January in Cabo

To continue from our last post, the fridge is a goner. We have also given up on the local RV repair place, too busy, can’t seem to fit us in, so we have bought an electric fridge and it sits where my chair should be at our table. We will get our fridge fixed, hopefully, once we get to the US, otherwise we will just have to stay at places that have power. A problem, but only a small one.

Cabo El Arco

On to our adventures this month – Robin finally convinced me to agree to a timeshare presentation. There are booths everywhere offering tours and tourist info but most of them are a front for timeshare reps – we stopped to “negotiate” with one and were surprised at what they will give you. For us to visit their property and listen to their “spiel” we would get 2 tickets for whale watching (our choice of company), 2 sunset dinner cruises tickets and $200 US cash!!! I was very skeptical right to the very end, but we went. We had a breakfast buffet complete with mimosas, a tour of a very nice property right on Medano beach here in Cabo and had to listen to no less than 5 different guys promoting their product. The “today” price, the lowest, was still well over $40,000 US for 2 weeks or less a year; of course we had no interest in buying, but had to stick it out to get our “prize”. At the end they coughed up the cold hard cash!!! and certificates for the tours. Surprisingly not too painful, took just under 3 hours and now Robin is keen to do another!

the property we toured

We did the whale watching tour with Cabo Adventures in a 30 passenger zodiac, a marvelous time; saw dozens of whale breaches, tail slapping and magnificent splashes! The boat was much too fast for me, the ocean was rough with huge swells and we got absolutely soaked, but it was fun! Standing up and taking photos in choppy water was tricky but I managed to get a few good shots.

a zodiac like we were in

The sunset dinner cruise was on the Caborey, a 3 level boat that included a Mexican buffet, an open bar and a live band. The drinks were plentiful, the sunset was beautiful and a good time was had by all – even some dancing!

We have spent a fair amount of time wandering around Cabo and the marina area, looking at all the handicrafts and people watching. Sometimes we walk there & back, sometimes we take the local bus one way, a whole 83 cents. We marveled at the amazing things they can make at the blown glass factory where we bought a beautiful hummingbird and flower. We found a shop located in a large old home, each room filled with different handicrafts, where a small hand-painted wooden hummingbird cost $37! Closer to our price range is the Oaxacan market set up for 2 weeks in a mall parking lot – I found tiny blown glass earrings; whales, fish, birds, elephants each for $2. We had lunch there one day after looking at a family’s table – they recommended the place and then offered us a bag of fried bugs, probably grasshoppers – which of course Robin tried! We had a tlayuda – a large “flatbread” filled with meat, veg & Oaxacan cheese, cooked over a charcoal fire, delicious.

wooden hummingbirds, the size of your hand, $37 each bird!

feeding sea lions fish carcasses

glass factory, flower making

We were over to a friend’s place for a “full moon” dinner, complete with horse shoes and darts; we played tour guides to other friends, showing them the beaches and good places to eat. We decided to take the water taxi out to show them the Cabo arch/ El Arco and asked to be let out for a quick visit to Lovers Beach – unfortunately the boats let you out while still in fairly deep water, we didn’t time the waves very well and I dropped off into waist deep water and got soaked! Still fun though.

We have spent some time at the beaches, been out snorkelling but the kayak remains on the car – makes it much easier to find.

horse shoe champions

touring with Kelly & Don

Lover's beach

We were invited to a birthday party for America, the daughter of the fellow who managed the RV park we stayed at our first 2 years here in Cabo – we were at her 2^nd birthday, this was her 6^th. Lots of fun, complete with good food, a bouncy castle, foosball table, karaoke and 2 piñatas!

ready to smack the pinata

We have been out on two exploring trips, each over 200 km. long – one alone and once with a friend who knows the area and took us to find fossilized whale bones (or dinosaur, not sure which). We have a few souvenirs, including more fossilized sea shells.

fossilized bone

more bones lying about

removing fossilized sea shells

Facebook Messenger can find you anywhere – I got a message recently from someone in the US, her mother-in-law was married briefly to my father in 1982/3 and she found a photo album of his that she wants to return to his family! Looking forward to receiving that.

We are taking advantage of our good exchange rate and the cheaper prices, Robin ordered a new pair of glasses for $260, they would cost around $500-$600 back home.

We continue to enjoy the great weather, mid 20’s and are trying to keep busy and active. We are here in Cabo till end of February, taking each day as it comes.

Feliz Ano Nuevo 2017 from Cabo

I have been way too lazy to sit down and write this entry – not that we don’t have the time, life is at a slower pace here!

To continue our story, we had quite a rain on Dec. 21 and we woke on the morning of the 22^nd to our fridge alarming! Not a good thing – it had quit and wouldn’t restart. Luckily our neighbors knew of a “fridge guy” who lived on the next beach, we headed there right after breakfast then off to town to get a cooler. The fridge guy arrived in the afternoon and rebooted it so it would work with the generator running. He figured that the rain had caused too much humidity which affected some wire. Thankfully by evening the fridge started back on propane! – running a generator all night on the beach does not make friends! Touch wood – it still works, it has given us a couple scares and now we have a new wire in case it gives up totally. Our freezer is pretty full of fish so we really would be screwed if it quits!

Christmas on the beach was quiet – 30-35 RVers including several Mexican families. The 2 beach restaurants put on special meals on the 24^th, we enjoyed chicken cordon blue, followed by dancing and drinks, spent with many good friends. Several boats decorated with lights and playing Christmas music serenaded along the beach.

 

Santispac beach

Christmas Eve dinner

We were very lucky to secure a reservation at a RV park in Cabo for January so we headed south on the 25^th. Easy drive as not much traffic and few semi-trucks.

car with loud speakers, usual way to advertise - store specials, etc.

 We spent 2 nights in Ciudad Constitution at Palapa 206 – a small RV park, little used, attached to a very busy” no-tell motel”. The owner was candid, agreeing that we were correct in our assumptions – vehicles came & went regularly, but business was business and it paid his bills.

We missed having a turkey dinner but enjoyed our shrimp, lazy beet rolls with cream and beets.

We did a day trip with the car first to Puerto Lopez Mateos, where we have gone whale watching (too early for whales), a small fishing village. They have built a beautiful new whale watching plaza, should increase their business. We drove into the poorer parts of town, where families live in “shacks” built from plywood and pallets and handed out some of our backpacks (filled with toys, school supplies, etc.) We also give out ball caps – one little guy was following us, kicking a plastic cup – he went home with a basketball and an Oilers cap. We wished that we had dozens more backpacks as there are so many needy families.

We finished the day by heading cross-country on a dirt road to Puerto San Carlos, gave out more stuff, collected lots of shells and of course, had some tacos.

 

Puerto Lopez Mateos, new whale watching plaza

heading off with his Oilers cap & basketball

typical housing in the poor neighborhoods

cruising cross country

We continued south to La Paz, camped on Tecolote beach. Four years ago there were the remains of a dead cow on the side of the road – believe it or not, there still seems to be some left! Tecolote is a free, dry camping beach, not so great this time as the wind was howling and the sand was blowing! After 3 nights the RV was full of sand and the outside was sticky and dirty with sea spray and sand. We drove in during low tide and were greeted by a river over the road the next day – high tide had come in, crested over the beach and filled in a low area. Luckily there was an alternate dirt road to take to get out as the “lake” was at least 80 ft across. We did more day trips, out to La Ventana and a lighthouse with a deserted beach (more shells). We spent a day kayaking at Balandra Bay, rough water early on but as the tide went out the bay empties out and was really shallow, so we headed into the mangrove swamps to bird watch. Their “claim to fame” is Balandra Rock, a “balancing” rock, so of course we have a photo.

Balandra bay, balancing rock

Tecolote beach

typical European RVs

the "lake" across our access road

Balandra Bay

white ibis

black crowned night heron

kayaking in the mangroves

lunch at Los Planes

We made it to Cabo San Lucas on Dec. 30 to Cabo Glorieta. This has 7 RV sites on the outside ring of 30 permanent houses, originally built around RVs and now mainly closed in. There is a lovely pool, a bit cool, but refreshing, well-kept gardens, shower buildings, gated 24 hrs and glorious power!  We never take having power for granted, this time we went a month with only solar power!  Our site has a huge concrete pad, about 14x24 ft., lots of room for our outdoor kitchen and seating. We know 5 people here from the old campground in Cabo which closed this year. We are close to Costco and Walmart and a short drive to several beaches. We spent our first few days catching up on laundry and cleaning the RV and car. We spent New Year’s Eve with old friends, sitting on top of the “water tower” watching the fireworks.

New Year's Eve, Barb & Bill

We are now settled in, bird feeders up, happy to see 2 varieties of orioles and hummingbirds, woodpeckers and cardinals. We have a fig tree in our site and a nasty mockingbird guards it fiercely. We have walked to the marina and downtown, did 19,150 steps, 13.2 km that day! We checked out all the beaches, figuring out our best option for snorkelling and kayaking – there are many, many new resorts and residences being built which is affecting access to the public beaches. It is “high season” right now so things are pretty crowded, looking forward to next week when it should slow down.

Santa Maria beach, with new development in the background

We have spent some time on our crafts – Robin carving and I have created several wall hangings of driftwood, shells and beads. The weather has been glorious, it was 31C the day we arrived, OK, a bit too hot, but now usually 25-29C. We continued a tradition from previous years – heading to Los Michoacanos on Wednesdays for 2 for 1 carnitas (pork tacos), then over to the movie theatre for 36 peso ($2.40) movies. We watched “Passengers” – in English with Spanish subtitles, not a bad day!

We stopped at Costco today and were surprised to see a fellow armed with an automatic weapon posted at the entrance where you drive in – not sure what that was all about, some think it may be to prevent looting which may be a result of the 20% increase in gas prices on Jan. 1 – time will tell!

crested caracara

A post script – our fridge gave up the ghost last night, we await the RV repair guy who we will call first thing in the morning, fingers crossed. Our fish is safely stored in the neighbors freezer and the rest is in a cooler – Home Depot has a nice electric only fridge for about $400, might be in our future.

Despite the fridge issues, we continue to live the dream and are happy to be so lucky to spend our winter in Mexico!