Whales are Magic

I woke up early on our third day in paradise. We were going on a breakfast cruise to see whales (February/March is prime spawning time) and see El Arco up close, so I was probably too excited to sleep. Jason wasn’t quite on board with this idea, though, so I wandered around the very quiet resort to kill some time.

That’s where we were headed!

We found our way to the marina and the boat much quicker since we had experience from the evening before, so I wasn’t as anxious about time. But maybe we should’ve been: this boat was full! We were taking the tour with Cabo Escape and I seriously underestimated the size of the crowd joining us. While everyone was lined up and waiting we could enjoy morning cocktails from the patio’s bar and there were some comfy benches. It was mostly a relaxed wait, at least.

When we got on board, everyone immediately claimed a spot to sit. Some folks got their food and dug right in, but there was food served for most of the cruise. The bar was upstairs so I settled into a mimosa and tried to relax. (Seriously: too many people.)

As we cruised by El Arco at the beginning of the trip, people were pretty considerate for the photo op, allowing space to take a quick selfie or two, or offering to take each other’s photos for a wider view.

Otherwise, people were all crowded around the perimeter of the boat, trying their darndest to get the best views and see all the whales they could possibly see. Being a short person who was already a little crabby with the crowd, after a few initial photos I resigned myself to simply finding a comfortable seat in the middle of the boat and drinking mimosas for the remainder of the cruise.

At one point, though, a whale appeared behind the boat so everyone fled to find the new best view — which allowed me room to sneak up and secure a spot right on the bow of the boat!

I didn’t get the best photos, but it was a thrilling experience to be so close! I felt absolutely in awe to have the priviledge of seeing a mama whale and her calf in their normal habitat. I mean, it was a little crazy because there were also a ton of boats around, but Jason was off snapping photos and I had drank a few mimosas at this point. I was happy to have found a spot to witness some of the majesty of the whales we were stalking.

As scary as the ocean sometimes seems, it’s also a pretty magical place. In addition to the whales, we saw a sea turtle and a shark fin (presumably attached to a shark but it came and went pretty quick).

After we docked and left the boat, we decided to stay around the marina a little longer and find some snacks. As we wandered by shops, we casually looked around for anything we needed to bring home. It was funny to find things that were branded for sports fans of the upper midwest US!

We found a table at a marina patio near two very large parrots. They provided some good entertainment, as did the mariachi band that eventually wandered over to serenade Jason and me.

Eventually we went back to our resort and took long naps, lounged by the pool, and just relaxed. I think this is the primary agenda for our next visit, actually.

We did much more relaxing on our last full day in Cabo, too.

We honestly did not want it to end. We spent at least an hour that morning trying to figure out how we could stay longer. How much would it cost to change our return flight, how much would a room extension cost, etc… Eventually we realized that it would cheaper and easier in the long run to just visit again.

And we learned some lessons: Stay longer. Make less plans. Wear sunscreen.

That afternoon we drove up to San Jose to poke around and to find a taco place recommended by both a friend and Gwyneth Paltrow (or maybe just her staff).

It was early afternoon when we found La Lupita, so it was fairly quiet. We ordered some drinks and some tacos, as well as the appetizer that seemed to be everyone’s highlight: grasshoppers.

I don’t think I could’ve eaten grasshoppers if they had still looked like grasshoppers, but these were mostly ground up and indecipherable. They were crunchy and salty, so mostly they just seemed like putting a seasoning on top of the guac or salsa.

We were very close to the historic town square, so we browsed the street vendors’ wares and window shopped at the art galleries all around. Even though it was a Wednesday afternoon, there was quite a bit of activity.