07/06- 4eme semaine/ Fourth week

Une belle etape cette semaine fut sans aucun doute Los Cabos, au Mexique.
Si vous tracez un trait au sud de Los Angeles, vous tombez sur "Baja California", et au bout de cette peninsule, vous trouvererz la ville de Cabo San Lucas, ou Los Cabos, c'est un peu la meme chose car ce sont deux villes cote a cote.
90% des touristes sont Americains, ce qui fait que ca ressemble un peu a Cancun, cote Est du Mexique.
Personellement, je trouve qu'il n'y a pas grand chose a voir ou a faire, car c'est le desert, et la route des Etats-Unis pour arriver la est pres de 17 hrs de route!
Mieux vaut il arriver en avion, ce que ne manque pas de faire nos clients, et c'est donc une destination prisee pour celui qui veut se prelasser dans une piscine d'un hotel luxeux, ou qui veut faire la melasse sur la plage.
Pas mon truc, mais c'est joli, et ma foi, etre pilote de ligne et pourvoir voir ca, ca compense des emplois du temps pas super comme on peut avoir parfois!


Ode to Change... The above picture is Los Cabos, Mexico. My parents and I (Kate) started going to Mexico in the early 1980's. Back then, if you can imagine, the Yucatan was only one or two hotels, wherein the remaining stretch of the peninsula was empty, unspoiled beaches. Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, I would dare say. However, this comment is based on the simple fact that the beaches of Mexico are some of the only beaches in the world I have ever seen. But I'm going to go out on a limb and still say that - yes - it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Now, the Yucatan is an onslaught of hotels, Club Meds, a pethora of pools and poolside bars, etc. etc. And, frankly, it's boring. When I used to go, Mexico was still Mexico, the food was native, the areas were native. It was still a "foreign" country. One of my most favorite memories is a long time ago, wherein I wanted to visit this little island off the coast of the Yucatan and, wanting the native experience unspoiled by us visitors, I opted for the locals' means of transport, which was a tug which left from a local port o' call. Needless to say, I should have known better when the fee one way was only 5000 pesos. If that failed to grab my attention, perhaps the four or five sunken ships in the port should have given my mind ample fodder to change my mind. But, no, I decided to go for it! Live the adventure! So, off I went. On this tug there were only two other non-locals such as myself. At first, things weren't so bad, as we slowly chuga chuga chuga'd from the port. However, as we began to get into open waters the boat started to list horrendously side to side, nearly tipping, whilst giant waves of water broke over us, nearly drowning us all. (I could secretly only hope it was a bapitsmal to deliver me from my stupidity!) We all started to cling for dear life to whatever we could grab hold to, wishing not to be washed into the sea, and I counted the hours (yes, it was that slow!) until we hit land. Finally...land! Ha! I lived! Mexico, indeed, was a land of adventure. Unfortunately, today, I believe it has been spoiled by newcomers wishing to profit from this poor country, wherein the country is forced to sell herself to tourists to make one of its fews forms of honest dollars. And therein lies numerous landscape changes, and selling of real estate to foreigners, and hotels, hotels, hotels. Ah...progress. And somewhere along the way one can only hope the Mexican people themselves profit by this but I fear not, that it is money only for a few. And all the while this great nation with its great history gets lost. Ah, where is Zorro today! Viva Zapata!