After leaving Todos Santos we drove to San Jose del Cabo. The route was well marked and our confidence grew as we began to recognize landmarks. The area is growing rapidly with new buildings going up all over the place. Some buildings are a little changed because of hurricane Odile that landed here in September 2014. But regardless of those changes, we knew where we were going and that helped.
We checked into the resort in San Jose where we always stay. I went to our room and Dale took the car back. The rest of the week passed as holidays do. However, the town of San Jose is within walking distance so on this part of our trip, we ventured out. We went into town twice, once by foot and once with a friend who lives down here for part of the year. He picked us up in front of our resort and took us to the regular Thursday night Art Walk. We walked around enjoying the sights and catching up with him. Then he took us to a wonderful little restaurant for an incredibly delicious meal. We also went to his house one night for dinner. One day we walked to the big supermarket, which is in the opposite direction. But the highlight of the trip was our visit to to local beaches to go snorkelling.
The concierge at the resort told us the best way to go would be to rent a car for the day. That was an adventure in and of itself. We went to the Budget desk in the lobby and took a seat. There was no one there and we assumed she was out with another customer, checking the car. Remember our experience in Cabo? Rental car places here seem to run with only one employee. So we sat, and we waited, and we waited and we waited. Several resort employees checked in on us, one actually called someone and then told us she was on her way. So we waited. All in all, we probably waited about half an hour. Finally a young woman rushed in with a big Gulp in hand. She put it down on the desk, stowed her purse, pulled up her bra strap and apologized. She logged into her computer and then asked what we wanted. However, it turned out she didn’t have any cars available, so she asked us to wait, about five minutes, while she went to another resort down the street to pick one up. About 15 minutes later she returned and we filled in all the paperwork. Doing the walk-around the car took several minutes as there were so many little dings and scrapes to record as well as the broken taillight on the passenger side. But eventually it was done and we were off.
We drove towards Cabo San Lucas then exited to double back as the highway was divided. We drove down to the parking lot and got out. We stopped to read the large sign at the entrance to the beach. It said that the beach was sometimes closed due to various events, one of which was dangerous water life, like cocodiles and sharks. COCODILES? I guess they didn’t want to re-do the sign for one mistake. And a Google search conducted later revealed that both crocodiles and sharks were unlikely in the area, however, better safe than sorry.
Playa Santa Maria was wonderful. The sand was warm as we walked down to the ocean. As we arrived we noticed everyone pointing and looking out to where several boats were bobbing. We had arrived at the same time as two whales. We saw them breach and flap their tails five or six times before they left the area. Amazing! The water was cold but bearable once Dale convinced me to be brave and just get in. It was a good thing I listened to him. Below us in the water we saw many colourful fish. Most were small yellowtails but there were a few striped angelfish and one big blue fish that swam near the bottom. We also saw some needlefish. The bay was full of other people snorkling from tours. We stayed for about an hour then left to go to Playa Chileno.
The same sign greeted us at the public beach at Chileno. Our favourite thing to say now is cocodile: in a while cocodile, watch out for the cocodiles, and so on. The water at Chileno felt colder to me but the schools of fish were bigger. Large masses of silver fish swirled around below us, breaking into smaller groups then reforming. I didn’t stay in the water very long. However, going back to sit on the beach was a mistake as there was an older man near me feeding the seagulls, and you all know how I feel about seagulls. I had my cane in my hand for protection as I tried to ignore them. Thankfully the cavalry in the form of Dale arrived and we packed up and left.
That snorkelling trip was the highlight of our time in San Jose. Truth be told, I was a reluctant participant at first. I was going just because Dale wanted to. Lesson learned; nothing ventured nothing gained, seize the day, be brave and take a chance and whatever other sayings fit. Just do it Mary Ellen, it’s almost always worth it! This little adventure definitely was.