Leg 3 - fishing derby - and San Jose Del Cabo

When last we left our intrepid heroes, we were bravely running away from some potential weather in Bahia Santa Margarita. Luckily for us, Leg 3 of this event is a non-race leg for the non-spinnaker boats. Instead, we were supposed to concentrate on our fishing.

This we did, but were skunked, and because we were just way out to sea (the coast curves eastward and then back out west, and we were on a straight line to Los Cabos) there wasn't
much reason to take pictures.

But after a pretty gnarly approach to Los Cabos, with winds up around 25 knots and 5-10 foot swells, we rounded the end of the Baja peninsula and into the Sea of Cortez. This is also known as the Gulf of California, but I think Sea of Cortez has a more romantic ring to it.
You can hear Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbosa from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies
saying it in his best pirate brogue and it's just better that way.

We made yet another night approach to the bay (that's 2 out of 3 harbors we've had to
find our way into at night, for those keeping score at home) and found our slip.

The marina at Puerto Los Cabos is all brand new and on its way to being very very - I mean VERY - posh. It's a man-made harbor, big enough to hold some yachts that are big enough to be painted Navy grey without too much irony. The ironic part is that the little town that's still here around the periphery of the poshness is still dirt roads and a cacophany of chickens and dogs running loose through the neighborhood. That's the area I took off to visit as soon as the sun was up.

I first went into a little restaurant under a palm-thatched roof called Ali's International Place - there was an old guy watching TV in the shade. That turned out to be Ali - a North African ("Well, it goes double for Berbers") man who settled here many decades ago. I asked about the possibility of breakfast and he told me I could have a ham and cheese omelet or huevos rancheros, with fresh squeezed orange juice for $10US. I agreed and specified the huevos (duh!) and sat down. Ali's cat came over and hopped into my lap and settled right down.

Well, the huevos were awesome - he cut the onions and peppers and a generous helping of fries for me and cooked it all up under the Palapa roof. And he squeezed the juice from a big pile of oranges.

Oh yeah, this is the Mexico I wanted to visit. No doubt.

Later on, Bill and Stacy and I took a cab for the 1.5 mile ride into San Jose Del Cabo. This little town is about 200 years old and reminds me strongly of Carmel in California - or more properly, it reminds me of Castroville on its way to becoming Carmel. They even have a brew pub! Of course, I bought a pint glass after enjoying their fine raspberry beer. (This is Jill's cue to roll her eyes and make space in the glass cabinet.)

San Jose Del Cabo is making its reputation as the Anti-Cabo San Lucas, which is 15 miles south of here. Where CSL is all cruise ships and chain restaurants and big name mall shops, SJDC is all about little art galleries and one-off restaurants with unique menus. Of course, you can still get an awesome meal for under $20 US. There are big hotels in SJDC, but they're out at the beach, and the hotels in town are still the European-style family operations.

My favorite find in SJDC was El Tamarindo - a little arts/crafts store run by a fine fellow named Antonio. As we walked in, he grabbed some of his decorated shot glasses and poured three shots for us. "It's my family's homemade Tequila," he said. I considered passing, but he said it wasn't as strong as commercial tequila - only about 20 proof - and good for sipping. "Don't shoot it," he said.

Well, we tasted it and it was amazing. It was sweet, with hints of vanilla and just a mild touch of the strangely bitter tequila flavor. It was to regular Tequila as Drambuie is to the cheapest nastiest Scotch you ever had, only less syrupy than Drambuie. If you bought a decorated bottle, he filled it for you before wrapping it up. Needless to say, we left with three bottles! As we were heading out, he gave us a to-go plastic bottle to enjoy on the trip.

Yesterday I determined to walk into SJDC and take some shots of the neighborhood along the way. They're building a big old raised road from the marina into town, but the road is still dirt at this time. There are a bunch of buildings - some abandoned, some still in business, along the dusty route, and a swale or slough with egrets. It was a good walk.

SJDC is a small town, but with some special effort, I did manage to get lost off in the neighborhoods and side streets. Unlike a "planned" community, there are businesses on pretty much every street, so even when you're lost, you can always find a place to get a Coke. While I was lost, I stumbled into another couple of very special art shops, which I would describe, but it would spoil some surprises when I get home!

The one thing the marina lacks is a laundry, so I'm thankful for the cheap T-shirt sales on the main drag. This will keep me from seriously offending the people on the plane home!

Today we leave at 1 PM for Puerto Vallarta. We expect the trip to take between 48-60 hours, depending on the wind. I got up early to miss the crowd at the showers and get some hot water, then sat down at the marina office to write this installment. Now I'll head back to the boat and get some breakfast and start stowing things for the trip. I'm ready to tackle the last lap and then enjoy the amenities of PV.