Culture shock. Those were the first words that formed in my head when I set foot on the pier of this tourist town at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Having spent the past month circling South America and visiting Antarctica, I had grown used to stopping at ports where the focus was on exploring the countryside and seeing important cultural sights in the cities. I suppose I should have known better, but I just wasn’t prepared for the crush of vacationing humanity that awaited me on Cabo’s tourist focused boardwalk in the middle of the city’s high season. Some of the Caribbean ports we visited at the beginning of this cruise also saw lots of tourists, but Cabo is different, as there’s a real spring break vibe down along the pier.
The first tipoff was the giant frog eyeing the dock where our tender boat dropped us off. Anyone who has vacationed in the Caribbean knows that the big tourist ports have a Señor Frog’s bar and restaurant in a very visible location. In Cabo there are actually two of them, but the frog has lots of competition, as there are literally dozens of bars and restaurants along the pier or within a block or two of the waterfront. Intermingled with them are numerous gift shops, and if you don’t come home with a tee shirt it’s your own fault.
However, we had other plans, as we had booked an excursion to take a catamaran out to the tip of the Baja Peninsula to see the rock formations known as the stacks, along with the famous arch where water moves freely between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. And while we had pre-booked our tour on the ship, there are multiple tour operators right on the pier who aggressively solicit passersby, so it’s easy to get out to the stacks if you come on your own.
The stacks are quite close to the pier, so the whole trip out and back didn’t take much more than 45 minutes, but it was worth it. The formations are very interesting, and there are a number of small beaches accessible only by boat along the way. I got some nice photos, so scroll down and you’ll see why I enjoyed the short excursion so much.
After our catamaran tour we took a bus through the city and out to a posh waterfront restaurant, where we spent some time outside admiring the view of the bay, the stacks and the arch. Then it was back to the pier where, rather than take the tender back to the ship, we set out on foot for the post office to mail a postcard, and then to Walmart to restock some basic supplies for our stateroom. Both missions accomplished, we trekked back to the pier and caught a tender boat back to the Serenade of the Seas.
Did I mention whales? Winter is prime whale watching season in Cabo, and there are lots of excursions available to take you out into the harbor to see the majestic creatures. We saw several from the deck of the Serenade as we sailed into the harbor this morning, saw more on our excursion out to the stacks, and saw a few more from the deck of the restaurant we visited. If you’re looking for a place to see whales while vacationing in the winter Cabo is it.
Tomorrow is a sea day, before we hit Ensenada and Los Angeles on consecutive days. In addition to it being Super Bowl Sunday, our stop in LA will mark a milestone on our cruise around the world. Los Angeles is the final destination on the first of the four big segments of the cruise, and is the starting point for segment two, which will take us all the way to Dubai. Additionally, I may have mentioned before that our cruise is also broken into seventeen mini-segments of two or three weeks each, and there are passengers aboard who are only with us for a mini-segment or two. Los Angeles marks the end of mini-segment three and the beginning of mini-segment four, so we’ll see several hundred passengers disembark in LA, to be replaced by a like number who will join us as we head out for Hawaii, French Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia.
In the meantime, enjoy these photos from our day in Cabo San Lucas, the southern tip of the world’s longest peninsula.
The first tipoff that Cabo is a party town. For reasons that baffle me, this place is always a tourist magnet, here and in the Caribbean.
Cabo is a pharmaceutical wild, wild west. There are pharmacies like this all over town. This one was right off the pier.
Bicycle taxis lined up right off the pier.
There was all kinds of action on the pier. Here, there was a man who had cut up strips of freshly caught fish, and for a small fee he would give you one so you could feed the sea lions. These sea lions were very tame, and we watched as people petted them as they were being fed. The pelicans wanted in, but had no chance, though occasionally one got lucky when the fish guy accidentally dropped a strip.
The sea lions were shameless beggars.
These poor little things were left scrounging for scraps.
Before we boarded our excursion catamaran Michele tried to mail a postcard in this mailbox right on the pier. Little did we know that the card would drop right through the box onto the concrete below. We ended up making a hike to the post office after our tour to mail the postcard.
On our way out to the stacks we passed this pirate ship on its way back in. I said Cabo is a party town, and these passengers were clearly getting an early start on spring break.
This is what we went out to see. This arch is at the very tip of the Baja Peninsula, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean.
On the way out to the arch we passed some fascinating rock formations.
Another cool formation.
You might be able to squeeze a kayak through there, but those boats had no chance.
Neat cave. I really enjoyed the excursion and recommend it highly.
This has got to be one of the most unique beaches in the world. From one beach you can swim in the Sea of Cortez (foreground) and the Pacific Ocean (background).
We had a really nice day to go out and see the formations.
On our way back in. The pelicans clearly intend to hijack this boat if they can figure out how to start the motor.
Pretty photo of the marina and lighthouse.
Back ashore after our excursion. One of the many bars on the pier, this one in the shadow of the lighthouse.
Getting ready to take a tender back to the ship after a successful day in Cabo San Lucas.
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