Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo, July 6

For most people, Cabo San Lucas evokes a paradise for all things aquatic – snorkeling, swimming, surfing, and most of all, scuba diving.  Indeed, “scuba” is right there in its name, if you move a few letters around.  (The remaining letters spell out “canals,” of which I saw none; even the rivers are dry this time of year. Apologies for the diversion – obviously I’ve been solving too many cryptic crosswords.)

Unfortunately, “paradise” and “aquatic” are mutually exclusive for me.  When it comes to the ocean, I’m a human out of air, which I assume is the hominid equivalent of a fish out of water.  Back in my running days, I blamed my lack of buoyancy on a corresponding dearth of body fat.  Alas, that is no longer a feasible excuse.

In any event, rather than donning fins and tanks, I took an excursion called “Land’s End Boat & Cabo View,” which focused on wonders both natural and artistic.

We began with a boat ride to Finisterra, the southernmost tip of Baja California.  Finisterra is known for a spectacular marine arch (creatively called “El Arco”) as well as other striking rock formations. 

It marks the point where the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) and the Pacific Ocean meet and is party central for sea lions, whales, and other denizens of the deep.

Once back on terra firma, we boarded a bus and headed through downtown Cabo San Lucas, passing pharmacies, souvenir stores, pharmacies, craft shops, pharmacies, cigar stores, and more pharmacies.  Apparently, many Americans come to Cabo to stock up on prescription meds at a small fraction of the price charged in the States under our crazy quilt health care system, which is the envy of, well, almost no one. 

Each pharmacy  has a sign out front advertising everything from amoxicillin to Ozempic to muscle relaxers to Viagra to my personal favorite, “Smart Pills.”  I don’t know what those are, but it might not hurt to shower several thousand on Washington, D.C.

Once out of Cabo, we stopped at a glass factory (creatively called “The Glass Factory”), where we watched a master glassblower create a beautiful whale. 

It’s a fascinating process involving no actual glassblowing, but rather much twirling of a long pole and repeated trips to a furnace.  The factory’s showroom was chock full of gorgeous glass plates, cups, figurines, and even doors. 

All of the glass used in the factory comes from recycled bottles, which people deposit in a huge dump opposite the workshop.

From the factory, we made a brief stop at a scenic overlook across the bay from El Arco, then headed to the enchanting town of San José del Cabo. 

Colorful flags dangle above the streets, buildings are splashed with joyful murals depicting local fauna and flora, spectacular sculptures (some serious, some whimsical) dot the plaza and nearby lanes, and a simple but stately colonial-era church sits on a small rise just off the main street. 

What a charming, cheery place!

I’m back on board now, looking forward to my dinner in one of the ship’s specialty restaurants, the Polo Grill.  Tomorrow is  a sea day, then on Tuesday we visit the fun-to-say town of Zihuatanejo.  See you soon!