Cabo San Lucas last month. High up on the cliffs leaning over the bridge which connected the "upper" resort to the "lower" resort down at the beach. Not bad for a guy with vertigo.
I pulled out the old trusty Mamiya 645 for this one and decided on a Phase One P25 back. While I also have the larger, P45+, I thought that 22 megapixels was enough for this.
The first time I worked in Cabo was about 25 years ago and there were about 5 or 6 hotels. A lot has changed since then. According to the local map there are 50 resorts along the shore from Lands End to the airport. That's a lot of beds.
This was the first time I've ever been dinged for having too many cameras and I had to donate $80 to the Mexican government for ]import duties. Not bad, I guess and Customs were polite and apologetic. Everyone's got a job to do, no hard feelings from me.
In between allowing time for security, the flight time and the time difference, I had been travelling for 12 hours by the time I went to get my rental car. A less than speedy hour later I was on my way, in the middle of the night, down the dark highway that snaked through the desert into San Jose. I could hardly keep my eyes open I was so tired and was relieved to see a lighted toll booth ahead to break the monotony.
When I pulled up to the attendant and rolled down the window I could see and smell smoke coming from the rear of the car. "Is your parking break on?" he asked. Oops. Thirty pesos toll and take the first right to Cabo, along the shore road.
Now it was all fast moving traffic as I wizzed by endless franchises and new buildings into Cabo. It was amazing how peppier the car was with the parking break off. [wince]. Once in the old section of town I, of course, took a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of the cliffs. I was staring at the Pacific and wanted to be on the bay side facing the Sea of Cortez. From my high vantage point I could see where I wanted to go, right by the Navy Docks at the marina. But I was facing the wrong way at a one way street. To hell with it and I took a chance, hoping I wouldn't meet anyone on the narrow road or see the Police. I was already practising my "I'm just a lost tourist, I'm sorry" speech when the road ended and there I was at the marina. I turned right and I was at Lands End, the very bottom of Baja California.
I pulled into the hotel and finding I was the first to arrive I gratefully was ushered to my room quickly and flopped. I woke at 3 a.m., fully dressed, laying in bed with all of the room lights on and my iPhone clutched in my hand.
The balcony doors were wide open and the cool desert breeze was wafting the curtains backwards and forwards. Sunrise was in three hours and I needed to be ready. Ugh!
