Mexico – Baja California Part 4
For the entire trip I’ve been trying out the Mexican food. Mostly though I’ve been eating cheese casadias!
I rarely eat meat and I’m not a big fish eater so that is somewhat limiting in Mexico. I did expand my eating horizons in Cabo though and ate loads of sushi which was delicious.
Cabo San Lucas is apparently one of ‘the places’ to go to in Baja. George Clooney, Julia Roberts and lots of other stars are roomered to have homes here. The marina, full of designer shops and super yachts, certainly makes you feel like you are in a very modern and rich city. I liked it, I liked that it was yet another completely different place with such a different vibe. Being right at the end of the peninsula looking out to the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California was a significant point in our journey too – not yet over – but we had ridden the entire length of the peninsula.
We spent the following day here wondering why people like the place so much?!
Although I was doing ok without my luggage, I was DELIGHTED that after almost two weeks it was waiting for me at Cabo San Lucas airport and after our day of stand up paddle boarding, golf and sunsets I was finally able to get changed!! So we hit the town and had a very brilliant evening in El Squid. A ridiculous but fun club in the heart of the city.
It was a very late night or a very early morning depending on how you look at it. I saw the sunrise and took a dip in the pool, would have been rude not to.
The final leg of our Baja journey was back to La Paz to catch the ferry to the mainland. We took a different route back via a small town that boasted a music hall. I wasn’t expecting what happened next. We entered a huge yellow building and were greeted by an eccentric looking musician who showed us around many different rooms full of old instruments, mainly pianos, some of which had belonged to Kings and Queens! Finally we entered a big room; there was the grandest of Grand Pianos in the centre, five metal chairs and sun light pouring in through an open shutter. Nicholas, the musician (the world class famous musician!) sat down and played the most beautiful piano pieces my ears have ever heard. I had just arrived to a small town in the middle of nowhere and was now hearing an impromptu piano concert. I’m really not making this up! The days were all filled with such different and such brilliant experiences.
Our final day in Baja was spent back in La Paz, where we were waiting for the evenings ferry back to mainland Mexico. That morning we went snorkelling….
…. with Whale Sharks!
The sea was quite rough and the water cloudy as a result. I hopped in feeling fairly relaxed and looked down, I wasn’t expecting to see much. To my horror I was about 10 centimetres away from a 15 metre Whale Shark! I knew I was going snorkelling with Whale Sharks and I knew they were big. I just hadn’t expected it to be so BIG or so close! It didn’t eat me, it just ignored me and I calmly swam alongside it feeling very small indeed.
During my time in Mexico, I learnt that there are in fact two times. The actual time and Mexican time. We missed our ferry!
The next available ferry was an 18 hour crossing with no cabins or any amenities at all as it was only for lorries and trucks. They said we could sneak our bikes on though and we’d have to ‘find’ somewhere to sleep.
Sometimes when things don’t work out as planned they work out better. As I drifted off to sleep on the outside upper metal deck of the huge cargo ferry, I was looking up at the star lit clear sky wishing I could share Baja California with everybody… and wishing my time there had not finished.
We reached the mainland and rode over a thousand kilometres back to Mexico City. I arrived in one piece, I hadn’t been mugged or murdered and not even seen a hint of violence. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist I’m just saying that there’s a lot more to this beautiful place than you might think….
…..To Be Continued…
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