each) all the way down the hill into the centre of town.  And at the end of the road is an enormous marina full of boats, and around the edge of this are much of the accommodation, and restaurant and souvenir shop ad infinitum.  Offshore fishing is apparently the main activity down here, but there is then everything from snorkelling to glass bottom boats to taking boats to deserted beaches, to enormous catamarans that operate as party boats – And of course parasailing and all those sorts of things !  Anyway, I parked and walked right round the harbour enjoying the atmosphere after the quiet little country villages I had been in for the past week in Baja.  Even Todos Santos seems quiet in comparison – In fact, one cruise spruiker I was chatting to, David, said that Todos Santos is just where all the old hippies live – And he is not far wrong !!!  Anyway, I ended up in a nice little restaurant beside the harbour, and started off with lots of iced tea and water to cool down, and then had a delicious house salad (I couldn’t face any hot food in the heat).  Later, I had a piece of Tres Leches cake (dressed up to look like a chicken ??) and I have to say that it was one of the nicest pieces of cake I have had in a very long time – Just perfect for where I was on a hot day.   In the end I was sitting there people watching for about 3 hours before I decided it was time to head out, so a quick shop for supplies, and find a campsite for the night. 

Coming out of Cabo I had to laugh when I saw the median strip was studded with cactii - Very pretty, but people cutting across there had to be very careful neither to stub their toes on or trip over a cactus, or it would be painful !  Heading out, I also saw the rocks at the very end of Baja for which Cabo is famous – A natural archway that many of tourist boats go through on a short ride out from the harbour. 

Then about 10 minutes out of Cabo I found the RV Park that I had been told about – Not a soul in it !!  And at 9 pm as I write this, it is pitch dark, and no one is here to collect money or do anything – Everything locked up tight, and thick dust blanketing all the cars which obviously haven’t been moved in some time.  But all the facilities are open – There’s a wash up area, there is water in the showers, the toilets flush, and up on the roof of the wash up area there is even a hot tub – Although that one DOES need a bit of work on it !!  At least tonight there is a breeze blowing, even though it is still pretty sticky.  In fact I even had to put up the rear side to the awning to protect me not only from the afternoon sun, but also the strong breeze.  I will leave it up tonight and as there don’t seem to be any bugs tonight, will probably sleep with the back door open !!

Another interesting day – Will continue round to La Paz and tomorrow, and go and book my ferry from the port of Pichilingue to Mazatlan on the mainland.

Pics here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0074TodosSantosToCaboSanLucas?authkey=Gv1sRgCOOfxtqS1vyAZA#
 

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