The Last of Cabo

Our last full day turned out to be much more relaxing. We woke up early to take a walk. The people next to us wanted to find a way to get to Solmar Beach, so we walked through the marina area and on up the hill. The only way we could find down to the beach was through a gated all-inclusive resort, so we walked up to the gate. I greeted the guard with 'buenas dias' and the gates opened. The beach down below was definitely worth crashing the gate.

Cabo San Lucas Marina

Solmar Beach

We walked all the way to the rocks at Land's End that separate Solmar Beach from Lover's Beach.

On the way back down the beach, a security guard from one of the all-inclusive's started following us. We were ready to leave, so decided to head back up the way we came. The only problem was -- we couldn't figure out which complex we cut through to get there!

Full-speed ahead! All of the complexes had to exit to the street. Inside the resort, the security guard continued to follow us. We made one wrong dead-end turn after another. The other couple was worried that we'd been busted! (Goosey travelers!) Finally, I just turned and asked the guard which way out. He laughed and pointed the way. Crisis averted. But as we cut through the lobby, the female timeshare shark latched on. When did we check in, what was our name, and what was our room number? We ignored her and continued on, but she was in hot pursuit. I finally gave her my name (Mrs. Smith) and told her we were hungry and just wanted to go down to the marina for breakfast. We'd talk to her when we got back! By this time, we were out the front door and she was still chasing us. We walked on and left through the front gate. The American female shark reminded me of the aggressive timeshare concierge who manned the lobby the only time we stayed in Cancun. (And I fell for the official act then.)

Later that day, we headed for Medano Beach. Most of the group had plans for a kayak trip to Lover's Beach. I decided to hang back because of my motion sickness. The kayak trip once again turned into a competition. No one bothered to stop and look at Lover's Beach. They just made a U-turn in the water and raced back. I think these people definitely need a lesson in stopping to smell the roses! Craig was in a one-man kayak, so he was naturally faster than the others with two people. But this time, he wisely hung back and let the owners glide in first.

After a quick lunch, everyone piled into the Marieta for a water taxi ride back to the marina.

After a quick cold shower (brrrrrrrrrrrr) at the hotel, it was time to head back to the marina for a sunset sail on the Pez Gato II. This was another challenge for me since I have problems with motion sickness and they were headed into the Pacific to do some whale-watching. I bought some of those cheap acupressure wristbands at Walgreen's, and miraculously, they worked perfectly. A few others on the boat were nauseous for most of the cruise, but I was good. As we headed out of the marina, we got into some boat traffic -- the Banana Boat and a cruise ship.

The sailboat headed out to Lover's Beach where we paused for pictures, then on around the arches that mark the entrance to the Cabo harbor. We wound through the large monoliths to see some of the local fauna.

Once we rounded the curve to the other side of the rocks, we headed out into the open Pacific and cruised for a half hour or so. As sunset neared, we noticed a lot of boats headed in our direction. A pirate ship, dinghy, small pangas, etc....

And then the main attraction made an appearance!

We hovered in the vicinity of this and another breaching humpback for about a half hour, then headed back towards Cabo for our evening dinner.

The sailboat booze cruise was a very nice ending for the trip. I'd seen orcas up close from shore in the Northwest, but had never seen humpbacks. And truthfully, I never thought I'd be able to take a boat ride like that without getting sick. Once again, there was no choice, so I had to go. And I discovered I could do it. So one more 'can't' marked off my list. I think the number one thing I learned in Cabo San Lucas is that sometimes you just have to 'buck up'. I'd never choose in advance to sleep on the world's hardest bed, take ice cold showers, hang from a cable over a 400 foot canyon, or risk getting sick on a boat in front of a bunch of people, but there was no choice. And it all worked out! What doesn't kill you probably DOES make you stronger!