Los Cabos

The drama on this trip started days before we left the house. We had booked flights on Southwest Airlines, but Southwest operations had a dramatic meltdown at Christmas, with thousands of flights canceled. Sandi wanted to rebook on Delta, so we did. The schedule was less convenient, but we figured it was a safer bet. Our flight 

 Delta was very early, so we decided to book a room at the airport. As we were pulling into the Hilton Garden Inn parking lot, Delta sent Sandi a message saying that weather was likely to disrupt flights in Salt Lake City, where we were going to change planes. They offered to let us cancel or change our reservation with no fee. Sandi said that in all the years she had been flying on Delta, she had only received a message like that once before. When we got into the hotel room, we decided to try to rebook on Southwest! We were able to get the original flights, for the same money. All in all, a 360 degree turn, before we got to the airport......

Tuesday morning we got on the airport shuttle at 6, waited 30 minutes to check our bags, and headed for the bridge looking for shorter lines; the airport guide sent us to the priority line, and we almost felt guilty bypassing the folks standing in line. Sandy talked to the attendant at the gate, and he volunteered to let us board early, since my hip surgery is recent. The Southwest employees seemed cheerful enough, having survived the meltdown. One of the flight attendants was not quite in uniform, with black tights with big red hearts, and a toy sombrero on her head. We arrived in Cabo on time, but had a long line at immigration. We picked up an X-trail SUV at Enterprise, and headed for our hotel in Cabo San Lucas. The hotel was modest but clean. We decided to head to Mare Nostrum for dinner; it is within the very fancy Pueblo Bonito hotel. The Mare Nostrum was not open that early, so we ate outside off the pool menu, burgers and burritos. The view of the harbor and the rocks at the cape was fabulous. Our waiter was funny and very attentive, and gave us some sweets. We were all tired after dinner, and headed back to the hotel. Sandi and I walked a few blocks to a small Supermarket, and stocked up on water and yogurt.

Wednesday we went two blocks to Wachinango restaurant. Wachinango being a play on the word Huachinango, which refers to a fish. The restaurant was full of funny posters and signs. I particularly liked the satire of a scandal newspaper, referring to the singer Paquita del Barrio, who revealed the secret that Trump was her son.....

Sandi and Richard with the famous Arco de los Cabos in the background

Mama whale and calf

After breakfast we were picked up in a van to go on our Pezgato whale watching tour. The tour was on a 50 foot sailing trimeran, although they never raised the sails. Getting in and out of the marina, the boat traffic was very heavy; the captain had to be very attentive. With one motor, and a fixed propeller, maneuvering is not easy. We paused at the rock formation, El Arco del Cabo, passing the Playa de Amor, and later the Playa de Divorcio. We did get to see humpback whales, including a young calf. Richard enjoyed chatting with the crew in Spanish. The crew was very attentive, and we all had a good time. 

 We went back to the hotel, and then headed to El Metate restaurant for an early dinner. The restaurant was out of town, in an industrial area, far from the bars. The ambiance was simple but elegant, basically outdoors. The food was inventive Mexican food. Victor is the manager, and Daniel was our waiter. The food was excellent, as were the margaritas; Victor shared the margarita recipe. We watched a group making margaritas as part of a cooking class. Sandi was surprised to see a rattlesnake in the mezcal, and a scorpion in the tequila bottle.