On the way Tucker got to look out the window and down onto the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, which was Sissy and my honeymoon spot a dozen years ago. Here we were on our 3rd trip to Mexico together. The second with Tucker. It'd be all of our first trip to Baja Sur, and my 16th Mexican state. As we flew in we saw the tall >6000 foot mountains of the Baja Peninsula extend down to the Sea of Cortez. The adventure was beginning!

Passport control and customs went easy. Tucker and I exchanged $20 for $280 Pesos while we waited for our baggage and we were out at the curbside catching the shuttle to the rent a car in no time. We got a little Nissan Tiida that we immediately named Matilda. 

(time out for a massage!)

Driving of course was an adventure. Stop signs were in the middle of nowhere. Left turns seemed to have the right of way. Busses had their own set of rules, and the Topes could either be 2 or 10 inches tall. Luckily some of the local drivers adopted us as we went and tried to advise when a stop was coming. 

First stop was Chileno Beach. We traded my drivers license and $15 for a beach umbrella rental and changed in the car. As we dipped our toes in the surf we noticed it was clear and clean. The waves were soft as was the sand, and the water was a comfortable 70 degrees or so. 

I threw on my goggles and headed over towards the rocks and was rewarded with schools of large tropical fish to gaze at. Unfortunately our other pair of goggles wasn't cooperating and Sissy and Tucker struggled to take in the coral and angel fish and Dori's and etc. Already this snorkeling was better than anything we'd done in Puerto Vallarta 3 years ago, and with a snorkeling excursions scheduled for Monday, we weren't too concerned. We just played on the shoreline and lay in the sun for a couple hours til hunger and our lack of food put us back in the car and on the road towards San Lucas del Cabo. 

15 k or so more in the loony traffic. Sissy had researched a few restaurants and heard about a fish taco place called Gardinias behind the McDonalds. We escaped into a parking spot and found the restaurant on a side street. Sis and I had fish and shrimp tacos and Tucker had a Tucker sized chicken burrito. All were served with a set of 6 different salsas and relishes and slaws and peppers and salads. So so yummy. Our trip was really underway.

I was still thinking we needed to buy some snorkeling gear, so I directed us into the nearby mall. Everything in Mexico seems half built yet open for business. The mall was a prime example. It took us a while to figure out how to walk thru the parking lot, find the entrance, and the to figure out which floor had the open stores. Of course none of the stores sold snorkeling gear, although everyone enjoys snorkeling. Oh well, at least the Haagen Dazs sold yummy ice cream on fancy cones. Tucker had cookie dough and I had some double chocolate yumminess. The exit near the ice cream store led right out to the main marina. 

The promenade around the edge of the marina was swarming with tourists, merchants and salesmen on this sunny Easter Sunday. Most were asking whether we wanted to go on a boat ride somewhere, or sell some cheap jewlery. We just wanted to eat our ice cream! So after a quick stroll we headed back thru the mall, thru the parking lot, down the street and back to Matilda who guided us thru the old town of San Lucas to our hotel, The Bungalows. 

Manny greeted us all with big strong hugs! The first of many! Sisagoochi, our hero, had found a most awesome place. Out of the way, off the beach, but with a sweet pool and old time tropical courtyard. Our suite was in a building with two suites. We were the top one. It was comprised of four quarters. The first one was open air and had a hammock and a bar. The back two were separate bedrooms, and the fourth was split between a small kitchen and nice bathroom. Knowing that soon my time in the hammock would be limited, I took the first siesta. 3 minutes later it was Tucker's turn. 

Tucker went for a swim. Papa snoozed on the bed and later we walked down the hill to il Vecino, a nice looking Italian joint.  Still kinda full from the fish tacos, we kept to the appetizers. Mozz wrapped in light sundried tomatoes, bruschetta, mozzarella and tomato salad, yummy little bread things,  rice balls, and a shrimp bisque. Tucker officially became a lover of shrimp on this night and tried everything and loved it all. We were pretty amazed at the maturation of his tastebuds going on right in front of our eyes. We washed it down with a bottle of Chilean red and started meandering back to our hotel. 

Across this lovely plaza was 'Mi Casa', a spooky looking restaurant decorated with Katrinas straight out of Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas. What a place. 

The wind became a bit of a factor back on our open terrace, so we retreated back into our bedroom and watched Ender's Game on the DVD player (no TV). 

Monday morning we woke up early with some excitement. Coffee was ready downstairs by 7:30 and by 8 we were hugged, then seated for breakfast. First was a plate of thinly sliced watermelon, cantaloupe and papaya served with a depression style blue wine glass of watermelon juice. Then came a large slice of frittata with a fried tortilla cone of a yummy light chipotle sauce and some really scrumptious bread.  Our day was off to a fortified start! 

We walked down the hill again to the back side of the marina. After buying a bell for Nana, a bandana for me, a pair of cheap sunglasses for Tucker that broke before we left the store, and some cool coasters for someone, we found our gate to the Marina. The security guard at gate 4 let us thru when we showed him our tickets for the Pez Gato snorkel-sail.  We climbed aboard a large catamaran and were joined by about 50 others before setting off thru the marina and out to sea. 

The captain took us on a quick trip past the tippy tip of the Baja Peninsula to see Lovers Beach, Pelican Rock, and the amazing Arch. Drinks were served and the children all took up residence on the net-trampoline at the front of the boat. We turned East, set sail and headed along the coast for 45 minutes to Playa Santa Maria. There we anchored, grabbed mask, fins and snorkel and jumped into the deep clear water off the bow of the boat.  

This was truly Sissy and Tucker's first snorkeling experience. As soon as they put their masks in the water they were looking at a large school of large tropical fish swimming right under their arms. After they caught their breaths, I guided them over towards some rocks and coral where we saw more angel fish, spotted blow fish, blue fish, dori fish, and it was good. 

Back on board, we were served lunch and more drinks and headed back. The wind picked up a bit and the waves did swell. The children took the ride face first looking down thru the trampoline screaming whenever the water came close. The adults took the ride with yet another margarita in hand enjoying the beautiful coastline at the very end of California. (Frigate Birds, Brown Pelicans, and Gulls. That's about it, Sue)

Back on shore, we were too tired to walk back up the hill, and the bicycle taxis didn't want to take us either, so we just hopped a cab. A nap or two later, we did a hike on the overly crazy party zone Medano beach and Tucker was in the water for another two hours. Dinner was in our neighborhood at Guacamaya, an open air restaurant with a fountain, mariachis and probably the best food of the trip. I think the style was from Jalisco. We had big plates of chopped steak covered with cheese and of course plenty of guacamole. Tucker hit the wall and couldn't finish his shrimp burrito. 

Tuesday's breakfast was Manny's yummy pecan pancakes with a smoothie and a hug. I suggested we drive north to Todos Santos and take in the sights on the Pacific side. So we hopped in Matilda and were pretty quickly out of the bustle of San Lucas and in the desolate desert. Tons of low woody shrubs and tall cactus trees. Dry arroyos, the 6000 foot peaks off to the East and the distant Pacific to the West entertained as we drove. Before hitting Todos Santos, we stopped to grab some beers and snacks at a little store then pulled into Playa El Cerrito on a long road we thought they should probably get around to paving. The deal was to buy a drink and you could park for free. Not too bad. Here the waves were high and dozens of surfers were trying their luck catching them. Seemed like a pretty good place to try. Tucker and Sissy donned their wetsuits. We rented Tucker a boogie board and he quickly became a pro in catching long fast runs from the breakers to the beach. Sissy caught a few good ones as well while I kicked back with my beer. I guess all those years I lived on the coast lets me be satisfied with just watching. 

We were thinking of moving on when the wind kicked up a gale. Sand was blowing and people started scrambling. There were these two large X's (yep for dos equis) 6 feet tall made of metal that blew over on the beach right as Tucker walked by them. We changed, grabbed our margarita to go and escaped into Matilda. 

5 miles later we were parked in the agriculture and art oriented town of Todos Santos and the wind was quieter and the sun was warm. We played at a playground for a while, checked out the 300 year old church, and nosed in and out of various art galleries. We bought a few things, but not too much. Lunch was in a small backyard patio. I had some chicken mole and Sissy had more fish tacos. The woman scoffed at us for asking if they had churros for some reason. Tucker went for the shrimp! He also enjoyed going into a video game shop and watching the kids play Call of Duty on the PS3. 

Back home it was windy again and papa took another one of his naps while Tucker swam in the pool. We ended up at Guacamaya again for dinner trying out one of their Dragon Bowls which was a super hot bowl draped with huge chunks of steak, nopalitos, onions, and cheese. We'd just grab stuff with a tortilla and yum! We finally got our waitress from the night before to help us order some reasonable Tequila. She got the tip! We wandered around a bit and Tucker bought a crazy anime mexican wrestler mask that we've given to Aulden, the boy from next door. 

Wednesday we walked back down to gate 4 and took a little glass bottom boat out to see the arch again. We got in a little closer this time, but it was too windy for them to let us off at Lovers beach. Instead they dropped us off on a quieter part of Medano beach with some snorkel gear and we floated up and down along the marina breakwater looking at schools of Gar, anemones, more weird spotted blowfish, angelfish, a weird eel thing and more. We spent the next 4 hours building a huge sand castle, eating guacamole, swimming, sunning and meandering up and down the beach. 

Our energy was running low and we cabbed it home, and walked down the hill for some ok pizza. 

Showers, sleep, an early hug with some quesadillas and coffee and Matilda took us on the toll road inland over to the San Jose airport. 3 hours later we were driving thru falling snow and Zita met us at the door with great excitement.