Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas was a culture shock. After being more or less alone on the Baja for a month, when we turned into Cabo after an easy overnighter from Magdalena Bay, it was shocking. The two cruise ships, numerous parasailors and millions of jet-skiiers were just too much. It was so surprising that I had to give Seven the wheel I was so stunned by the activity in the harbour.

After a good night's sleep, though, I was more inclined to check out the town. We went ashore and wandered through the touristy area, which as more like the USA than anywhere in Mexico we'd been. We ran into our friends on Freedom, and toured town with them for the afternoon. We picked up a few groceries and ran the gauntlet of pangas, jet-skis and other boats on the way back to Scream.

The next day we inflated our kayaks and paddled over to Playa del Amor. It is a beautiful beach with amazing rock formations. We spent an hour or so there, but I got a little freaked out by all the people, so we didn't stay long.

Cabo is full of natural beauty, but the tourist/party industry has taken over the area. It's a nice change of pace, but watch out for the culture shock when you've come down the coast. Also, the anchorage is quite well protected, but the wake from all the vessels make it a washing machine most of the time. And anchoring is probably what you'd be doing: it would have cost us nearly $200 for one night on the docks in Cabo, and water and power would be an extra charge. The anchorage really isn't that bad.