Beagles at the Beach: Part II

After we spent a full day relaxing by our pool and along the beach by our hotel, we were ready for a little more adventure in the next day of our trip.  We browsed through a few of the activities the hotel suggested and settled on a "Sunset Cruise" that departed from the marina in Cabo San Lucas later that evening.  To ensure that we were able to find departure point (and be there on time), we decided to go into the city early in the day to play "tourists".

Cabo San Lucas is about 30 minutes travel time from San Jose del Cabo (which is where we were staying).  Originally we were going to take a bus there (because it was a lot cheaper than taking a taxi and we did not rent a car), but while we were waiting at the bus stop, a local who had just dropped off his friends at the airport and was on his way back into the city offered us a ride.  Normally this is not something I would recommend, but we happened to come across the right person at the right time.  Our "driver" actually lived and worked in Texas for a while and we had a pleasant conversation with him to make the drive shorter.  After paying him what we would have been charged for the bus trip and tipping him (on a side note-in Mexico, tipping is expected for most services), we were dropped off by the huge mall that sits on the edge of Cabo's marina.

There was a really pretty waterfall in the center exterior of the mall.



As we exited the mall to head toward the marina, I noticed this:

Although I didn't stop for any coffee at Starbucks during our trip, I felt a little better knowing their caffinated beverages were within my reach. :)

The marina was packed tightly with boats of all sizes.

And pelicans were in abundance.  We saw a seal lion also, but only for a second (hence the lack of pictures).

After walking for about twenty minutes and taking in all the sights, we finally decided to stop at one of the many eateries along the water's edge for lunch- chips and salsa, followed by fish tacos.

I'm really not much of a "fish" person, but I tried my best to be open-minded on this trip because of the
selection and variety of fish that was available.

After lunch, we explored the remaining length of the walk around the marina.  There were interesting sights such as this large Dia de Los Muertos ("Day of the Dead") statue and a large display of Mexican fighting masks.

By the time we reached the end of the marina walkway, it was still early afternoon and it was hot.  We decided to make our way back to the mall and hide out in the cool air conditioning (and for me, shade) until our tour departure later that evening.

On the way back to the mall we saw this sign:  "Not For Sale"

This was pretty much the only hill near the marina that was not built on.  We found out later there was some activism geared toward preventing builds on it (a nerdy tid-bit, but I found it interesting).

Once we got back to the mall we found more Dia de Los Muertos statues.

One of the shops showcased a model of a tequila distillery.

After we soaked up some much needed AC and gave our feet a rest, we wandered to the upper floors of the mall.  They had a few really good look-out points to the marina.

I completely forgot to pack a shawl/sweater/cover up and hat for this trip.  Since my skin color is "pale and burns easily", we had to pick a few items up while we were in the city (or I would have turned into a tomato).  These items, along with my 70 spf sunscreen were my life savers and  I am happy to report that I came back home with zero sunburns :)

We also had a chance to preview the set-up of some of the Dia de Los Muertos decorations for a celebration later that evening.  I loved the all of the colorful decor.

Real flowers and food were used to decorate each of the shrines.

Up next:  A boat ride and arches!