Driving Baja California – Part Nine
Updated July 2022
This is part nine of the “Driving Baja California” series. Click on the Travel menu at the top for the other parts.
Fun in the Sun at Cabo San Lucas
Next, we drove from La Paz to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja Peninsula. We crossed the Tropic of Cancer and were officially in the tropics. Cabo San Lucas is further south than the country of Egypt in Africa, about 1,650 km south of the American border.
We stayed at a campground just a little from the beach, behind the row of luxury hotels that line the waterfront—just a short walk to the beach. Not as nice nor as convenient as the beach hotels, but we paid only $20 per night, compared to the luxury hotels that charge between $150 and $300 per night. I would rather have a whole winter camping than one week at a luxury hotel for the same price. The campground also has some small cabins for those who are not camping but want to save money. (There are many campgrounds in Cabo. Just do a Google search).
After a month of getting to Cabo, we were ready for a fun time relaxing and playing in the sun.
Water Taxi
On the first day, we went into the city of Cabo San Lucas on the bus and had a lovely day shopping, walking around the harbour, and having lunch at a restaurant overlooking the marina.
You can get a water taxi at the harbour that will drop you off anywhere along the coast. The taxi dropped us off on the beach near our campground for a cost of $3, a little more than the bus but a lot nicer and quicker.
Land’s End
On our second day, we went to “Land’s End”. Land’s End is a jumble of rocks and beaches at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. It is connected to the mainland, but it is impossible to walk there because of the cliffs; therefore, the only access is by boat.
We arranged for a water taxi to pick us up on the beach near our campground at 10 a.m. Getting on and off the water taxi means getting a little bit wet or a lot wet, depending on one’s agility to get on or off between waves. We spent a few pleasant hours there before the taxi returned to take us back to the campground.
Para Sailing
The next day I went parasailing. It was great. Riding the silk on a rope behind a boat over the Pacific Ocean. First, they let out the parachute until it fills with air. Then the person is attached to the harness. Then the boat takes off, and the rope is slowly let out. The cord is 600 feet long, but I was probably about 400 feet (133 metres) above the ocean as it does not go straight up.
It was wonderful. I was floating around with a Frigatebird’s view of things. I have parachuted down from an aircraft many times, but this is the first time I have parachuted up. When your time is up, they reel you in like a fish on a line. You land back in the boat and don’t even get wet.
If the line broke, you would drift down to the water, and the boat would pick you up, but I have never heard of this happening. Very safe.
Laura stayed in the boat and took these photos. Airborne.
Horseback Riding on the Beach & in the Desert
The fun continued the next day with horseback riding on the beach and in the desert. There are lots of activities in Cabo and something for everyone.
Sunset Cruise on Pirate Ship
On our last evening at Cabo San Lucus, we went on a cruise just off the Baja Cape in a simulated pirate ship. We watched the sunset, had food and drinks and even saw a few whales. After dark, there was some shipboard entertainment. It was a delightful evening.
A Great Place
Cabo San Lucas is great for a fun holiday in the sun. The vast majority of people get there by air. Some arrive by cruise ship, and a few adventurous people drive the Baja Peninsula from the U.S.A. If you have the time, I recommend driving there, but however you go, Cabo is a wonderful place to go for a great winter holiday.
Our tour of Baja California is not finished. In future segments of this series, we will describe our tour around the tip of the peninsula and the drive back north. In addition, there are some nice places that we skipped on the trip south that we will visit on the way back. Previous posts about driving the Baja California peninsula can be found by clicking on the Travel menu at the top of any page.
Driving Baja California Part Ten
In part ten, we camp in a flower garden. Click here for Driving Baja California part ten.