In the days that preceded our arrival we may have seen one sailboat and one fishing vessel. The 45 boats we began to spot before we turned the corner should have been an indication of what was upon us, but we were not prepared. As we turned into the bay the well-known arches came into view, and so did tens of pangas, paragliders, jet skis, a cruise ship and masses of humans that had also decided to make Cabo San Lucas their new year’s destination.
We knew Cabo San Lucas would be touristy but the 1990’s Charlie’s Charts did not do it justice. That’s on us for using charts that were printed when we were in high school. We can’t quite tell if the preceding days of calm and solitude magnified our perception of the insanity we had just floated into, or if Cabo San Partytown is as nuts as we are making it sound. This place is what 21-year old’s dreams are made of.
Since Bravo needed fuel, a serious hose down, a new fishing line, water and re-provisioning we decided to spend 2 nights at a marina. We woke up each morning in Cabo San Springbreak to a new behemoth cruise ship and a constant stream of party boats, each blasting their own flavor of fun. A stroll down the boardwalk would be incomplete without Andy getting propositioned for illicit substances, and Meli being told she had really good Spanish (que soy Latina!).
Provisioning was tougher than we expected. In downtown, we couldn’t find a small and simple farmers market or panaderia. We did manage to find the best tacos al pastor known to man at this tiny new place called The Tortilla House. It wasn’t just the slow roasted, perfectly seasoned pork, or the salsa de la casa, it was the tortilla. To the Costa Rican, this tortilla brought back childhood memories, the Gringo didn’t seem to know any better (he’s in it for the meat), and just like that the 2 sleepless nights in Cirque du San Lucas were worth it.
Our hunt for water also proved to be complex. We’ve become so spoiled by the high-quality potable water of Marin county that we take for granted how complicated it can be to procure drinking water. We have a water maker onboard but its currently malfunctioning, so in the mean time we needed to get our hands on large jerry cans to fill up our tanks. Somehow Meli managed to exchange 25 gallons of freshwater for a copy of Laura Esquivel’s ‘Como Agua Para Chocolate’ – who knew this book would come in so handy!
We kid about the nuttiness of this well-known tourist and party destination, however, this has been a great introduction to Mexico and its becoming clear to us why cruisers love Baja. The weather is warm, the water is crystalline, the food spectacular and most importantly – the people are friendly and welcoming. Andy wants to surf his way through this trip, and Meli wants to eat it. Between San Juanico and The Tortilla House, we are off to a good start.
Until next time….
Bravo out.
Sailing on SV Bravo 