We asked an American expatriate bar-fly at the hotel bar where was a good place to eat dinner, and he recommended the El Patron restaurant on the beach. He said to follow the river road to the end, we couldn't miss it. So, we piled into the car and headed down the street. The street became a dirt track after 2 blocks, and I pulled over to ask directions of a local who was walking down the road. She assured us we were on the right road, and that it was only 3 km. down. We bumped along at 15mph, and finally came to the end. There was a little bar and restaurant on the rocky beach, with plastic lawn chairs around tables. We pulled out our dominoes, ordered drinks, and enjoyed ourselves until dinner time. Then, we ate the usual fish tacos and had a great time. We also walked along the rocks and found some nice shells. There was a single fisherman, in a red kayak, with rod and reel looking for supper in the calm water of the Sea of Cortez.

Our day over, we searched out our hotel, the Hacienda, in Mulege. It didn't look like much from the outside. Inside the courtyard, there was a large open area with a clean pool, bar, outside tables, and beautiful overhanging bougainvillea. The rooms were simply furnished, but clean. The travel agent had said it was a 3 star. We'd probably have given it 1 in the US. The innkeeper, however, was a gem. He was an elderly Mexican who had lived in Mulege for the last 44 years. He told us that he'd gone to Tijuana as a youth to school, then to Ensenada to seek his fortune. After 15 years, he returned to his home town, Mulege, and took over the inn. His grandfather had built the original building, which had been added onto many times. With pride he showed us the horse powered olive press his grandfather had imported from Spain. He assured us that our car would be safe, as he locked the gates at 10PM. He said that fresh coffee would be ready at 7AM for breakfast. In all, it was a pleasure to stay there, and we had a pleasant evening playing dominoes under the flowering bougainvillea.

Anne and Keith have an early morning plane to catch from San Diego on Thursday, so we have to get them there. We leave at 7:15AM on Monday 3/31, headed back up highway 1 to Mulege, where we have a hotel reservation. Yes, the girls insisted, so we went to a Mexican travel agent in Cabo San Lucas, and got set up for the next two nights. On the way down, we noticed that every place there had been a fatal accident, the family had erected a little roadside shrine to remember their lost loved ones. We must have seen hundreds over the 1000+ miles of highway. I snapped a couple of photos, because they seemed so unusual. On one very curvy mountain section, I saw a scorched car and a small cross on the shoulder above it. We pulled over to take a look. As we approached the shrine, Nancy realized that the name was in English. She looked, and realized that it was a teacher who had taught in Lake Elsinore, who she knew. The teacher and her son had been in a serious accident in Baja, and she was killed. Her son survived. This was her shrine. This really hit home that this was a dangerous highway. On the way back north, we saw two serious accidents the first day. One was a small sedan that had run up on a truck from behind, and it was stuck clear up under the truck. The second was the remains of a semi that had rolled over, and the tractor was ripped in two. We resolved to redouble our efforts to be safe drivers and not to exceed the driving conditions.

Our week in Cabo is drawing to a close, and Monday morning we head back north for the return trip....only we're doing it in 3 days instead of 6! We enjoy a great farewell dinner at the pool restaurant overlooking the beach, and enjoy our last sunset in Cabo San Lucas.

We weren't the only ones who came to Baja to have some fun.....

So, if you're on a 2 and a half week trip, what do you do for clean underwear? After all, we're in a Honda, right, and there are 4 of us, right, and, well, you can see the problem, yes? Nancy and Anne came up with the solution. You see, there was a jacuzzi in our suite, and well, we had some laundry soap, so, voila, a washing machine!!!!

So, what to do in Cabo San Lucas for a week? Well.....
We brought lots of pleasure books to read,
Taught Anne and Keith how to play Mah Jongg,
Played Mexican Train dominoes,
Ate seafood tacos,
Took a harbor cruise out to The Arch and Lovers Beach,
Drove up to Todos Santos to look at art and handicrafts, (bought rugs)
Ate lobster enchiladas,
Went to Cacti Mundo cactus garden in San Jose del Cabo,
Cruised the souvenir shops for the usual T's, etc
Ate more fish tacos,
Went to happy hour at the swim-up pool bar.....

You get the idea, yes?