East Cape - Mexico

The area known as the East Cape, which is the stretch of coast just north of San Jose del Cabo, (SJC) is filled with beautiful secluded beaches, dusty arroyos and dramatic rock formations. The road snakes along the coastline above the sea, each new turn reveals another incredible vista of Baja beauty (as well as an assortment of cows and donkeys wandering along the road).




There are plenty of places where one can camp on a deserted beach or better yet on one of the small wooded hills (which offers sanctuary from the heat of the day) adjacent to the beach. There are no facilities to speak of except for a few “Palapas” on the beach but some people apparently spend the entire winter here. The area offers some of the finest fishing, surfing and wilderness camping anywhere.

About one hour into our journey, we came upon the Crossroads Country Club, a unique bar/restaurant. This is not your typical posh eatery like those in SJC; it is rather a small outdoor place consisting of a dozen or so plastic chairs under a simple roof structure overlooking the beach. The special of the day was a “bouillabaisse” which just happens to be one of our all time favorite things to eat which was served with warm butter/herb bread. The food was excellent especially with an ice-cold Corona.

Small communities consisting of mostly foreigners also dot the coast. It is surprising how many people are willing to spend large sums to build their dream home in an area without the most basic facilities such as electricity, city water and phone. However, some of them use solar power. We even saw a few satellite dishes. These people have really opted to disconnect from the day-to-day reality endured by the rest of humanity.

Another 45 minutes up the road brought us to Cabo Pulmo, which is the best known for its coral reef (the only one in the Sea of Cortez). We checked into the Cabo Pulmo Resort, which really is not a resort in the usual sense of the word, rather a collection of bungalows accommodating from two to eight people. Ours had a queen size bed and a single bed plus a kitchen and a nice bathroom. Very comfortable. Also included was a covered deck located above our bedroom with a view of the sea and the mountains. The perfect place for a glass of wine after a hard day of traveling.



We still had plenty of time to wander down to the beach and to snorkel out to the reef itself (although the water was rather choppy and cool). However, we persevered long enough to see a few fish before deciding to enjoy the sunshine and the beach instead. We were told that mornings were usually the best time to snorkel, as the water is often very calm earlier in the day.

After a quick beer on the beach and a shower, we headed off for dinner one of the five small restaurants. Dinner was okay (fresh fish) but nothing compared to the lunch we had at the “Crossroads”.

We were in bed early since there is not much to do after the sun goes down in Cabo Pulmo. No wild nightlife here. Nevertheless, we managed to have a bit of excitement when a strong wind came up during the night and I had to secure the patio furniture on the rooftop patio to keep it from blowing away. Unfortunately, the strong wind ruined any chance we had of going snorkeling the next morning as well. We opted to walk around the town before continuing along East Cape road.

After having lunch on the beach (we had to eat in the Jeep because of the wind), we opted to take the main highway back to SJC and stop en route at the town of Santiago, which we understood, had “thermal baths”. After asking several different people, we were finally given directions, which turned out to be for a different, site altogether. It is called “Cascada del Sol de Mayo” and is located in the mountains about 15 kms from Santiago. It consists of a small waterfall and a natural pool for swimming in one of the rivers originating high up in the mountains. The water in the pool was quite cold but not the waterfall, which was surprisingly warm. The people here gave us directions to the “thermal baths” which turned out to be approx. 10 kms on the other side of Santiago in a place called Santa Rita.

After getting more directions, we finally found the thermal area, which consisted of three small pools containing very hot water bubbling forth from the rocks. The water was so hot that we could not sit in the first pool, the second pool was just right and the third pool was too cool (sounds a bit, like the story of three little bears in knows). As an added bonus, there were many small fish in the second pool, which removed any dead skin from your feet and legs. A very ticklish process.


We then headed for SJC, home some 100 kms away, and drove through the tropic of cancer, which is the half way point between the equator and the north pole. We had just enough time to take a quick shower before heading out for dinner at Dante’s Restaurant, which is a restaurant we wanted to try, but we needed a car to get there. This place is a “Canadian hang out” where the food and service are excellent (especially the pork ribs).

That was our last side trip from SJC as we are returning to Ottawa on March 31. Too bad but we are now looking forward to going to the cottage (never a dull moment).