Palm Trees, Palapas and Pina Coladas - No Politics Until Tomorrow!

I have to confess, today, that I've spent the past two weeks relaxing on a beautiful beach at the tip of the Baja in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This is an annual trip - my thirteenth visit. Located about 900 miles south of San Diego, Cabo is a haven for Heartlanders, West Coasters and Canadians in the main, but we meet many Europeans there as well. There are no politics among those of us enjoying the pina coladas under the palms and palapas...but jump in a taxi, chat with a beach vendor or shop owner, and you'll hear about the thriving, good life as a citizen of Cabo. So many Mexican citizens want to live and work there that the Mexican government limits entry to some unspecified number of Nationals, in an attempt to maintain the prosperous and orderly lifestyle of this enchanting little town. Our tour van driver's home is Puerto Vallarta, but he loves the small town feel of Cabo, the availability of good paying jobs, and the safe environment for his pretty wife and three children - who were in the van after our trimaran sunset cruise. As we were leaving the van, I turned to his little daughter, waved and said "adios." She grinned and beamed out "bye bye now." The proficiency of English-speakers in Cabo, young-to-old, is astonishing - making it even more astonishing that so many Hispanics, Stateside, speak little to none, even after years on our soil. And yes, I speak only "poquito" Spanish, because the locals make it very easy for me, but I am polite, friendly, law-abiding, admiring of their homeland, and I do tip well. If you are not familiar with Cabo San Lucas, its history is that of a small but important fishing village. Today, world-class sport fishing flourishes, with an abundance of charter fleets fulfilling every fisherman's dream of all that deep sea fishing can be. When the fleet comes in, late afternoon or early evening, there's an unfailing number of blue, red and yellow flags denoting the species of fish caught that day. Cabo is considered the Marlin capitol of the world. Blue Marlin is considered "good" to fish August through January (and some swear it's great all year), Shark - excellent year round, Yellowfin Tuna, Mahi-Mahi and Sailfish excellent to good - year round. The Bisbee Fishing Tournament, including the famed Black and Blue Marlin competition, is held in Cabo waters each October, and is the largest payout of any fishing tournament, any where in the world. Last year's purse was $3.3 million. This photo from beach-side is of a protest of charter owners attempting to attract the attention of tourists to support better regulation of the catch-and-release laws for Striped Marlin. I'm not a fisherman, but I'm sure I support them. These are beautiful and abundant waters for fishing. I mentioned that Cabo San Lucas is at the very tip of the Mexican Baja. The water of the Sea of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez) meets the Pacific Ocean at Land's End and Los Arcos, right here... happily just across the way...beyond parasailers, jetskiers and my palapa. This magnificent blend of the tropics, the desert and the seas is a short 2-1/2 hour plane ride from Dallas. No dripping humidity, Mexican gangs or, speaking from my personal experiences, no trotting tourista. Cabo golf courses are famous throughout the world. This photo, borrowed from the Cabo San Lucas Country Club, a Pete Dye course, shines alongside the better known, more expensive, but no more difficult Cabo Real, Cabo del Sol and The Palmilla courses. Back to my modest photography efforts, below is a shot of a practice green, poolside, at the CSL Country Club The drama of the desert combined with lush Bougainvillas, palms and blooming plants unknown to me, is always a wonder and delight. I don't want to live there but it is beautiful beyond measure. So, while I've been playing, my friends have been posting great content for me. What a politically-packed two weeks I missed. As I read the work of Jim Simpson at Truth and Consequences.com, Stanford Matthews at MoreWhat.com and Spree of Wake-up America, I was a bit overwhelmed...that intriguing information-overload that makes you stay up late at night and read it all over again, then read it once more, as you get a bit jittery to get back on the keyboard yourself. Well, you can see from this Cabo post that I'm still not feeling too-terribly political...not too ready to get back to the serious stuff. I think I'll worry about Israel and terrorists tomorrow because you can read Wake up America's straight talking post American Media SUCKS when Reporting about Israel, right here and now, but I want all to know how much I appreciate those astutely and diligently analyzing all that matters, each and every day. Permalink for this entry: http://maggiesnotebook.blogspot.com/2007/05/palm-trees-palapas-and-pina-coladas-no.html Trackback URL for this entry: http://haloscan.com/tb/maggiesnotebook/1243473524952756099 Technorati Tags: Vacation Beaches Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Deep Sea Fishing Golf In Cabo Los Arcos Land's End Politics Pina Coladas Palapas Baja Israel American Media