Cabo is right at the southern tip of Baja California. On one side is the Sea of Cortez, on the other the Pacific Ocean. And it’s gorgeous.
Cabo was only a half day stop, so we tendered in early and hit the streets. Plenty of street vendors and tour spruikers, but not as in-your-face as in Cartegenia, where they were literally in your face.
In Puerto Vallerta I thought the skeleton people were just figures of art. In Cabo they walk the streets, and they are extremely friendly to visitors. Here are two who spent some time chatting to Emma and I.
We had been told to have a drink at a bar called the Giggling Marlin. A bit cheesy, but fun, and as you know when I’m in Mexico I love a drink in the morning. Nor were we the first people there. At the bar was the resident barfly from our cruiseship, and he was on the way out.
Emma told me that we were taking a glass-bottomed boat. I wasn’t allowed an opinion, so it was merely a question of which one. Ken doesn’t like the water much, so Jim, and I joined Emma for a 45 minute boat ride.
The glass bottom was crap. It was leaky and algae covered. It didn’t matter because there were so many fish in the water you didn’t need the glass. And the best bits were above the water, with stunning beaches, outcrops covered with pelicans and sea lions, and striking rock formations.
The rock with the donut-shaped hole is particularly famous. Emma reckons it’s called Lands End. This suits neither the culture nor the shape, I think Krispero Kremo or Dunking Donutuerro suits it better.
The 45 minutes just flew. It was fabulous. But the highlight was waiting for us back on shore.
On the foreshore were some people raising money for an animal sanctuary. The big money spinner was charging tourists $25-35 for a photo of them holding a lion cub. Emma told me that we were doing the shots, and I wasn’t allowed an opinion, so just pay the man.
It was pretty cool. She held the passive female, and I held the aggressive male, who scratched me and had to be taken away from me. I took a photo of the wound, but something was wrong with my camera and the scratches only looked like mosquito bites. Here is a better representation of the wound:
We have an official photo of us each holding a cub, but here’s one from my camera showing Emma in total animal-rapture, and me unsuccessfully trying to bend the cub to my will.
That night was out final formal night. We had the Captain’s Party in the Starlite Lounge, which was delightfully sales-pitch free, and then joined our table for dinner. Being in Mexico I decided it would be appropriate to wear my formal luchadore (Mexican wresting) match to the table. Apparently this is not as common as I expected.
Our table’s mood was suitably festive for a final formal night, especially the couple who had done the “Baja Outback” tour that included the tequila-making facility. They also introduced us to the cork-balancing game.
When they go out for dinner, after the meal they take turns bouncing a wine cork on the table top. The first person to bounce the cork so that it stands on its end wins dinner, loser pays.
This may be the dumbest idea for an after dinner-game I’ve ever heard of. Needless to say I fell in love with it, and managed four “on-enders” by the meals end.
The only downside of the day was the final production show, “Curtain Call”. The songs from “Cats” and ”Phantom of the Opera” were hard going, but survivable. Then they closed with a medley of Abba songs from “Mama Mia”. I tried to knock myself unconscious by slamming my head into the drinks table, but failed.
Over the past few years, with musicals like “The Producers”, “Wicked” and “The Addams Family” I had been re-evaluating my traditional dislike of musicals. Years of attitude changing wiped out in 10 minutes of cheesy Abba music. The worst part was Emma grinning at me, relishing my torment.
I had my revenge. The next morning one of us woke up with a hangover, and it wasn’t me.
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