Glorious sunshine streamed through the double deck doors and woke me up. So, the following day in Los Cabos became nothing more than a beach and pool day. The sand was warm on the feet and the bartenders were very attentive. By the end of the day, the skin was warm and the brain was relaxed. Just what I ordered!
We finished the day by wandering the streets of San Jose Del
Cabo. This time, we did find the downtown and a very intriguing art district. The
plaza was wide open with locals wandering in and across the roads. School
children roamed the streets freely and we wondered about the school timetable. The
vendors were inviting us in but laughed with us as we refused their almost free
offers. Cheapo Phillipo was charming and fun, despite being over priced for our
lowly budgets. Eventually we wound up at the Baja Brewery for supper after
enjoying the street life. Fabulous food and a great outdoor eating area. What’s
not to like?
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| Cheapo Phillipo (he tattooed himeself with the nickname) |
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| Main Plaza |
The following day we managed to snag a rental car for the
day. Lesson learned: Either rent from the airport or the concierge. Do not rent
from the travel desk as they were unreliable and not even apologetic. The
concierge got us a great car price and size quickly and in the meantime, we had
a cup of coffee.
The car was brought right to the hotel so we were able to
complete all the paperwork from there. That was very convenient and so we set
off for La Paz. Now, driving there was not that difficult. First thing to note
is that speed limits seem to be guidelines, as are the stop signs and even
traffic lights. In addition, with all of the construction they sometimes use
real people and sometime cut out men with flags. The only road issues that were
taken seriously were the Mexican military check stops.
In the meantime, we drove north through Cabo San Lucas on
highway 19 through to Todo Los Santos. The rolling highway with the scenic blue
ocean views added in with the mountains and tall cacti were spectacular. There
were construction detours that required a bit of an adventurous spirit and I
swear that neither of us saw the Hotel California (seriously – how did we miss it?).
The road to La Paz took about 2.5 hours. Once there, we
decided to stop at Serpentario de La Paz.
Outside the gates, we had some lunch and then wandered it. This place is
volunteer run and can definitely use the visitation and funding to rescue
animals. There were turtles and snakes, birds and an alligator, bunnies and
more tortugas. I enjoyed the aviary where you could feed the birds. They were
so trusting and landed willingly on arms and fingers. The bunnies were quite
happy to be petted and even the large tortoise tried to get his share of the
attention. However, the place isn’t that large so we headed out for more
exploring.
The little car bounced through the roads and we found
ourselves down on the waterfront. So, we parked the car and walked towards the
Marina and viewed the Malecon. Then, we found a delightful little museum tucked
into a gorgeous building. There was art and views that took a bit of time to
enjoy. From there, you can easily walk to the Cathedral
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Paz to take in
the lovely art works, the ambience and Lady’s chapel. I was amused to see a day
of the dead Halloween style display.
Next up was the
Museo de AntropologÃa where you can get a sense of the history of
the region. It seemed to have some displays that were still being redone and
honestly, it doesn’t take very long to go through. We were done in under an
hour. In fact, by the time we found a coffee shop and had some coffee, we were
feeling like La Paz didn’t really have that much more to offer. So, more
adventures of road works and bumpy roads ensued. We twisted and turned our way
to Bandaros Beach and that should possibly have been our first stop as it was
stunning. From rock formations, to a lovely bay and gentle breezes, you can
feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.
The only hiccup we really had was our stop there meant that we
were driving home in the dark and we took an alternate way back using Highway
1. You are warned to watch for cows sleeping on the road, but I never saw an
alive one until much later in the drive. What was more alarming was the crazy
speed bumps that signaled a village ahead that you couldn’t see until you were
pretty much impaling your head into the roof. My poor co-pilot didn’t even have
anything to hang onto. In the meantime, I will say that the roads minus the
speed bumps are really fun to drive. I just think that perhaps daylight might
have helped. All in all, it was a great day.
