This year H and I decided to go back to the Cabo side of Mexico for our vacation. We stayed in a small town called San Jose del Cabo. We chose this town partly because it was supposed to be a very artistic community and partly because we would be able to walk into town easily from our hotel. There was supposed to be a marina several miles down the beach from us and we wanted to walk there to see about buying a surf rod for me because the surf fishing is amazing all along the beach. Well the marina ended up being a further walk than what we planned but we found a killer bar once we made it there and, wouldn't you know it, they had 2 for 1 beers? So...I got 2 and we sat in the shade for a while. The tackle shop was closed (it was Sunday) so we ended up walking and found an amazing foot path that had all kinds of wonderful art on display. Here were some of my favorites:
Most of the paintings and sculptures that we liked were all from the same lady. She was a British born Mexican and a lot of this work was from the earlier 1900's. It was super freaky. I dug this one just because there was part of a bicycle in it and also because the figures were gnarly looking.
This sculpture was cool and just reminded me of little Grim Reapers.
This one was crazy and there were so many little things to ponder and consider but, according to the artist, she never really intended for their to be much interpretation in her work. It's just what she had in her head.
The first thing I saw in this one was an "A" that looked a whole lot like an anarchy sign.
The town was very religious and this cross was probably 60-80 feet tall.
It got hot really fast and I think we walked for about 4 hours that day and were both wasted so we flagged down a cab and went back to the hotel. We were stunned to find out that there were no rafts at any of the pools. So...we walked back into town and went to the Mega (it's kind of like a Walmart) and found these kids rafts. They were perfect. We used the hell out of them all week and then found another American couple the day we left and passed them on.
On day 2 I came down with an intestinal infection. It's the first time I've had a bit of Montezuma's Revenge on any of our trips to Mexico so those are pretty good odds and it's part of the gamble you take when leaving the USA. I'll go back but it was NOT fun. I was up all night the first and second night sick and then we decided to go to the doctor the next day. We had to pay in cash but we're able to get some Cipro (which is the common drug administered for this issue). I felt better in 2 more days but still took it real easy in terms of what was going in. I ate a lot of bread and rice.
A few days before we were supposed to leave, we decided to head back into town to explore more. Although we had walked it one night, it was just so fuggin hot that we decided to take a cab. This is walking around the town square where there are a lot of art galleries. Nobody walks in the sun.
Here's another shot of town. It was a gorgeous little area with lot's of friendly people and I'd love to go back when it's cooler.
I think this was our last full night in Mexico and we were just hanging out.
I'm not afraid to drink some tequila. There was a server named Leonel that worked at one of the restaurants and he would always try to bring me tequila but...only the best tequila. The first time he brought me a shooter, he also brought this red shot which I had never seen before. I asked what it was and was told it was Sangrita. This is a liquid (not tomato juice surprisingly) but much of the juice is from Pico De Gallo. There is also some jalapeño in it and some other things. It originated in Guadalajara. It is supposed to cleanse the pallet. The shot of tequila is not supposed to be shot but sipped and you sip the Sangrita after each sip of tequila. It was delicious and I may try to make some.
We spent a lot of time looking for art because we wanted a small piece for the house. I also wanted a piece for my desk at work. We saw a lot of Day of the Dead art and I just love it. It is so hard to go into the shops and look around. You get hassled just walking past and it does become a bit of a pain in the ass. We finally found a really nice little shop and a woman was running it with her small boy. She was not pushy at all and wanted to educate us on all the pieces we showed interest in. So we bought several pieces from her. This was the first and I plan to put it on my desk at work.
This is a much larger Day of the Dead skull. All of this is hand painted and there are hummingbirds on the back. We got this because of the colors (orange and blue) and also because we get a lot of hummingbirds at our feeders on the deck and we liked that part.
Then I also found this little evil guy. His head swivels and I just love it. He will probably also go on my desk.
It's good to be back home though but this was an amazing trip. Heather and I are getting more accustomed to travel in foreign countries (mostly me) and we are beginning to take more chances. Many of our friends told us not to go into town but I felt very safe in doing so. We did not care for the resort nearly as much as the others that we have stayed in but that happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment